Welcome to Episode 64

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A podcast for EMT’s, Paramedics, and other medical providers of all kinds.

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Link of the Week: Chief Rick at the Mitigation Journal Podcast

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News:

EMT Students Deliver Baby

Web MD on COPD

Prescription Volume Overloading Pharmacists

Rape Victim Sues Paramedic Over MySpace Post

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Tip/Trick of the Week — Safe Lifting — Interview with Terri Burgess

Christiana Care PEEPS

Mangar Lift Cushions

VA on Safe Patient Handling and Moving

EMT Lifting

Overhead Lifts at Hospitals

Phil-E-Slide

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Visit the MedicCast Forums

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Thanks for Supporting the MedicCast!

Rate the podcast at iTunes or at EMS Village or Vote at Podcast Alley

Visit the MedicCast Store!

Get the New MedicCast Newsletter — Sign up now — it’s free!

Other Podcasts: MedicCast News and MedicCast Live!

Contact Me!
Call the Voice Mail Line — (941) 306-3342

send me a note at podmedic@mac.com

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Music from the Podsafe Music Network — Brett Mikels

Let it Go — Click here to get this song at iTunes or the button below

Click here to get other Songs from the MedicCast at the iTunes Store.

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Until next time, Scene safety, BSI!

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 2.5 License

Peter Canning wrote up a great blog column this week of comments overheard throughout his day. Comments from the ER, the patients, their families, his colleagues, and even the radio and pagers.

Very funny and good stuff. How many have you heard (or said) before?

Check it out here at Peter’s blog Streetwatch: Notes of a Paramedic.

I found this article on a press release serviceto which I subscribe.  It’s a got many, 7 in fact, good ideas to get kids more active and invite their parents along for the ride.  It might be a way for the rest of us to get in better shape this spring right next to our kids.

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7 Exercises for Kids that President Bush has Never Heard Of

In a recent meeting regarding rising rates in childhood obesity, President Bush oversimplifies the answer, urging parents to go for a hike with their kids.

According to Jerry Hill, founder of Alexandria-based FitForce Camp, he agrees that it’s a great idea to get kids outdoors, but he adds that it won’t work unless you get creative. “Kids are going to quickly tire of ‘hiking or conservation’, as suggested by the President and his team.” He recommends parents “engage kids through games or challenges” to make it interesting.

As the rates of obesity in America continue to escalate for adults, and more notably for children, it’s more than a walk around the block that’s needed. Physical fitness needs to be incorporated into families’ lives, and the only successful way to do that is to make exercising interesting for all family members. Hill often uses home-made equipment with his camp members to introduce unique movements, making exercise novel and fun. “Bush is on the right track by supporting exercise that doesn’t require fancy equipment” states Hill, “But there’s more fun to be had in burning calories.” Hill suggests parents use items from their garage instead of spending thousands on a treadmill or an elliptical. “You can pick up an old tire, usually for no charge, and turn it into a fun and effective workout tool.” He goes on to talk about how anyone can make their own medicine ball, “Puncture a basketball with a tire repair kit and ! fill it with playground sand. Seal up the hole with some glue and you’re all set to play.”

Inspiration to exercise comes from making it fun and effective. Hill recommends incorporating these 7 movements:

1. Tire sprints; “Take a piece of rope. Tie one end of it around the tire, the other end around your waste and then take off running (or walking).”

2. Tire Flips; “Squat down and flip a tire forward for distance.”

3. Tire jumps; “Jump in and out of the tire for repetitions or total time.”

4. “If your kid is old enough have them hit the tire with a sledgehammer! Most hardware stores carry and 8lb sledge, kids will love hitting that tire!”

5. Medicine ball thrusters; “Hold the ball high on your chest and in front of your face, squat down and as you stand up throw the ball in the air. Creating an 8 foot target for your kid to hit will increase the challenge and make it more competitive.”

6. Medicine ball hurls; “Throw the medicine ball for distance, run to the ball in between attempts. Cover a set course and attempt different style of throws; underhand scoop, overhead or shot put.”

