Chances are, you’ve probably heard about the new trend in synthetic cannabis products either from your local news media or from your ongoing EMS education. Over the past few years, these products have been increasing in prevalence around the US and in Europe. But what are these products anyway? Are they cannabis or not? Are they legal to posses? Are the effects similar to traditional marijuana?
Here’s a quick rundown of what EMS folks should know about this new and growing trend in street pharmacology.
Synthetic cannabis products have a variety of street names including Spice, K2, Herbal Incense, Potpourri, Barely Legal and Kronic. It is frequently sold under the classification of an “herbal smoking blend” and some head shops and online retailers have attempted to skirt the ongoing tide of new regulations by selling the products as legitimate potpourri or plant food with the warning, “Not for human consumption.”
What is it really?
These products are all various dried organic (plant) compounds that are laced with a synthetic cannabinoid chemical that is designed to mimic the effects of cannabis in the body. Many of the products claim that they are a natural blend of legal herbs and spices that combine to give the user a legal and cannabis free high. Investigations into the contents of the products reveal that most of the herbs listed on the product packaging are not truly present in the product and that the often unidentified organic material in the product is laced with one of five common synthetic cannabinoids. (While there are over a hundred known synthetic chemical cannabinoids, these products tend to contain cannabicyclohexanol, JWH-018, JWH-073, CP-47,497 or HU-210.)
When your quality assurance manager wants to talk with you about a call you ran, do you lean in or do you lean back?
When the local nursing home calls for a patient who’s been feeling ill, do you lean in or do you lean back?
When the monthly continuing education lecture starts, do you lean in or do you lean back?
When the E.R. doctor wants to talk to you about the care you just gave her patient, do you lean in or do you lean back?
When you are scheduled to work with the partner who’s has the social skills of warm Bisquick, do you lean in or do you lean back?
When it’s near the end of your shift and there are inter-facility transfers pending, do you lean in or do you lean back?
Today you’ll be presented with countless opportunities. There will be opportunities for growth, connection, effort and fulfillment. There will be opportunities to bring quality to your job. There will be opportunities to learn from your colleagues and coworkers. Most of those opportunities come dressed up like work.
When they do come, do you lean in, ready to hear what the next person has to say. Are you looking for the connection with your next patient, the new home medication you haven’t heard of yet, the next piece of advice from your Q.A. person that might refine your skills? Or do you lean back, scared of what it all might mean, upset about the missed off-time, frustrated by the weaknesses and failings of others?
Lean in or lean back. It’s a decision we all have to make each day.
Have you ever wondered what it might be like to be a firefighter / paramedic in the middle of a dense American metropolis? If you’d like a glimpse at paramedic life inside of a big city fire department, I know of no better place than The Happy Medic HQ. This blog is a relatively unedited look at the day to day life and musings of Justin Schorr, a firefighter paramedic for The San Francisco Fire Department.
With a keen eye, Justin looks at the current state of EMS in America (and the world) and points to what we can do to make it better. He also has an uncanny ability to find himself in the middle of some of the most create endeavors in EMS today, including The EMS Garage, Beyond the Lights and Sirens, A Seat at The Table and the EMS 2.0 movement. If you aren’t sure what any of those things are, you need to stop by www.thehapymedic.com and take a look. (Warning: whatever you had to do for the next 3 hours may have to wait.)
Why you should read it:
Justin has always been willing to put himself out there for the things he believes in. I admire that. Whether it’s putting a camera in the back of his rig and filming himself running calls or sitting at a table, challenging some of the biggest names in EMS to answer difficult questions, Justin acts boldly and he never flinches. When you read Justin’s blog you see exactly what a blog should be, one persons mind, poured out without reservation or cliche. Justin tells us what’s going on, and then he will tells us what he thinks about it. Whether you agree with his thoughts or not, he is always insightful and thought provoking.
I’ve read Justin’s blog regularly for the past three years and I’ve come to consider him a friend. When I’m mulling over current issues, I trust Justin’s insight. I hope you’ll add him to you list of trusted EMS resources too.
Follow me on this. Back in the day, they were Emergency Medical Services Magazine before they decided to shorten things up and become EMS Magazine. (Everyone called it that anyway.) Then they decided to swap out their old moniker for EMS World in early 2011. New name…same folks, same great content.
