Tag: books

  • Firefighters, Only Good for 3 Things

    Running with firefighters is a daily part of our job and it’s important to know how to utilize them as a resource. Now, before we continue too far, let’s get one thing straight: fire medics are not real medics. It’s kind of like Velveeta being called cheese; it’s not cheese. It’s a processed ‘cheese product.’ And that’s kind of what firefighters are: processed paramedic products. Non-organic and not nearly as good as the original.

    That brings me to my first point, which is the things firefighters are NOT useful for. And that’s advice. Treat each and every single firefighter you run across like a child, as that’s basically what they are. For example, the other day I was working a cardiac arrest when some firefighter thought he should correct me just because he had twenty years on the job. He had audacity to say “I don’t think think we should shock PEA.” Well, it wasn’t PEA. It was an organized V-Fib!

    Without further ado, the three things firefighters are actually useful for:

    One: CPR.

    As a medic, you should never be doing CPR. Even if you’re alone in the back of the ambulance, it’s more important to start an IO and get amiodarone on board as soon possible. Once fire arrives, they can begin compressions. And if you’ve been doing your medication properly, the patient should already be pre-loaded with life-saving epinephrine.

    The most important way firefighters can help with CPR is by attaching a LUCAS device. After that, return firefighters back to the station so they can eat chili and grow fat.

    Two: Lift Assists.

    I work in Oklahoma, which means about 60% of my patients and 75% of my coworkers are morbidly obese. I am a small, petite woman that mostly eats grass and grapes, so I’m not built to lift heavy things like our patients. Or stethoscopes. I’m always on the radio on the way to any EMS call, requesting fire beforehand just because I know we’ll need them for any sort of lift assistance.

    It’s important to know that, as a paramedic, it’s not your duty to lift or assist lifting the patient in any way. Your hands are too valuable to risk. Let other, lesser people like EMT-Basics and firefighters handle that burden.

    Three: Dating

    Let’s all us girls be honest: when a balding, pudgy middle-age man flirts with you, it gets your pulse racing. Especially when he’s in uniform and has an under-trimmed mustache. Firefighters are the ultimate relationship goal for any paramedic. And the best part about them is that it doesn’t matter if things don’t work out, you can always find another! Some people say that there’s plenty of fish in the sea, but I say there’s plenty of hunks at the station.

  • Bias in EMS? There’s no such thing.

    I was reading the national news, as any good paramedic does on a daily basis, when I encountered this AP News article here.

    An ambulance is called to the scene of a police shooting. The patient they were called for has been shot in the torso by police. Upon arrival, another police officer reports trouble breathing and she’s covered in blood. There’s no reported injuries from her and she states that she is feeling better. So, which do you transport? The penetrating gunshot to the trunk or the resolving anxiety attack?

    That’s right.

    The anxiety attack.

    Police officers are the most true heroes of first responders, even more so than paramedics. And definitely more so than firefighters. And 200% more so than EMT-Basics. Think about it. Who do we call for help when we need it most? That’s right. Police. They’re the 911 for 911.

    So it only makes sense that we honor our brothers in blue by placing their needs above the needs of others, including gunshot victims. I know that sounds extreme, but truth is often the most extreme to those blinded by propaganda. Besides, there’s nothing we as paramedics can do for a gunshot patient anyway. You might as well throw them in the hosebed of a fire engine and make them transport while we deal with actual, real patients.

    In the end, I applaud this ambulance crew for making the correct decision in a stressful situation. Where others may crews may have fallen to peer pressure and transported the gunshot patient first, this crew stood their ground in the face of the hive mind and made the correct call. For that, you get Paragoddess Amber’s star of the week!