Confessions Of An Ems Newbie

(29:10) It was finals week at the end of Ron’s first year of paramedic school. In this episode we go back do an overview of the classes he took and what we thought of them. EMS Newbie EMSWorld Essay Contest Listener Questions JulesThere is a tip offered at the end of the commentary on this … Continue reading 47 Finals Again →

(29:00) More trauma skills testing, EMS Ops test, and a volunteer shift, for Ron this week. He also has some questions about how long it is before the new paramedic becomes the in-charge. Clinical internship – should you do it with your own service? Mentions: EMS Newbie EMSWorld Essay Contest Listener Questions Episode Post Listener … Continue reading 46 Almost Intermediate →

(55:38) Ron is starting to think he’s on “Survivor: Paramedic School” as classmates seem to be leaving in droves. He took is National Registry EMT-I skills tests this week, listen to learn how he did. In EMS Operations he studied Crime Scenes and asks Kelly “How do you handle crime scenes? What about cases where … Continue reading Ep 45 Intermediate Testing And Crime Scenes →

(39:41) This week we talk about abdominal trauma, shock and weight, and Ron’s last EMS shift of the semester. We also answer a number of listener questions. Mentions: An article on Assessing the Abdomen by Kelly. The last episode where we talked about C-spine was Ep 41 Hartwell Vacum Mattress CDC Field Triage Decision Scheme … Continue reading Ep 44 Abdominal Trauma →

(34:42) Kelly saves drowning woman! News at 11! And other great EMS rescue stories. Ron did some more scenarios and managed not to kill the patient this time, but most of his week was spent studying rescue in EMS Operations. Learn about the different kind of rescues Kelly has been a part of over the … Continue reading Ep 43 Rescue →

(35:21) After obscure references to comedic science fiction, Kelly and Ron talk about Thoracic Trauma and answer some listener questions. Chest decompression, sucking chest wounds, and pericardialtamponade, oh yeah. Mentions: EMSWorld Newbie Essay Contest Listener Questions From Kevin T: Hello, I’m almost finished with my EMT-B class and I was wondering, when I finish the … Continue reading Ep 42 Thorax →

(45:33) Has it only been a week since our last episode? For Ron it seems like a month. Here everything you wanted to know about spinal immobi….oops I mean spinal motion restriction. Kelly will tell you how he really feels about strapping people to backboards. We also talk rural medicine. Get a cool tip on … Continue reading Ep 41 Rescue and Big Events →

(38:41) This week we talk about the time Kelly stripped down in class. Ron’s trauma test and scenario. Learn how chest decompression really works. Handling belligerent bystanders, and HazMat. After the Harris County HazMat team talked to Ron’s class, he learned how a thumb has been replaced with a pinkie. Kelly informs us of the … Continue reading Ep 40 – HazMat →

(55:55) While Ron is on Spring Break we bring you a special episode of the EMS Educast on Organ Procurement. The EMSEducast Episode. Mentions: Buck Feris – http://gomerville.com/ Greg Friese – connect at Blog.CentreLearn.com and EverydayEMSTips.com Rob Theriault – connect at Paramedic Tutor, EMS Connect and JEMSConnect Bill Toon – connect on Twitter, @wftoon and … Continue reading SP05 Organ Donation as a Career Path for Paramedics →

(30:04) Ron did PHTLS this week and covered head trauma. We talk about the Hatchet manuver for intubation, the Parkland forumula, doing a Head to toe in the vehicle, and the Tickles test for pedi trauma. Listener Questions Elias – Our system received a grant from the state for a new AED/Cardiac Monitor and have … Continue reading 39 Head Trauma →

(38:54) This week we talk about burns, intubation, vassopressors infiltrating from peripheral IVs and much more. Kelly is calling in live from the road returning from EMS Today, and Ron is in some of his hospital pajamas pre-clinical. Remember all that discussion about what you should or would do if you were on scene for … Continue reading 38 Burns →

(46:32) You get a story from after the show last week about German paramedic Niels first Louisiana field delivery to start the show. Then we talk about Ron’s test and how he didn’t do as bad as he thought. Soft tissue injuries was the subject of the week. Kelly tells how to deal with crush … Continue reading 37 Soft Tissues →

(36:10) “Which will kill you faster? And which should you treat first?” Ron had his first test of the semester in trauma and we talk about a couple of questions that annoyed him. One involved and airway problem and a lacerated femoral artery. Was this a case of the book vs the street? Speaking of … Continue reading 36 ABC or CAB →

(33:34) Trauma seems to come down to shock, and that’s what Ron has been focused on. So we talk shock and patient assessment. Everyone loves the helicopters. This week Ron also studied aeromedical and we talk about they can and can’t do. And lastly NIMS – the National Incident Management System. The course work of … Continue reading Ep 35 Shock, Air Medical And NIMS →

(1:00:32) Kelly and Ron braved the horrible winter weather here in the south to bring you this week’s episode, so don’t miss it. We talk about what makes a good medic both personality-wise and medically. Kelly gives a really good football based metaphor for where EMS fits into the overall field of medicine. We talk … Continue reading Ep 34 – Blunt and Penetrating →

(1:00:58) From Boy Scout to CCEMT-P and nationally known EMS educator Bob Page shares a lot of cool info for the newbie. Learn which part of your stethoscope to use for a BP. What the ATLS says about the relationship between radial pulse and BP is. A cool gadget you can get to help you … Continue reading SP 04 Bob Page →

[audio:33_TraumaCenters.mp3] (43:43) School is in full swing and Ron has a bunch of questions. This week we talk about the use and over use of lights and sirens, why picking the right hospital is critical in trauma, and photography in the field. The newbie also asks flight nurse/flight medic, why do we need both? Listener … Continue reading Ep 33 Trauma Centers →

[audio:32_TraumaAndEMSOps.mp3] (34:27) Back in school again. We go over Ron’s schedule for this semester, talking about Trauma, EMS Operations, Methods of Teaching EMS, and Paramedic Clinicals. Talking about working in the ICU Kelly tells a story where he was creeped out on a transport. Along the way we discuss, NIMS, PHTLS, PASG/MAST and permissive hypotension. … Continue reading Ep 32 Trauma and EMS Ops →

[audio:31_ListenerQuestions.mp3] (57:24) Since Ron isn’t in school we took listener questions and there were a lot of them. Listener Questions I passed my NREMT-B exam – yay!!- but am curious to know why the CAT will ask one question a couple of times? It seemed a little odd, as if it was testing to see … Continue reading Ep 31 Listener Questions →

[audio:SP3_BillDreesInterview.mp3] (1:08:22) This week we have another special episode where Ron interviews the head of his paramedic program Dr. Bill Drees. They talk specifically about the program Ron is in and why it is structured the way it is. What impact will the NREMT accreditation requirement have on paramedic programs and The Street vs The … Continue reading SP 03 Dr Bill Drees →