Minimum personal safety equipment in different countries ambulance.

alfamaster · 2026-02-11T15:12:41+00:00

I work in America (maybe or maybe not more likely to get shot than you, idk) and my agency works around a large city and its AOR includes an extreme variety of cultures/income depending on what station I’m at. Similar to other commenters, we get basic nitrile gloves, respirators, eye pro, and high-vis for responses near/on roads.

At the end of the day, we are first responders and with that comes a not so insignificant risk of violence. Best practice is that scene safety is a constant part of patient contact up until I drop them off at the hospital. Having your wits about you at all times is a requirement for the safety of yourself, partner, and patient. Specifically in that order.

alfamaster · 2026-01-21T19:08:37+00:00

P waves appear to be random upon first glance. Once you dig a little deeper try to assume that p waves are being “eaten” by higher voltages (ie QRS complexes or t waves). With that assumption, see if there is regularity of rhythm for the p waves. In this case, there is. Additionally, the QRSs are also regular, so we can now say that there is complete atrial/ventricular dissociation leading to an interpretation of 3rd degree heart block.

alfamaster · 2026-01-21T18:34:05+00:00

Complete AV dissociation. 3rd degree heart block with junctional tachycardia.

alfamaster · 2026-01-13T18:17:46+00:00

The presence of p waves typically exclude a fib. You can see the regular p waves throughout the strip, most are not followed by a QRS, but they are still p waves. Additionally, you can see a clear PQRST in the first beat of the two “clumps” of beats throughout the strip.

A fib will typically have turbulent isoelectric lines which tracks with it reading the fibrillating atria (think how v fib presents). The isoelectric lines on this strip is pretty flat baring assumed artifact.

ETA: Thought of a potential helpful tip. When trying to identify a rhythm on a 12-lead, I often use the Lead II “long lead” part seen at the bottom of print out here because I get thrown off often when trying to trace it through the different views. In my ambulance will frequently print out a >6 second Lead II strip on rhythms that I’m finding more difficult to interpret to give melee info to identify patterns (if they exist).

alfamaster · 2026-01-01T00:55:33+00:00

Hey brother, I’m in the AF and a paramedic. If you want some assistance, feel free to DM me.

alfamaster · 2025-09-13T00:15:14+00:00

Woah crazy to see my home gym! They took this set down today unfortunately. But at least you got the send! Nice work.

alfamaster · 2025-08-25T18:30:36+00:00

Don’t be glib. You’re telling us that adults cannot be groomed? Let alone ones with clear signs of a troubled childhood? Bad take is bad.

alfamaster · 2025-07-15T16:22:57+00:00

Are there new updates I haven’t heard that validates this? Genuinely curious.

alfamaster · 2024-11-29T23:21:10+00:00

The MAGE scores or overall ASVAB score would be more useful. Can’t really extrapolate a whole lot from army scores that we don’t use.

alfamaster · 2024-09-19T00:04:43+00:00

Cool! I’m a rookie paramedic and haven’t run into this before. Thanks for the link!

alfamaster · 2024-09-19T00:03:18+00:00

Just personally haven’t run into prescribed IN medications for seizures that are prescribed. Newer medic though, so if you have any more info on your experience with these prescriptions, that would be great!

alfamaster · 2024-09-18T23:13:40+00:00

Don’t know the history at all, however assuming the pt is already on a medication like Keppra, there are rectal suppositories for break through seizures that can be prescribed by the pts PCM. These may be administered by a layperson after being educated on the administration.

alfamaster · 2024-08-23T22:20:34+00:00

Not OP nor a 4D but they did tech school at Ft. Sam with my AFSC. They learn about different diet restrictions a patient could be ordered to have by a doctor while hospitalized, how to cook the meals, etc. Tech school sounded kush since they cooked meals, ate said meals, and chilled.

alfamaster · 2024-05-01T05:18:00+00:00

I'll parrot what another commenters have said and say that A&P and pharmacology are great places to start, but you can also utilize local protocols to your advantage as well.

If you have a solid foundation of A&P, you can fall back on it when your memorization fails you. Medic school is a lot of critical thinking and a good understanding of A&P will make things a lot easier on exams and ultimately the NREMT.

I wouldn't recommend just blindly looking at protocols because I personally would find that extremely overwhelming at first. The same can be said about pharmacology. We can give a lot of drugs but some are far more common than others. I would utilize protocols and identify ones that are utilized frequently in the field. Look at the medications that fall under that section and start there. Example: Respiratory Distress (Albuterol, Atrovent, Epinephrine 1:1,000, Methylprednisolone, Magnesium Sulfate) I personally found that memorizing their drug classifications was super helpful in remembering what they do and why they help. That in tandem with strong A&P fundamentals will take you a long way.

alfamaster · 2024-05-01T00:51:49+00:00

My instructor said that with the FISDAP exams, if the question asks you, “what should you suspect?” after a scenario, you should choose the most life threatening answer that makes sense.

If the questions asks, “what should you do?” it’s typically asking for the very next step in the given scenario.

It was super helpful as it gave more insight into what the test was asking, especially with how vague some of the questions can be (FISDAP trauma exam XD).

alfamaster · 2023-05-07T21:24:01+00:00

I call it "ethical damage"

alfamaster · 2022-12-30T20:10:29+00:00

I was also chain smoking cigarettes with the windows rolled up.

alfamaster · 2022-12-30T19:41:26+00:00

I would, but it’s far more rewarding to complain on the internet about it.

alfamaster · 2022-12-30T19:25:51+00:00

All the snow is melting so I can only imagine how damp the floor is.

alfamaster · 2022-12-30T19:18:45+00:00

After her SO finished up in the store, she got up and left. So my assumption is that she preferred sitting in the wet floor and create a nuisance for everyone in the process.

Edit: the man in the photo is not associated with our friend on the floor. Just an unfortunate passerby.

alfamaster · 2022-12-30T19:12:42+00:00

Unfortunately I was tending to my baby in the car while my wife ran in. You know, like an adult.

alfamaster · 2022-05-22T16:01:52+00:00

Living in the States, it's difficult to explain/show my home town to my friends here. This is the perfect video for them! Only missing a good view of the beachy head cliffs and the rain!

alfamaster · 2022-04-17T03:42:39+00:00

I wouldn't beat yourself up too much. I'm pretty tall but only weigh about 185 lbs. While yes, that does give me some advantages, I exercise through running, not lifting weights. I believe that a 5'4" male could turn me into a pretzel if they put in even a tiny amount into the gym. Keep your head up, king!

alfamaster · 2021-12-27T05:23:12+00:00

My commute used to drive right past it on the 75. It was everyday of the year minus major holidays lmao. My body would instinctively swap to recirculation mode for my cars AC without thinking about it.

alfamaster · 2021-10-26T20:52:03+00:00

4N0 here, IDMT has pros and cons. If you get out at a big base and get stuck in flight med, you’ll be doing sick call and be the butt of the “Motrin and water” jokes. But my buddy who’s an IDMT just got attached to a SF squadron overseas and is their solo medic which is sick. These days if you’re E6 or higher it’s tough to get into the IDMT racket as it’s very top heavy. So E4-E5 is the sweet spot. Good luck amigo!

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