7. Medicine ball slams; “Hold the ball over your head and slam it to the ground, squat down to grab it and repeat.” “This one is a FitForce Camp favorite.”

The best thing a parent can do is exercise right along next to their kid; scale the repetitions, weight or distance and create a solid exercise bond with your child.

For more outdoor exercises, get instant access to Hill’s free report; 21 Exercises for Your Fitness Survival by signing up for his newsletter at Fit Force Camp.

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Stay healthy and stay safe!

Jamie

the Podmedic

A discussion came up about the true value of getting the extra 3 leads when obtaining a twelve lead ECG. Do we really need to get v4R, v7, v8, and v9?

For those of you that don’t know what I’m talking about here’s a quick overview. The standard 12 lead looks at the front, bottom, and sides of the heart (anterior, inferior, and lateral walls). It also looks at the septal wall.

But — there is a big hole in the picture there because it doesn’t look at the right heart or the back of the heart.

The argument is that by getting the extra views (15 or 18 leads), you can pick up on right side and posterior wall MI. They read ST elevation and depression just like you’d read any other lead.

Looking at these views of the heart is important since these areas are heavily reliant on preload to supply blood to be pumped. When preload goes away in an area that is having trouble contracting to pump, you affect pump supply to the whole heart and may cause the patient to crash — HARD. Nitrates may not be indicated or indicated in lower doses.

Here’s an article that discusses this.

What do all think?

Welcome to Episode 63

The MedicCast is a proud member of the Blubrry Podcast Network.

Right click to download this episode or click the little arrow to listen here.

A podcast for EMT’s, Paramedics, and other medical providers of all kinds.

Fill out our Survey!

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MedicCast Listener Deals at GoDaddy.com –

Code BLU27 gets you 10% off your order at checkout
Code POD27 gets you 10% off any web hosting order at checkout
Try them out and get your piece of the internet at GoDaddy.com!

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Helen’s Podcast link: U of Iowa Emergency Medicine Podcast (iTunes Link)

Link of the Week: Way Out EMS Blog (Rural EMS in the northeast)

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News:

Paramedic Response collision

Racial Slurs Endured by Trainee

Va Tech Shooting Responders

WHO Report on MVAs

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Tip/Trick of the Week — NREMT Skills - Bleeding Control

NREMT pdf download

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Med of the Week — Ammonia Inhalant Capsules

JEMS on Ammonia Inhalant Capsules

Bryan Bledsoe’s JEMS column

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Visit the MedicCast Forums

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Thanks for Supporting the MedicCast!

Rate the podcast at iTunes or at EMS Village or Vote at Podcast Alley

Visit the MedicCast Store!

Get the New MedicCast Newsletter — Sign up now — it’s free!

Other Podcasts: MedicCast News and MedicCast Live!

Contact Me!
Call the Voice Mail Line — (941) 306-3342

send me a note at podmedic@mac.com

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Music from the Podsafe Music Network — Beau Hall

She’s Too Rich For Me — Click here to get this song at iTunes or the button below

Click here to get other Songs from the MedicCast at the iTunes Store.

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Until next time, Scene safety, BSI!

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 2.5 License

blubrry.com

This week’s shooting at Virginia Tech has us all wondering about what was going through the minds of the first responders on the scene there.  I found a great article that talks about the student run volunteer EMS department on campus and the comments of one of the student EMTs that was first on the scene and began treating the wounded as they left the building, many with multiple gunshot wounds.

Here’s the story.

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I report on this and other EMS news in the most recent episode of the MedicCast News at the Podcaster News Network.

Jamie

the Podmedic

Ok, I know I don’t usually post stuff like this and I’m not going to make a habit of it but this site has a pretty amusing fake aristocratic name generator and I got a good laugh out of it.

Take care and watch your back!

Jamie

My Peculiar Aristocratic Title is: Viscount James the Imaginary of Dramble Buzzcock Get your Peculiar Aristocratic Title

With news this week focusing on the shootings at Virginia Tech, I know that we all have been thinking about our trauma assessment skills.

