Hi All!
I’m embarking on a quick vacation later this week to the US mainland - New Jersey/NYC and Washington, DC/Metro.
With EMS week about to start, I was wondering if anyone knew of any events happening in these areas?
I’d love to pop over and say hello!
Fleet Street Paramedic/Paramedicine:
Two of our most difficult call types - obesity and dementia - have now been linked together!
Here in North America this could have a major impact on EMS system and the clinicians working within. Each condition on it’s own creates unique challenges, and each having a ripple effect to other health issues.
Imagine a 200 KG dementia patient with chest pain? …this scenario makes my back, and my brain, hurt. (and murphy’s law applies here - no elevator and narrow stairs. Add a floor for every year you’ve been on the job…
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Quoted article from BBC News, posted 2013-05-11 at http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-22479049
Ever-growing waistlines could result in a big increase in the number of people who develop dementia in the future, researchers have warned.
“Previous studies have shown that being overweight in middle age increases the odds of developing the mental disorder.
Data presented at the European Congress on Obesity suggests stemming the rise in obesity will cut dementia.
The Alzheimer’s Society charity said regular exercise and a healthy weight were important for reducing risk.
Piling on too many pounds is known to be bad for the body, but there is growing evidence that it is also bad for the mind.
£940m saving predicted
Nobody knows exactly what causes dementias such as Alzheimer’s disease, but body weight appears to be a risk factor.
One study of 8,500 Swedish twins showed that those with a body mass index (BMI) greater than 30, who are classified as obese, were almost four times as likely to develop dementia as those with a normal BMI.
Even those who were clinically overweight, a BMI between 25 and 30, were 71% more likely to develop dementia.
In England 24% of men and 26% of women are obese. [Paramedicine: These rates are lower than Canadian and American rates!]
Researchers from the UK Health Forum used computer models to compare what would happen if obesity rates stayed the same or increased to 46% of men and 31% of women by 2050, which has been predicted by some groups.
They said rates of dementia would go from 4,894 cases in every 100,000 people over 65 to 6,662 cases in every 100,000 people over 65.
Keeping obesity levels constant would save around £940m in dementia care, the study predicted.
‘Immediate impact’
Tim Marsh of UK Health Forum said: “We’ve known for a long time about the risks to cardiovascular disease, stroke, cancer, type 2 diabetes, so this is a new concern.
“Obesity is a major concern that’s going to have a major economic impact on the country and this further compounds that.
“The trouble is there’s a 25-year lag in this. Obesity started increasing in the 80s.”
Jessica Smith, a research officer at Alzheimer’s Society, said: “It’s easy to see the immediate impact of piling on the pounds, but we can’t afford to ignore the long-term effects.
“Evidence shows that obesity increases the risk of developing dementia. This study highlights the impact obesity will have on the numbers of people with the condition in the future.
She added that “maintaining a healthy weight and exercising regularly - especially in midlife - are hugely important in reducing your risk.”
Links, photos and additional/related information is available at the BBC site: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-22479049.
Your response:
Reality:
…Not the best way to comfort the patient! haha. I was asked, “Have you delivered before?” … “No…”
The panic in her face seemed impossibly worse…
“…Well, not in a kitchen!” [queue confident smile] “phew, good save! …now catch!” I thought to myself.
The next sound was the brick hitting the floor behind me!
OK, it’s after midnight in my time zone… time to get off Tumblr!
Be safe everyone!
In case you haven’t heard, EMS week in Canada is May 26 to June 1, 2013!
Historically, EMS week in Canada was held simultaneously with EMS week in the US, however, the EMS (Emergency Medical Services) Week working group (a subcommittee of the Paramedic Chiefs of Canada Membership Services) decided to move it one week later to avoid the Victoria Day long weekend. The May “2-4” weekend is traditionally when most Canucks kick-off summer and escape the city.
The theme for 2013 is “EMS: Health Care in Motion! | SMU: Soins de santé en mouvement!”
Will you be participating? When is EMS week in your country?
For my American friends, EMS week runs May 19th to 25th and is themed “EMS: One Mission. One Team”
Hi all!
I’ve decided to sever my personal twitter account from paramedicine.tumblr.com and have established @Fleet_St_Medic as the official feed to this blog.
