The May EMS Roundup
“The worlds favorite season is the spring. All things seem possible in May.”
- Edwin Way Teale
As the days grow longer and the nights grow warmer here in Colorado, I feel the rush of summer on the horizon. Indeed all things may seem possible, but the first half of this month seemed consumed with podcasts and webinars. Then I remembered what I always yell to the first base runners on my daughters softball team, “Finish strong!”
I started the month by asking for a few Handover submissions. (And I got them.) I also told you about a few upcoming free webinars for National Registry skills and developing patient rapport. (Thanks for joining.) Then we had a guest post by EMS educator extraordinaire Jim Hoffman all about burnout and rebirth and I speculated about folks who push the self destruct button on their careers. Then I kicked off a new series in an effort to bring you the ultimate guide to EMT vital signs. To that end, we dissected the pulse and the blood pressure. I made good on my promise to bring you The Handover Blog Carnival and that brought us here. Strong indeed.
In other parts of the blogsphere, David Konig revived an old Dave Berry video that was made using the EMS photography of Jeff Forster back in my days at Pridemark Paramedics. (Hint: You can find me in the video at 4m 54s. I’m assessing a lady’s pupils – figures.) Greg Friese of Everyday EMS Tips rang in EMS week with a whole series of videos. Buckman of Gomerville fame penned a poignant examination of his inability to suffer the foolish, and the problem with slippery babies. Jaramedic attended EMS on The Hill. Chris Kaiser told us about a party and a fall and a death that all happened in an instant. Epijunky said a prayer to the patron saint of medic students. Tom Reynolds points out another example of why it’s always easier to blame us. Rogue Medic took another, well deserved, shot at Dr. Andrew Wakefield and Happy Medic, Justin Schorr asked us to reconsider our idea of liability.
In EMS news, the disciplinary proceedings go on and the debate continues in the death of a Pittsburgh man who waited 30 hours for an ambulance, called 911 a dozen times and then, tragically, died. A former DC EMS responder confessed to stealing, not one, but two heart monitors from his employer and then trying to sell them to a different EMS organization. Virginia paramedics will be some of the first to stop sending ambulances for tooth achesand perfume in the eyes calls. Marianne Cavanaugh-Wozniak was just 45 minutes into her new job when she saved a man’s life. An Atlanta man who weighed well over 300 pounds, had a history of high blood pressure and coronary artery disease, who was unconscious, who was then violent and combative, who was then able to fight through several TASER charges, has died. Of course…everyone is blaming the TASER.
And the EMS padcast’s play on. This month, the EMS Garage went after pain management and c-spine. The Educast sorted out the differences between Canadian and American EMT education. The Medicast took on Calcium Channel Blocker Overdose and The GenMed Show talked about their recent trip to capitol hill.
That should be plenty to keep you busy while the EMS industry churns onward into June. We’ll be right back here to tell you about it soon.
Read more roundups:
Thank you for the links. I also wrote a couple of posts on sedation and 4 posts on pain management.
You’re welcome Rogue. I want people to still have some suprises left when they get to your blog! I can’t give away all the goodness.