Tonight was our monthly in-service training with our ED nurses and one of the Docs. Dr. Karen LeFrak discussed major trauma assessment with us and refocused some things for us. Things that I think all of us already knew but needed to be reminded of.

It’s the basics that make the difference between life and death in major trauma, be it MVAs, industrial accidents, or penetrating trauma like GSWs or stabbings. Dr. LeFrak told us to pay attention to . . . . . . Wait for it . . .

. . . A B C D E’s

Don’t get distracted by flashy, gory or exciting peripheral injuries and miss the tiny dot of a thoracic penetrating injury. Be methodical and systematic all of the time, every time.

Airway, Breathing, Circulation (bleeding), Deformity/Disability, Expose

Thanks Dr. LeFrak for a great class!

And for the rest of you, pay attention to your surroundings and stay safe!

While on calls, I often get asked by family members if I carry directions to the hospital to which we’re transporting their loved one. I don’t make the mistake of assuming that they’ll follow us and not run every light while they tailgate the ambulance all the way to the hospital. I learned that lesson a while back on a call in the wee hours of the morning:

I was transporting a gentleman with an STEMI when I noticed that a car was behind us and getting closer. Then I saw her run a red light after we went through (we slowed to a near stop and it was 3 AM). A trooper who happened to be waiting for us to pass at the same intersection saw her fly through it to catch up with us and started after her, his lights a-blazin’.

She wouldn’t pull over and then when the trooper tried to get beside her, she slowed like she was going to stop and then sped on by when he pulled in behind her. This went on for some time and it was fascinating to watch out of the back window while I treated her father. Eventually she pulled over and we continued down the road. My driver called back that she had run every stop sign and light since we left the house.

We were making up the stretcher in the ER when a trooper walked up to me and asked, “Did you tell that woman I pulled over that she needed to keep up with you because her father was dying?”

I just looked at him for a minute while my driver started laughing. I told him with a completely straight face, “We never tell anyone something like that. They could kill somebody.”

My driver at the time then said, “You didn’t let her off with a warning after you chased her for five miles, did you?”

The trooper just looked at us for a second and then walked away.

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Anyway, I thought of this today and thought I’d share it with you. Don’t assume that family members know what to do. Explain to them that they won’t be allowed back in the ER room for 10 or 15 minutes anyway and to take their time. Otherwise, you might see a very interesting show on the way to the hospital.

Also, I found this site that offers free directions to many hospitals in the U.S. You can search by state, by name, or by other criteria. Check it out.

Stay safe!

Hey gang!

I recently mentioned increased suicide rates for teens on antidepressants and I didn’t have an answer as to why this happened for them. All I could do was report on the CDC warnings. Well, listener Valerie has come through for us with an answer. She’s a Pennsylvania EMT and a current nursing student in a BSN program. Here’s what she sent to me:

In the April 9 podcast you mentioned children and teenagers who were being prescribed antidepressant medications. You said that you weren’t sure why there was an increase in suicide rates after being started on antidepressant medications. As a nursing student who is currently involved in my psychiatric rotation, I can answer that question.

If a patient is truly depressed, meaning that they are experiencing signs and symptoms of depression such as a lack of pleasure in activities, a lack of motivation, dysphoria, reduced energy, a change in appetite and sleep, and finally feelings of hopelessness, then they simply do not have the energy or motivation to carry out their suicidal ideations.

Once antidepressants are started, they take approximately 4-6 weeks before the full therapeutic level is reached. It is during this time that patients are at an increased risk for suicide because the medications are starting to work. They have more energy, are starting to sleep better, and have more motivation than they did several weeks previous. If the patient truly wants to kill themself, this would be the time they are the most likely to succeed. Their sucide plan was there all along, but they now have the internal energy to carry it out. I hope this helps! Keep up the good work!

Thanks to Valerie and all of the other listeners that offer suggestions, comments, and corrections to the show. I rely on all of you to use the podcast and the website to share information so that all of us can become better providers!

Stay safe!

Jamie

the Podmedic

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