So if you’re on twitter, hook it up!
OK, here goes! Coffee in hand - lets hope this comes out right!
An EMT and/or Paramedic handbook in PDF… That’s a tough one!
Based on your blog, you’re not an aspiring paramedic from Ontario… so I’m not sure how helpful this will be!
Lots of BLS/ALS protocol/directive documents exist, however, they are specific to the province/state/territory in which they are issued.
For example, I keep up on two standards - one for Newfoundland (BLS - this is from 2010 - not current for symptom relief) where I currently practice, and one for Ontario (BLS and ALS) where I’m from.
The BLS and ALS from Ontario are far more detailed than Newfoundland’s BLS - same level of practice, different levels of spelling it out.
One document I’d recommend for every paramedic - The Prehospital Emergency Care Syllabus. It states everything you need and should know if you’re a paramedic in Ontario, but most of it applies to paramedicine in general/world-wide.
For Brazil, I couldn’t find a specific PDF - but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist. A Google search for SBV (Suporte básico de vida) - resulted in some promising results, but can’t read/speak Portuguese, so can’t be sure.
Thank you for the reply!
Click here for the original post
I received the above reply to this post…
My intentions are not malicious, but I do want to clarify a few things. In my post, I mentioned that Canada has three levels of Paramedics - not just Ontario and Newfoundland.
Also, in Canada, using the national standard (NOCP codes) set forth by the Paramedic Association of Canada, we have the following levels of practice:
Emergency Medical Responder (EMR)
Primary Care Paramedic (PCP)
Advanced Care Paramedic (ACP)
Critical Care Paramedic (CCP)
Two important notes: First, an EMR is not considered to be a paramedic - that is why EMR is its own classification. And second, not all provinces follow this setup exactly - many areas of Alberta, for example, use the EMT designation with a sub designation (B, A, P, etc) as an equivalent to the national titles.
Paramedic wages can vary greatly depending on which country you’re working in. Within most countries, the wage and be further diversified depending on which state/province/city you’re working in.
I’m not aware of a specific site or document that compares wages from around the world, so can only give you a rough idea of wages for Canada and a really rough estimate for the United States of America.
Here in Canada, paramedics are divided into three levels:
Primary Care Paramedic (PCP): Entry-level wages range from $18.50/hour (Newfoundland and Labrador) and are as high as $34-$37/hour in Ontario.
Advanced Care Paramedics (ACP): Typically start in the upper 20’s to low 30’s/hour (Newfoundland) and may start as high as $45 an hour in Ontario.
Critical Care Paramedics (CCP): I’m not sure of the hourly wage, but based on data I’ve seen from Ontario, I’d estimate they are in the $50-$70/hour range.
In the United States, wages can range from the state-legislated minimum wage ($8-12/hour) and be as high as the market allows.
For specifics, I’ll ask those who are reading this to pitch-in! - What are the ranges of wages in your area? (and please don’t forget to let me know the state/province/country and level of practice!) - If I get enough replies, I’ll publish the results for all to see.
This Ad Has a Secret Anti-Abuse Message That Only Kids Can See
From Gizmodo:
“In an effort to provide abused children with a safe way to reach out for help, a Spanish organization called the Aid to Children and Adolescents at Risk Foundation, or ANAR for short, created an ad that displays a different message for adults and children at the same time.
The secret behind the ad’s wizardry is a lenticular top layer, which shows different images at varying angles. So when an adult—or anyone taller than four feet, five inches—looks at it they only see the image of a sad child and the message: “sometimes, child abuse is only visible to the child suffering it.” But when a child looks at the ad, they see bruises on the boy’s face and a different message: “if somebody hurts you, phone us and we’ll help you” alongside the foundation’s phone number…”
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This is brilliant!
Eric Gryba Hit On Lars Eller
2013-05-02 - Game One of the Ottawa/Montréal Quarter Final series
A suicide pass resulting in a bad collision… I think most people agree - the hit wasn’t intentional!
Wishing Lars Eller a speedy recovery!
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Now - here’s a question: Many hockey arenas in Canada utilize the local paramedic service for arena to hospital transports.
If this happened at your local arena, would you have immobilized the patient?