The home page for EMS World can be a little overwhelming. It’s a little like the old Yahoo search engine page circa 1992. It’s a bit of a collage. Everything EMS in one place. But it’s also a gold mine of EMS information. If you’re willing to dig in, EMS World is exactly what the new name promises. There are articles, news updates, forums, continuing education, videos, blogs and podcasts.
Why you should read it:
EMS World is the content king of EMS magazines. They always strive to have the most useful content out there. While other EMS magazines and resources have sold their soul to advertising, EMS World has alway maintained a decent balance of advertisements and content. They don’t dress up product ads like “real” feature articles. They put out solid infomation and they have since I was a fledgling EMT over two decades ago.
I grew up reading this magazine and they continue to influence my medicine to this day. They’ve been a trusted friend for my entire EMS career and they can be the same for you too.
If you’re a regular reader of The EMT Spot, you already know that I’m a fan of the snip-and-rip method of using trauma shears. If you don’t have time for the long review, snip-and-rip technique involves using your trauma shears to begin the cut at the cuff or hem of the clothing and then grabbing the clothing with both hands and ripping the fabric.
I’m not trying to brag, but I’ll put my snip-and-rip technique up against anyone with any technique for getting the patient uncovered fast. OK, make that any technique…with one exception. I’ll admit it. I can’t compete with Rip Shears.
Rip Shears have taken the snip-and-rip technique to a whole new level. If you haven’t seen these things yet, let me tell you about them.
The folks at Rip Shears came up with a unique idea to adapt the standard trauma shears with a cutting tool that can take over where your run of the mill trauma shears leave you hanging . Once you blot on the Rip Shears blade you’ll have a second blade that can do the ripping portion of the job as well.
The Rip Shears blade allows you to start the cut with your shears and then finish it with a sweep of the blade. T-shirts, jeans, boot laces, bunker gear and wet suits shred like butter with the Rip Shears blade.
Even with the best snip-and-rip technique, once your trauma shears have snipped the cuff or hem of the clothing, you’ll need to grab the fabric on either side of the cut and clumsily rip the garment with your hands. (If you can.) It takes time and can be painful for the patient. The Rip Shears are a clever little second blade that you can use to hook and rip the clothing after you’ve made the snip.
I know, it sounds complicated. It isn’t. Here’s a video:
When I saw this video I immediately wanted to try these out for myself, so I asked the folks at Rip Shears if I could take a pair of Rip Shears for a test run. I probably should have warned my partner that I had added a Rip Shears blade to my normal trauma shears. He was taken back for a few seconds the first time I tore through a patients jeans with them. When you use them, expect that you’ll raise a few eyebrows.
I can say first hand that these things work. They work just like you see in the video. Give the Rip Shears a try and you’ll be impressed at how fast you can strip a trauma patient. You won’t want to ever carry a pair of trauma shears without a Rip Shear blade bolted on to them again. I know I won’t.
In the world of EMS blogs, Everyday EMS Tips is the potpourri bowl of EMS information. Created by Greg Friese of Plover, Wisconsin in 2008, this website has maintained its eclectic spirit with style. You never really know what you’re going to get when you stop by Greg’s blog, but you can bet that there will be something there that’s both interesting and relevant.
When you walk around with as much EMS knowledge sloshing around between your ears as Greg Friese, you can’t help but have a wide range of topics to cover. When Greg sits down in front of his keyboard, his next post may be about blood pressure assessment, Power Point creation or the next iPhone EMS application. Greg started his blogging career as a regular columnist for EMS1 but he quickly realized that he had way more stuff to write about than he could cover than his regular column could hold. He started up Everyday EMS Tips and he’s been dispensing EMS knowledge, wisdom and minutia ever since.
If you stay tuned in to Greg’s blog regularly, you’ll find yourself frequently thinking to yourself, “Oh yeah, I read about this on Everyday EMS Tips.” Greg is a very connected guy in EMS and he’s a modern day Renaissance medic. (In the classic sense of the word.) Greg knows just about everyone who’s anyone in EMS and he keeps close tabs on what’s relevant to today’s EMS professional. Mixed in with his healthy dose of day-in-the-life minutia and whimsical views, is an avalanche of good stuff that every working EMT should know.
