The November EMS Roundup
“Whenever I find myself growing grim about the mouth; whenever it is a damp drizzly November in my soul … then, I account it high time to get me to the sea.”
Herman Melville
When the cold November finds me grim about the mouth I find myself drawn to a warm fireplace and the click of my laptop’s keyboard. Lucky you. In November we kicked off with the idea that details matter. We discussed the importance of determination and I reminded you to ask the patient. I also pointed out ten things you can’t learn about EMS sitting in front of your computer and I made the polite request; don’t be a jerk. Chris Framstead took a walk down memory lane and talked about how things were back in the day. I told you about the ultimate EMS protocol and the controversy over c-spine immobilization. And we even found time to explore podcasting and the sternal rub. (Insert deep breath here.)
But enough about me, other bloggers had a bunch of fun stuff too. And nobody had quite as much fun as The Happy Medic, Justin Schorr and Mark Glencourse of Medic999. Those two launched their project The Chronicles of EMS. Click the link to learn more. Greg Friese gave us some good advice for effective CPR. Lt. Morse gave us a peek inside his book, Another Day In Providence with the post hard landing. The Happy Medic reminded us to ask not what our service can do for us. Ckemtp explained why he’s lucky to be blogging today because of the day he didn’t die. Firehouse Zen talked about trust. Buckman penned a hilarious rant regarding the second amendment. Rogue medic fought against conventional ignorance and Basics Doc wrote an interesting ode to coincidence with true story about what happens when bloggers collide.
In EMS news, the Calgary police chief demanded / pleaded to local EMS to release information about crimes… was that necessary? The Denver paramedic who beat a seizure patient will spend 12 years in prison. Research suggested that trauma scene times are not a key predictor of survival. A Minnesota paramedic sued to get cops to stop misusing mental health holds. A Florida man called 911 to ask for sex. (It didn’t work.) Dr. Kieth Wesley boot stomped the latest research on prehospital intubation. Chris Hedricks went all out with a series on how to be a good field instructor. One study suggested that continuous compression CPR might double an arrest patients chances of survival and Virginia seems to be having good luck with hypothermia in cardiac arrest. Finally, FDNY firefighters publicly declared that their 911 system was flawed.
In podcasting, The EMS Educast Journal Club reviewed the literature on mechanism of injury in EMS. Yours truly and the boys from The EMS Garage discussed merit badge education and the podmedic examined DVTs and what they mean to you and me.
Next month we’ll take a look at what it means to play to win and answer the question, what is ketosis anyway? Thanks for coming, I’ll see you then.
Tags: EMS, ems roundup, news, Research and News, roundup
