Hang around any EMS advisory council meeting or attend a few local, State or Federal EMS symposiums and eventually you may hear some talk about the EMS Agenda 2050. So what is all the fuss about and how does it affect me now and in the future? EMS Agenda 2050 has been described as a [...]
Were you ever told not to give Ketamine to your head injury patients, hypertensive patients, increased intracranial pressure (ICP) patients? I was taught that. “Early studies suggested that ketamine could increase intracranial pressure, decreasing cerebral perfusion pressure and thereby reducing oxygen supply to the damaged cerebral cortex.” (NIH, 2022). There have been 11 recent studies [...]
As of 2017, it is reported that at least 75 percent of American adults are overweight, obese, or morbidly obese, so it is not surprising that more and more people are trying to lose weight. I know that we have all heard about the recently popular weight loss shots: Ozempic (Semaglutide), Mounjaro (Terzepatide), Wegovy, Zepbound, [...]
I understand that discussions about wearing masks for protection from COVID can evoke some strong emotions and differing opinions. However, I believe that using basic math we can come to the realization of what truly works and what does not work. Let’s first look at what is a virus and the sizes of viruses: A [...]
OK, so you decide to finally look up how much continuing education hours you have either accrued or need to successfully re certify your National Registry of Emergency Medical Technicians (NREMT) certification using the continuing education option. Being in EMS, one thing we are all good at is waiting until the last minute to check [...]
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) sets forth regulations and standards to ensure workplace safety. As emergency responders we too must follow all these safety standards even though our jobs do contain some very high risks. This article is to help you and your agency provide an understandable outline to set up your own training [...]
Thermal burns occur with alarming frequency. Nearly a half a million americans suffer burn injuries severe enough to require specialized burn care annually. Of those, approximately 3500 adults and children suffer fatal burns, this works out to just under 10 fatalities per day. Add that to the number of individuals who suffer smoke inhalation or [...]
Most healthcare providers, when asked would equate the role of the pancreas with blood sugar regulation. While true, this fact was unknown until the late 19th century. The pancreas’ role in blood sugar regulation was initially discovered by Dr. Oscar Minkowski and Dr Joseph VonMering much by accident. These two researchers were studying the role of [...]
When EMS professionals report to work, it’s no surprise that a lot of our patients are going to be sick. It’s nothing new for us, but this means that we are exposed to sick person after sick person, germ after germ. This can be physically overwhelming for us sometimes. We often work long hours, running [...]
The History of the Modern Pacemaker and Symptomatic Bradycardia The year was 1952 and Paul Zoll introduced the first transcutaneous cardiac pacemaker to treat symptomatic bradycardia. Six years later, the first successful implantation of a pacemaker was performed in Sweden on Arne Larsson by performing a thoracotomy and suturing 2 epicardial electrodes to the heart. [...]