I like everything about Greg’s blog and I’m glad that he’s always been so willing to show up and post himself on his blog. That might be the best thing about Everyday EMS Tips. Greg doesn’t hide behind any artificial facade or title like “EMS author” or “educator”. Greg is just Greg. What you see is what you get and after you’ve enjoyed his writing for a while you really get the sense that you know him. Greg talks to his readers as if they are his friends. Because of his prolific writing and easy accessibility, many of them have become exactly that.
Mix your favorite EMS instructor with The New England Journal of Medicine with Rage Against the Machine and you’ve got Rogue Medic, a blog for the smart, non-conformist in all of us. The Rogue Medic is Tim Noonan, an experienced paramedic who created a blog under a few simple beliefs. First, much of what we do in EMS is flat out wrong. Second, EMS practitioners should be smarter and better at what we do.
To that end he created his blog, and, year after year, he’s delivered some of the best information out there about what’s real and what’s make-believe in the world of EMS research. In his own words, Tim’s mission is to frighten, intimidate or cause emotional distress to those who intend to keep EMS from improving.
Tim doesn’t pull any punches. He isn’t looking to make a lot of friends and he doesn’t care who he offends in his quest to dissect our EMS research, protocols and sacred cows. Tim’s brash, strait forward and opinionated and I like him a while lot, even when he’s picking apart my writings.
There are several things that makes Tim unique in the world of EMS blogs. First, he’s prolific. When he’s on a rant, he will go for 1,000, 2,000 even 3,000 words in his effort to sort out his opinion and make it into a well defined argument. Second, he’s willing to do the research and the leg work to write a really well informed blog. Make no mistake, what Tim does isn’t easy. Every word he writes is backed by a considerable amount of secondary research and exploration. He’s well informed and it shows. If you’re going to pick a fight with Tim, you better do your homework.
Why you should use his blog:
Rogue Medic is simply the best way to keep up on current EMS research. If you want to know the why or the why not behind the EMS treatments that you perform, you won’t find cleared insights that Tim’s. I’ve listened to him take on doctors and researchers with sharp insights and clear reasoning. You might not agree with everything he writes (and he’ll be the first one to tell you that you shouldn’t) but he will make you think critically about the care that you provide each shift.
A little sample from The Rogue Medic:
I rarely give oxygen.
We should be giving drugs only for a specific effect.
We should not be giving drugs just to satisfy a protocol.
We should not be giving drugs to satisfy a mnemonic.
A mnemonic is a memory aid.
A mnemonic is not a standing order.
-Tim Noonan
If you’re ready for more, it’s time to add Rogue Medic to your list of EMS blogs.
There are a bunch of EMS podcasts out there. The variety and selection can be really dizzying. Over the past few years, several really good ideas have come and gone. Many podcasts don’t survive because their creators don’t realize just how hard it is to turn out an interesting, quality podcast week after week. Listening to the witty banter and well planned subject matter might make the listener think, “Hey, I could do this every week.”
The truth is, good podcasting is hard. It’s difficult to put together the right people, the right subject with the technical aplomb to bring it all together. It also takes a good bit of focus and consistency to do it again every week. There are several EMS podcasts that have done the job well over the past few years. The first one I want to tell you about is The EMS Garage.
I love this podcast for a bunch of reasons but I love it first and foremost because it’s authentic. The people who participate in the show really like each other and it shows. The EMS Garage is the creative brain-child of Chris Montera, EMS’s very own podcaster-in-chief. Chris has been bringing together some of the most interesting characters in EMS for over four years now and the result is always informative and fun.
Why you should listen:
The huge challenge for any EMS podcaster is keeping the subject fresh and informative without being boring. Some EMS subjects can be boring with a capital “B”. The EMS Garage consistently delivers that same magical energy that you find out in the EMS bay after a long shift. Clearly, Chris named his podcast with the idea of capturing that energy in mind. He hit the mark from the start and he continues to hit it today.
