Updating the stroke assessment Direct percutaneous puncture of the cervical carotid artery remained the primary technique unto the 1960s to visualize intracranial blood vessels until Seldinger’s technique was introduced in 1953. This was a diagnostic procedure after the stroke or TIA (Varon, Varon, & Nyman, 2007) I was employed as a Radiologic Technologist (X-ray tech) in [...]
Are you pulling my leg? -femur fractures The Thomas splint was first introduced by Hugh Owen Thomas in 1875, in his book titled, Diseases of the hip, knee and ankle joints with their deformities, treated by a new and efficient method. Across the western front, the splint was adopted and by 1917, it had become standard issue [...]
The human renal system is responsible for not only filtering blood of impurities, it is also responsible for maintaining the acid base balance within very tight tolerances and discarding toxins and by products of cellular metabolism via urine. It consists not only of the kidneys but also the ureters, urinary bladder and the urethra. The nephron [...]
As temperatures rise, heat-related emergencies become a significant concern for emergency medical service (EMS) providers. While most people associate heat-related incidents with dehydration or heatstroke, respiratory emergencies induced by heat exposure are often overlooked. I would like to shed light on the topic of heat-related respiratory emergencies, providing EMS providers with essential knowledge and strategies to [...]
Veins, Drains, and Brains (nothing rhymes with automobiles except glockenspiels) We’re familiar with IVs and ETs but there are a variety of tubes going into or out of patients. Veins A central venous catheter, (Braner, Lai, Eman, & Tegtmeyer, 2007)is usually placed via the right subclavian vein by a physician is advanced into the superior vena [...]
Anytime I am teaching a class, talking about congenital heart defects, I always talk about a unique patient that I had many years ago. I was once dispatched to transport a two year old girl who was having cardiac issues. When I arrived on scene, I found an unresponsive little girl, whose mother was doing CPR. [...]
I am a bit of a computer geek, ask anyone who knows me. When I was in the Navy, living on board ship, my weekends off were spent with the brand-new computer system learning how to organize everything from storeroom supplies to schedules of the S2 division. My supervisors and shipmates all thought I was crazy [...]
Just Culture has gained significant attention in the healthcare industry, but when I talk about it in our EMT and paramedic course it seems that the concept has a way to go. Too many of our peers do not feel comfortable making a mistake and owning it without punishment up to and including suspension or [...]
The autonomic nervous system, which is subdivided into the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous system, plays a critical role in how the body responds to the stressors we encounter. Our body uses a negative feedback loop to respond to those stressors. As our body encounters a stressor, the sympathetic nervous system releases hormones into the bloodstream. Epinephrine, [...]
