A couple of things in a quick drive-by post as I procrastinate doing things to prepare myself for my trip in 2 weeks.
Three months ago, my resting HR was up around 86 or so. The other day, my resting HR was 72. Still not breathing super well on my bikes and runs, but what do you want with asthma? I may not have lost any weight, but at least I have proof that SOMETHING good is happening from all this training.
I am sitting here with an ice pack on my left ankle. No real increased swelling, but the normal swelling is there. Lots of aching around the lateral malleolus, mostly under and behind it. Some pain around the medial malleolus, but not as much. My chiropractor has been 'popping' it back into place every few weeks (yes, I go to a chiropractor, but do not rely on him to diagnose any major health problems. He's there to readjust my back and shoulders, because my musculature and connective tissue pulls my bones in randomly strange directions, and it helps to have someone trained to put them back where they belong. Because, as one of my orthopedists have said, my joints are hypermobile, I'm too young for surgery to correct the most severe of them, so I just have to suck it up and deal.) Anyway, main chiropractor is on vacation, so stand-in chiropractor adjusts my ankle because it's really been painful lately. He asked what I had done to it, and I said I didn't know (because, really, I don't). I told him I rolled it a lot, with some pain that didn't last long. Lots of rebound tenderness around the medial and lateral malleolli (?) but I couldn't really trace it to any specific time. I mean, my ankle has been rolling around randomly since I was a kid. He suggested I go to an orthopod and get it x-rayed, and possibly an MRI, as he suspected a 'chronic sprain'. The conservative treatment for which is 2 months in a cast, followed by extensive physical therapy. Aggressive treatment would be surgery to fix the ligaments and tendons in place, prevented any sideways motion.
Yeah, no thanks.
He also suggested a more aggressive ankle brace. So I picked one up, to be used when I'm just walking around and hanging out. For fencing, running ,etc, I have kinesiology tape. (love this stuff, and no, they don't pay me)
In other news...I have been promoted to sergeant at my volunteer department. It's on the EMS side (there is a large division between fire and EMS). I'm not sure what my duties will be, other than pulling a duty week every 6 weeks or so, and heading up a clean-up crew. It has been hinted that I will be the one in charge of the duty calendar, but that remains to be seen. I will also be helping with drills and training, and will likely have one drill a month to organize and run. I have several ideas for drills, but if anyone has some ideas for drills they like for EMS folks) many of which have little experience, I'm all ears.
I find myself irritated with people who are in charge of things who don't let you know when something has happened. How am I supposed to meet my requirements by the deadline if I am not given the full amount of time/information until halfway to the deadline? I understand people are busy, but how long does it take to shoot off an email or something?
Which reminds me...I need to send off a few emails....
Thursday, July 14, 2011
Monday, July 11, 2011
Officially official, and other things
I got my disco patch in the mail the other week. I am now officially a paramedic. Now all I have to do is get my state certification.
In other news, I recently read this post by Rogue Medic. The part at the bottom about MD scaling back helicopter transports is what got me. Now, I have to say...when I first moved to MD, I was astounded at what patients they would view as needing to fly. Patients with a fractured femur who were less than 10 minutes from a Level II trauma center. Patient's who were alert and oriented appropriately, although drunk as skunks, who had not lost consciousness during the collision, who wanted to REFUSE TO FLY (the patient was talked into flying to a Level II center that was approximately 30 minutes by ground).
Since the crash of Trooper 2, the state of MD has 'cracked down' on the use of medivac flights, which I fully support. Way too many patients are flown without need. The problem we are seeing, however, is in areas that do not have close access to specialty centers. For example, the closest eye center to my area is over an hour away (I admit that this is not a hugely long distance for some, and indeed, when I lived in PA, I wouldn't have considered this an abnormally long distance). Some time ago I had a patient who had been struck in the face with some kind of broken glass, and the wound involved the eye. The patient was complaining of severe pain, and was unable to see out of the affected eye (there was also EtOH involved). I called for an ALS unit (technically we are not permitted to call specifically for pain management, but I do it anyway), and consulted with the eye center. The eye center accepted the patient, but would not authorize a helicopter to transport the patient because the vitals were stable. The medic was upset, given that the trip is about 1.5 hours one way, but to my mind, that was the correct call. (The fact that the medic only asked for and got orders to give the patient 4mg of morphine total is another post all together).