I’ve been on The Garage a half dozen times over the years. I can say from experience that the banter that you hear on the air is actually a bit toned down from the way the guests actually interact behind the scenes. The folks interacting on The Garage actually like talking with each other and they really are having a good time. They’ll teach you something about EMS and you’ll enjoy listening to them while they do it.
Our first stop on our tour of online EMS resources is EMS1 and make no mistake, there’s a reason why they’re first. EMS1 got started in the online EMS business looking after the online presence of some of the industry’s top magazine’s before they decided to strike out on their own. That means that EMS1 has been in the online EMS business for a long, long time. It shows.
You might look at the EMS1 home page and think to yourself, “This looks a lot like several other big EMS websites.” You’re right. The key difference is that EMS1 isn’t copying anyone else. Inside the industry, they’re the design leaders. And you can see their influence everywhere. They also have their finger on the pulse of emergency services with a broader perspective than many folks who specialize in emergency medicine exclusively. EMS1 has two other popular websites for firefighters and police officers respectively.
Why you should use them:
EMS1 is the definitive online resource for relevant news and training information. Lots of EMS websites are packed full of information, but some sites have a strange idea about what’s really relevant to EMS folks. If you see it on EMS1, you can bet that it’s something you need to know. Beyond the standard news and training, EMS1 also provides an active forum where you can interact with other EMS providers and talk about whatever’s on your mind. There’s also a careers board if your looking for your next employment opportunity.
If you’re only going to use one EMS resources to keep you updated on what you need to know in the world of EMS, use EMS1.
I was recently walking around on the show floor at a popular EMS conference and I walked by one of those EMS t-shirt vendors. You know the ones. You’ve seen them before. A big booth filled with cheap, overpriced shirts covered with big hokey graphics, cartoonish lettering and tired EMS phrases like “Risking ours, saving yours!” I stood there looking over the wares and wondered to myself, “When is someone going to bring the EMS t-shirt into the 21st century?”
I mean really, it seemed like a major opportunity was being missed…and it was, until now.
Today I’m proud to tell you, right here on the front page of The Spot, that someone finally has made the EMS t-shirt cool.
I’m not talking about that dust covered book on the shelf at your EMS station (though you really should pick that up and read it too). I’m talking about the best thing to happen to EMS t-shirts since blended cotton. System Protocols takes the idea of the classic EMS t-shirt and throws it out the window. When I first saw these shirts I knew I had to get my hands on some of them. Once I had several of my very own shirts, I put them to the test. Then I called up the folks behind these shirts and begged them to let me tell my readers all about what they were doing.
What you get with System Protocols is a line of hand-drawn, unique, EMS inspired designs. These shirts look like they were created by a tattoo artist. What would it look like if you stuck a caduceus through a skull? What if the artist dropped the campy catch-phrases about running in while other people are running out and instead designed a shirt around Numbers 21:8? If you’d like to see, you need to check out these shirts.
If the designs look vaguely familiar to you, they might be. The folks behind System Protocols originally cut their clothing design teeth on a line of fire fighter clothing known as Black Helmet Apparel. System Protocols is the creative brainchild of the very same folks who design the Black Helmet line of clothing. Now they’ve taken their creative genius and applied it to the EMS lifestyle. The effect is perfect.
If you’re familiar with the quality and reputation of Black Helmet Apparel, you know what to expect from these shirts. If you haven’t heard about them, allow me to elaborate. These clothes are made with high quality fabrics that resist shrinking and fading. the graphics are printed using discharge printing which means that they don’t crack and they don’t fade after multiple washings.
Of course, you don’t have to believe me; you can try these shirts for yourself, risk free. System Protocols stands behind their clothing with a money back guarantee. If you aren’t fully satisfied with your purchase, you can return it and they will replace it or refund your money. Your choice. Now that I’ve worn these shirts around for a few months, I’m guessing that they don’t get very many of these garments shipped back to them.
If you’re done with the tired old EMS t-shirt, get in your closet and do some cleaning. Throw away those faded old shirts and make some room for your new stack of System Protocols t-shirts.
from your local news media or from your ongoing EMS education. Over the past few years, these products have been increasing in prevalence around the US and in Europe. But what are these products anyway? Are they cannabis or not? Are they legal to posses? Are the effects similar to traditional marijuana?
