Sepsis: A Paramedic’s Guide to Rapid Recognition and Lifesaving Interventions

As a paramedic or AEMT, you are on the frontlines of Sepsis care, providing crucial care in emergency situations. One condition that requires swift recognition and immediate action is sepsis. Sepsis is a life-threatening condition that can develop rapidly, making early detection and intervention essential. In this blog, we will explore what sepsis is, its [...]

Using ETCO2 to Diagnose Sepsis

End-tidal carbon dioxide (ETCO2) has been around for a while now.  We started with the main-stream (BVM/ ET tube attachment) that we can use on our mechanically ventilated patients, and then we progressed to having the side-stream (nasal cannula type device) that we can use on all of our breathing patients.  End-tidal has become the gold [...]

Special Healthcare Needs

The term “Special Healthcare Needs” means different things to different people. Collectively, patients with special healthcare needs encompasses the geriatric, bariatric, pediatric, sensory impaired, technologically dependent patients, behaviorally challenged patients and many others. Every group has special challenges, risk factors and needs as well as the fact that our approach to them as health care providers [...]

Ugg another CPR recert!?!?

As a medical professional, have you ever wondered why we have to do a CPR refresher class every two years?  It seems like you just took the class, and now it’s time to do it again.  While in the class, you might even be thinking “this is the exact same information from two years ago”.  Well, [...]

Opioids Overuse

Morphine, Dilaudid, Fentanyl… these are medications that we have been giving our patients for years, to treat their pain.  Chest pain, give an opioid.  Broken bone, give an opioid.  Abdominal pain, give an opioid.  Back pain, give an opioid.  For many years, these were our only pain medication options in an ambulance.  That is finally starting [...]

Emotional Aspect of Field Triage

In the medical profession, it is not unthinkable that we might have to triage people during a mass casualty incident, or MCI.  From multi-vehicle car crashes, mass shootings, terroristic attacks, and even weather-related incidents, such as tornados, earthquakes, or hurricanes.  Within just a matter of moments, we can easily become overwhelmed by patients, all begging for [...]

The body’s Nervous System

      The body’s Nervous System is a very complex system that controls all functions of the body from purposeful movement to regulation of homeostasis and everything in between. We will be dividing it into the Central nervous System (CNS) and the Peripheral Nervous System (PNS) for the purposes of this discussion. These two subdivisions [...]

Tylenol and your now very sick patient

As medical professionals, when we are assessing our patients, one of the most common questions that we ask, is “what medications are you taking?”  A lot of medics think that we only need to know about prescriptions medications, but this is not true.  We need to know all of the patient’s prescription medications, all of their [...]

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD)

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a diagnosis that has been around for a very long time but is becoming increasingly more common for emergency medical services personnel to encounter. Quality of care and correct care comes down to having a basic understanding of ASD.  Autism spectrum disorder is a disability that causes delays in communication, social [...]