A more recent call saw a patient mangle their thumb on a table saw. There was significant involvement to the bone of the thumb, though the only portion of thumb recovered at the scene was the fleshy part. The medic who was dispatched (I was on the BLS unit) consulted with the local 'chop shop' hospital (they can't deal with more than the most basic of emergencies) and the hand center, which is about 1.5 hours away. Once again, the patient's vitals were stable, bleeding was controlled, though the patient was in a fair bit of pain. To be honest, I am unsure of what exactly was said on the consult (I was in the back of the ambo with the patient), but the hand center refused to allow the patient to fly (again, a decision I was perfectly comfortable with). Here is where things get sticky. Per our protocols, a patient with a full or partial amputation of any finger or thumb should be transported to the nearest specialty hand center (there is only one in MD actually). I classified our patient as priority 3, as he was stable, but he did potentially require 'time sensitive intervention' at the hand center (I'm no hand doc, and while I suspected nothing could have been done for the thumb, I have no earthly clue what they could have actually done). The medic on scene made the decision that the patient would go to the local hospital, rather than be driven the 1.5 hours to the hand center. And, as far as I was made aware, this was because the state protocols also state that if the trauma center or specialty center is more than 30 minutes away, the patient should be taken to the local ER. So the patient lost half the thumb, because this was not something the local ER was equipped for.
Again, I have no clue what they would have done at the specialty center. The remainder of the thumb was pretty mangled, but I have no idea what would have happened.
Which brings me to the point of this post. I am not in any way, shape, or form advocating more medivac flights. Not even a little bit. However, much of the state protocols are written for the areas that are closest to the main hospitals. Those of us who are father out from the specialty centers and trauma centers are left handicapped. We can't fly if the patient is stable and the doc at the trauma or specialty center says no, but protocols don't generally allow for transporting more than 30 minutes away. From some areas I run calls in, the closest Level II trauma center is more than that.
Another example, as relayed by a medic at my station (a medic who I would trust with my life and the lives of my family...she's GOOD), was a patient who was in a fairly severe motorcycle wreck involving wildlife. The patient was alert and oriented, but a bit combative, and complaining of severe chest pain, and had been thrown a good distance. The medic, who feels the way I do about helicopters, consulted with the closest Level I center (in DC), and the closest Level II center (about 40 minutes without traffic), and requested a helicopter (not sure of the patient's vitals, but I suspect she was concerned about chest wall and/or heart and lung injury), and was denied. She transported by ground to the Level II, but was contacted later by one of the state medical directors and was given an "atta girl." The hospital that refused the request was 'spoken to.'
Anyway, those of us in the 'wilds' of MD, away from the major hospitals and such, are being hamstrung if we choose to follow protocol exactly. I have no problems transporting my patient by ground to a specialty center if their situation warrants it, regardless of how far it is (most of them are about 1.5 hours away, without traffic), but not all EMT's and medics are so willing to do so. Especially in the busier areas where taking a medic unit out of the area for 4 hours or more is a hardship to the rest of the area.
In other news, I recently read this post by Rogue Medic. The part at the bottom about MD scaling back helicopter transports is what got me. Now, I have to say...when I first moved to MD, I was astounded at what patients they would view as needing to fly. Patients with a fractured femur who were less than 10 minutes from a Level II trauma center. Patient's who were alert and oriented appropriately, although drunk as skunks, who had not lost consciousness during the collision, who wanted to REFUSE TO FLY (the patient was talked into flying to a Level II center that was approximately 30 minutes by ground).
