Well folks, it is time for me to be brave and make an admission to you all. I only have 24 days left at my current station. My soon-to-be husband and I are planning to take some extended leave to travel and volunteer. We are staying open minded about what life holds for us next;…
Some excellent thoughts from a veteran medic. Thanks for sharing.
This story happened early in my career and has weighed on me from time to time since. The disease responsible crops up all too frequently in my own family. I am afraid something of similar caliber will happen to me one day. It was late evening, maybe 9pm, when the call came through, “Code 4:…
A friendly reader, interested in joining the paramedic profession as a second career, recently asked me a series of questions. “I want to find a job where I can directly help people in a health-medical/hands-on field. I’ve been conducting very thorough research in the paramedic career (given my anxious and perfectionist self; not wanting to…
The holiday season, a socially pre-programmed time of joy, seems to leave a rash of suicidal thoughts in its wake. Whether it’s the culminating lack of vitamin D, the financial crunch of overspending, overwhelming loneliness while being beaten repeatedly with fun-loving family commercials, etc, etc- most health care providers can attest to receiving patients with…
Ebola certainly dominated the headlines in 2014. Our service, like most others, did in-house training guided by the health region in order to prepare for its unlikely appearance in our community. It bothered me that we were just now designing an updated PPE/provincial care algorithm. There are many other highly infectious diseases that perhaps should…
I want to share this recently uploaded video from Toronto Paramedic Services. Considering my last couple weeks it feels quite timely. Wouldn’t it be great if the PAC made a national video like this? We know this is not a region specific issue. Now from my personal files, more examples of Making the Wrong Call……
My height: 5 feet 1 inch…just brushing 155cms. Not surprisingly, “You’re too little!” is a comment I hear a lot in my profession (not to mention all my life). I once let an elderly lady (who weighed all of 100lbs) give my bicep a squeeze to gain her confidence before picking her up. I’ve always…
I I just took the Paramedic Association of Canada survey on paramedic metal health wellness. SURVEY LINK: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/PAC_Wellness_Survey I encourage everyone who is trained and employed as a paramedic in some capacity, including my fire and industrial buddies, to take this survey. My hope is that the data will help improve awareness, bolster resources, and create…
A A few weeks ago when I started to write this I was toying with the titles “Burn Backboard Burn” or “It’s Backboard Burning Time,” but given that by some miracle the EMS Gods have answered my prayers out here in Saskatchewan, those headlines…
It seems everyone is doing it or talking about it. I’ve seen many good friends dump chilly buckets over themselves, and even videotaped a few of them doing it. There are people I wish I was friends with who are doing it: Kermit, Justin Trudeau, Leonardo Dicaprio. The ALS foundation is nearing the 100 million…
I love driving but we all know that sitting for a long time is bad for our bodies. EMS providers, depending on their area, often sit in vehicles for looong hours. In my area one typical interfacility transfer can last from 6-8 hours plus. The problem is compounded when you are expected to do heavy…
Over the past year I have spent a few hundred, possibly thousands of hours traveling the highways of Saskatchewan (Hwys 1, 4, and 7 repeat). A big part of my paycheque is thanks to inter-facility transfers. Basically we scoop up our patient at a hospital or care center in one place and transport them to…
In Part 1 we talked about some of the improvements made to CPR guidelines over the years. In Part 2 we will discuss some of the modifications we may see formally implemented in the future. Some of these ideas may be reasonably incorporated into our current practice despite not being officially outlined. (And some ideas…
“While CPR has only been around in its true form for about 50 years, attempts at resuscitation date as far back as 1768, when the Dutch Humane Society was formed in an effort to improve resuscitation in drowning victims. Their first formal attempt at CPR included instruction on clearing the airway via rolling the victim…
Medic15 