FEATURED IN ADMINISTRATION AND LEADERSHIP
- Volunteer EMS Staff Protects More Than 2,000 People in Colo.
- Using and Understanding EMS Buzzwords
- Effective Communication is a Key Tool for EMS Managers
- ‘Scene Safe’ Mantra Provides EMS Danger
- Using “CPIs” to Help Prevent Legal Troubles
- Pro Bono: Are You Always On Call?
- How the Affordable Care Act Will Change EMS
"Proof of Life" was spot on to recommend a strip from the cardiac monitor. However, it didn_t mention thatfamily members must not be allowed to see the monitoror [should] be out of the room at the time of a recording. A deceased loved one with a pacemaker firing at 70times a minute will look exactly like the patient has a heartbeat and create concernfrom the family you really don_t want. Been there, done that.
Richard Blanchet, BS, MBA, Paramedic
Belleville, Illinois
I agree providers must be very careful and deliberate in their assessment of these patients.However,can_t one argue that placing the patient on the cardiac monitor necessitates an aggressive resuscitationper ACLS?We have an algorithm to treat asystole, yet we should fail to employ it?I would rather err on documenting "injuries incompatible with sustaining life" and forgo the ECG.
Jon Kavanagh
Via Internet
Where Safety Starts
It seems deeply ingrained in our psyche to shun any safety improvements we feel may interfere with "our way" of patient care. ["The Hazards to Providing Care in an Ambulance," JEMS.com].Our attitudes about safety need to change from the time we_re in our initial EMT class. If individual providers would not only cooperate with safety initiatives but demand them, we_d get a lot further, a lot faster.
Raymond J. Barth
Executive Director, Susquehanna (Pa.) Township EMS
Delegation Hesitation
I_m doing my field time with AMR for paramedic school, and my preceptor had me read "Pass it On" [August JEMS]. After reading Raphael Barishansky_s article,I know my delegation skills will improve during my field time and throughout my career. I plan on sharing this with my classmates.
Dan Nuœez, EMT-I
RCC Paramedic Class Ten, Riverside, California
Correction
On p. 67 in the conclusion to the September article "Of EMS, By EMS, For EMS," the author did not intend to state anything in particular about his agency but rather was commenting on changes that have come to pass in EMS in general.JEMS
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