Since the crash of Trooper 2, the state of MD has 'cracked down' on the use of medivac flights, which I fully support. Way too many patients are flown without need. The problem we are seeing, however, is in areas that do not have close access to specialty centers. For example, the closest eye center to my area is over an hour away (I admit that this is not a hugely long distance for some, and indeed, when I lived in PA, I wouldn't have considered this an abnormally long distance). Some time ago I had a patient who had been struck in the face with some kind of broken glass, and the wound involved the eye. The patient was complaining of severe pain, and was unable to see out of the affected eye (there was also EtOH involved). I called for an ALS unit (technically we are not permitted to call specifically for pain management, but I do it anyway), and consulted with the eye center. The eye center accepted the patient, but would not authorize a helicopter to transport the patient because the vitals were stable. The medic was upset, given that the trip is about 1.5 hours one way, but to my mind, that was the correct call. (The fact that the medic only asked for and got orders to give the patient 4mg of morphine total is another post all together).
A more recent call saw a patient mangle their thumb on a table saw. There was significant involvement to the bone of the thumb, though the only portion of thumb recovered at the scene was the fleshy part. The medic who was dispatched (I was on the BLS unit) consulted with the local 'chop shop' hospital (they can't deal with more than the most basic of emergencies) and the hand center, which is about 1.5 hours away. Once again, the patient's vitals were stable, bleeding was controlled, though the patient was in a fair bit of pain. To be honest, I am unsure of what exactly was said on the consult (I was in the back of the ambo with the patient), but the hand center refused to allow the patient to fly (again, a decision I was perfectly comfortable with). Here is where things get sticky. Per our protocols, a patient with a full or partial amputation of any finger or thumb should be transported to the nearest specialty hand center (there is only one in MD actually). I classified our patient as priority 3, as he was stable, but he did potentially require 'time sensitive intervention' at the hand center (I'm no hand doc, and while I suspected nothing could have been done for the thumb, I have no earthly clue what they could have actually done). The medic on scene made the decision that the patient would go to the local hospital, rather than be driven the 1.5 hours to the hand center. And, as far as I was made aware, this was because the state protocols also state that if the trauma center or specialty center is more than 30 minutes away, the patient should be taken to the local ER. So the patient lost half the thumb, because this was not something the local ER was equipped for.
Again, I have no clue what they would have done at the specialty center. The remainder of the thumb was pretty mangled, but I have no idea what would have happened.
Which brings me to the point of this post. I am not in any way, shape, or form advocating more medivac flights. Not even a little bit. However, much of the state protocols are written for the areas that are closest to the main hospitals. Those of us who are father out from the specialty centers and trauma centers are left handicapped. We can't fly if the patient is stable and the doc at the trauma or specialty center says no, but protocols don't generally allow for transporting more than 30 minutes away. From some areas I run calls in, the closest Level II trauma center is more than that.
Another example, as relayed by a medic at my station (a medic who I would trust with my life and the lives of my family...she's GOOD), was a patient who was in a fairly severe motorcycle wreck involving wildlife. The patient was alert and oriented, but a bit combative, and complaining of severe chest pain, and had been thrown a good distance. The medic, who feels the way I do about helicopters, consulted with the closest Level I center (in DC), and the closest Level II center (about 40 minutes without traffic), and requested a helicopter (not sure of the patient's vitals, but I suspect she was concerned about chest wall and/or heart and lung injury), and was denied. She transported by ground to the Level II, but was contacted later by one of the state medical directors and was given an "atta girl." The hospital that refused the request was 'spoken to.'
Anyway, those of us in the 'wilds' of MD, away from the major hospitals and such, are being hamstrung if we choose to follow protocol exactly. I have no problems transporting my patient by ground to a specialty center if their situation warrants it, regardless of how far it is (most of them are about 1.5 hours away, without traffic), but not all EMT's and medics are so willing to do so. Especially in the busier areas where taking a medic unit out of the area for 4 hours or more is a hardship to the rest of the area.
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