A Work in Progress

Get ready for the post EMS Today conference blogging blitz!  Okay, so maybe one post, but I am motivated.  Motivated not only as a blogger but as an EMS provider. It is easy to lose focus in this business amidst the crap calls, drunks, and abusers.  It is easy to be bogged down by the sad things, paperwork, and politics.  But none of that matters.  EMS today illustrates to me what really matters.  It is truly a wonderful feeling to be surrounded by the best EMS providers in the country.  They come from all corners not just to get a paid vacation, a good price on new equipment, and to drink in a different state.  The reason that unites us is that we all want to be the best at our jobs.  We want tips and tricks to make our lives easier and to improve patient care and outcomes.  We are all scared by things that we don't know we don't know (at least I am). This job can be challenging.  It is hard to give a patient your full attentio...

It will come of no surprise to you dear readers that I spent the morning relishing in lectures concerning all things London Ambulance Service. It's been a busy two years since I've been there and by the end of the week I'll have heard lectures that touch on the Diamond Jubilee, Royal Wedding, 7/7, 2011 Riots, and the Olympic Games. So many special events, so little time. I believe that many of our heavily populated cities can learn a lot from the LAS model. I believe it to be a simpler version of the incident command system that we use. It's flaws were pointed out though in my favorite part of the lectures so far. The Lecturer said that on 7/7, the London Fire Brigade were confused over the triage process and concerned that patients were being overlooked. (take this 3rd hand info with a grain of salt)  But, this reiterated that communication and knowledge of operations for all agencies is paramount for a successful response. I also thought it was pretty funny as...

I have the immense privilege to be sitting right across from Maddog Medic in the flesh. We aren't speaking, though he is listening to me. Want to solve this riddle? He is transcribing an interview he did with me for his blog at this very moment. And I too am blogging at this very moment! How crazy?! I am stationed this week at the EMS today conference to stock up on professional wheelings and dealings and learn some stuff. This is a wonderful conference full of networking and new products and I learned already that one dose of glucagon costs $130. That's out of control! I cannot wait to catch up on disaster literature and EMS tricks of the trade and get as many free pens as I can at the expo tomorrow.  As for now, I'm headed to a class on smart stuff and pediatric breathing problems.  I am surrounded by EMS nerds and I love it! I spent the day learning about things above my pay grade such as how to read a chest x-ray and how to differentiate between subarachnoi...