It’s an important and sometimes, surprisingly, challenging question. Lots of things can affect our decision making capacity. Our patient’s ability to understand and make decisions is an important … [Read more...]
Suicidal Evaluation: The DEAD PIMP Assessment
March 14, 2012 By 3 Comments
It's a difficult situation that just about every EMS provider has been faced with at some point. Someone, somewhere thinks a friend or loved-one wants to commit suicide and they call 911. You arrive … [Read more...]
Understanding The SAMPLE History
March 8, 2012 By 3 Comments
The SAMPLE history usually comes up in the first few weeks of EMT class. It's such a widely accepted standard that it appears in the National Registry medical and trauma skills station as well as the … [Read more...]
Using AEIOUTIPS For Altered Mental States
April 9, 2011 By 11 Comments
The AEIOUTIPS acronym holds a special place in my paramedic heart. It stands alongside OPQRST and SOAP as one of the three most useful acronyms I ever learned in medicine. I'm a believer in AEIOUTIPS … [Read more...]
The Three Collision Rule
November 3, 2010 By 5 Comments
I imagine it was probably my first Prehospital Trauma Life Support class back in 1990 that I first heard of the three collision rule. Since then, it has remained a useful tool in examining the … [Read more...]
The Ultimate Guide to EMT Vital Signs
June 8, 2010 By 3 Comments
Part 3: The First Rule of Vital Signs This is probably a good time to bring up the number one rule of vital signs. Remember the movie Fight Club? Everyone knew the first rule of fight club was to … [Read more...]
Safe At Home
March 6, 2010 By 7 Comments
A good friend of mine is being sued by a former patient. I don't know if that statement gives you anxiety the way it gives me anxiety. I'll admit it, I have an underlying fear of having to defend … [Read more...]
Mastering The Head-To-Toe Assessment
February 8, 2010 By 15 Comments
You probably practiced your head-to-toe assessment a bunch in your EMT class. Maybe more than any other skill in the EMT curriculum. If your class was or is anything like mine (as a student or a … [Read more...]
Medicine Between The Frames
January 28, 2010 By 5 Comments
One of my favorite bloggers, Seth Godin, recently introduced me to the work of Scott McCloud, an author who's written several classic books on understanding comic books. Scott dissects the comic … [Read more...]
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