Medic215.com

I.V. Driprate Calculator!

I heard recently that in a nursing program in Des Moines, a nurse instructor utilized an entire whiteboard for a simple I.V. drip calculation. This news inspired me to create a simple I.V. driprate calculator that anyone can use, or even copy the code and add it to their site (if you do so, please credit my website, medic215.com for the code). To see/use the calculator, click the link below and enjoy!
I.V. Drip Calculator

BIG NEWS!

While I was on a 1st out shift, Erin called at 0357 to tell me that it was time for our new baby! She said that her contractions were 4-6 min apart and becoming more and more intense. I quickly called the supervisor and our dispatch to get off work. When I got home, at 0406, Erin was in a lot of pain (naturally) and had everything together to head to the hospital. I quickly got Emma out of bed and loaded the truck with our supplies. It took a few minutes to get all of that done. We got to the hospital at 0426 and to OB at 0430. Everything went pretty fast from there. Erin's parents arrived at approximately 0445. They made pretty good time considering the fog! A friend and co-worker of mine, Rebecca, also arrived around the same time. We didn't actually know about that until way after the fact. Erin had only 1 dose of Nubain (analgesic) before it was time to push. After about 4 pushes, it was 0622 and we had a new baby boy! I have intentionally left out quite a few details that would fill the time gap, but we don't need to go there. Weighing in at an even 10 pounds, Joaquin Paul Dale Williams is 21.25" long. His head and chest circumference are both 13.75". A while after Joaquin was born, Grandma and Grandpa Kouba took Emma home with them to give us time to relax. Emma really liked seeing him too, she was very curious about his toes! Erin and I would both like to thank everyone who has been so supportive of us during her pregnancy. We would also like to thank the staff of Grinnell Regional Medical Center for their care and hospitality. We appreciate you all. We are very proud of our baby boy! More to write later!

CLICK HERE FOR PICTURES

GRMC Website PIC

NEW!! Joaquin Screensaver! - Click here to download.
(filesize - 5.82 MB see chart below)

Connection Type	Approx. Download Time
Dial-Up	15-25 minutes
256k High Speed	3 minutes
512 High Speed	1 min 30 sec
Max. Speed	1 min

Signed,

Medic215 (Daddy x 2!)

EMS Education Presentaions

I have just added 191 new slideshows to my collection. You may click on the link below to view a list of them. These presentations are courtesy of Temple College, Temple, TX.

Go to presentation list.

Viva Las Vegas!

On 6/5 I went to Las Vegas with a friend of mine for a week of site-seeing and relaxation.

VEGAS PICS

VEGAS BLOG

3rd Annual Kenneth C. Raynor EMS Workshop

During my 11 years in EMS I have never seen such a great continuing education event from a small community. This event even beat some of the larger EMS conferences I've attended! The 3rd Annual Kenneth C. Raynor EMS Workshop was held yesterday, Feb 18th, at the Malcom Legion in Malcom, IA. It was a one day event and provided 7 CEH's for EMS professionals who attended.

The first session was presented by Becky Pettig, Assistant Poweshiek County Attorney. It was about documentation and covered many aspects of making sure our documentation is detailed, especially when it comes to crime scenes and abuse cases. There were a couple parts that I didn't personally agree with, but it was still a great learning experience hearing another point of view and other ways that our documentation can be useful to protect others.

The next session was presented by Hilary Snyder and Becky Pettig. I don't remember her exact title, but she works with domestic abuse victims. Hilary talked about many special considerations for dealing with domestic abuse situations in the prehospital environment.

The last morning session was less formal and actually a lot of fun. This session was "Round Table Discussion" with staff from Grinnell Regional Medical Center, which seemed more like an "Ask the Doc" session.
Lunch was prepared by GRMC staff and was DELICIOUS! I usually skip out on lunches that are provided at conferences because, well, they usually suck! I was very impressed with the food at this workshop!

Linda Chrismore of Iowa Methodist LifeFlight presented the 1st session after lunch. I'm guessing she got the shortest straw, haha. This was the first patient assessment presentation I have seen in a long time that wasn't just plain B-O-R-I-N-G. Linda was very good at making this topic interesting.

The last session was probably my favorite. R.J. Owens of Blank Children's Hospital presented several case studies about pediatric respiratory emergencies caused by chemicals. Quite interesting!

I was VERY IMPRESSED with this EMS workshop and I am looking forward to the next one!

EMS: Glory vs. Good Patient Care

There are many people out there who do not know the sacrifices EMS professionals make to serve the public. There are tons of risks we take every day for people we don't even know! In Iowa, nearly 90% of all EMS professionals are volunteers! I must also mention that most of the EMS services in Iowa are functioning at a EMT-Basic level, some with provisional EMT-Intermediate and some with provisional Paramedic levels. Provisional services are services that are less than their provisional level. For example, if an ambulance service always has an EMT-Basic, but has a couple paramedics that are sometimes available they can run at a paramedic level service if the paramedic is on that call.

The general public does not understand that when they call an ambulance, the "Ambulance Drivers" have different levels of training. We are all trained to provide basic patient care, but where do we draw the line as to when ALS (Advanced Life Support) is needed? ...