Brushing Up

So I know this blog is normally about fire stuff but my job is actually 85% EMS. So a huge part of training at our department and others like us is EMS Continuing Education. It helps to keep our skills up and its also a state requirement to keep our certs. So in that vein, I recently took a 48 hour paramedic refresher course that helped me finish up all the requirements I have to re-up my card. Not only that, but I learned some cool new skills and reviewed A TON of old ones I haven't reviewed in years.

A few new tools I learned to use in airway patients;
1. The bougie introducer- This is an awesome tool that helps a medic gain access to the vocal chords prior to intubation.
2. The Salt Airway- An pseudo-oral airway you put in prior to blindly inserting an ET tube that makes it almost impossible to miss.
3. The Grandview Blade- I've always been a mac blade kinda guy but this thing helps you see everything by moving the entire tongue out of the way. I'm checking into getting one at my department.
4. Retrograde Cricothyrotomy- If all hell breaks loose and this is your last option for an airway, its an interesting way of doing things. I also had the opportunity to practice this and other procedures on pig trachs courtesy of Kiko Meats in Akron.

I also learned an easier way to take secondary 12 leads in inferior MI's by moving the V4 lead to the opposite side of the chest, taking another read and labeling the 12-lead as V4R for the hospital.

All in all, it is an inconvenience to lose two weekends to talk EMS, but this is what we do most of the time. And who knows when we'll need the skills we rarely use but need thorough training in. I'd recommend the class to anyone looking to brush up on their skills as well as get a ton of CE.