Captain Tripps

We had a rollover MVA, female in the back seat was trapped and had no sensation/movement belly button down. After careful extrication and getting her boarded she regained some sensation and movement. By the time we arrived at the ED she had really ...

I was where you are after too many years as a Paramedic. You could potentially be in a very dangerous place for yourself, I know I was. What I did is take some time away from the streets, I took a lab position and it helped me regain my life. I am...

It's an acronym you are supposed to put in front of the name of someone you want called in an emergency. Stands for "In Case of Emergency." In systems I have worked family contact is PD's gig, besides with HIPAA I don't feel comfortable contacting f...

For the past few years I've wanted to make a costume of the monster from The Village. You know "Those we do not speak of" creatures. I just haven't had the time.

You know I guess I am a little backwards on this issue. Yes pedi codes are tough. Yet somehow my heart is more broken by elderly codes, especially ones we call on scene. It is heart breaking to tell someone who has shared their life with someone ...

Well it wasn't a hospital rule but it is probably the dumbest rule I ever fell under. When working as a Paramedic in an unnamed city we used to use the local homeless shelter as the address on our run sheets for homeless people. Well that center got...

When I was doing search and rescue in my younger years we had a whitewater drowning. (Stupid mistake #1). Some kayakers decided to try and run a very violent river at flood stage. (Stupid mistake #2). One of the kayakers had no PFD and was not wea...

Wow I wish I could say I have never heard that before but I would be lying. I sometimes worry about some of the GP's still practicing out there. I had a patient who had to pull over and call 911 after his Doc sent him POV to the ER. I have also a...

I have never broken teeth or caused any injury to my patients over the years and I have had to "reef" on many to visualize. I would suggest a little more practice with the heads to build up your self confidence. It is very hard to injure a patient ...

I just love how the warning (that appears on every Craig's List posting) works out with the last line of this post. Peace, Tripps

I love compounding pharmacies because of lollipops. When I had my tonsils and adenoids removed my MD prescribed tetracaine lollipops (as well as various other liquid meds) that made my pain bearable for two weeks. My brother had the same surgery an...

As a burned out old Medic let me throw in my two cents. #1. I agree with Diana, R/O pregnancy right off the bat. You never know and syncope is pretty common for pregnancy. #2. I know this is going to sound weird but, you might have held your breath...

See this is where my quick, and usually rather mean, sense of humor gets me in trouble. I would have looked right at her and said, "Wow, you do that too? I looked you up the other day just for fun, so how are the outbreaks? Is the Valtrex working fo...

I agree there is a bond but (there's always a but), does it have less to do with shared feelings and more to do with constant contact. As an adult almost every relationship I have had was either a Nurse, Nursing student, EMT student or a fellow EMS ...

I have a helicopter wife! :uhoh21: Not defending the situation but there are communities that have their own pseudo health care system outside of the hospitals. Some people in the Asian community in Portland never go to the hospital (or be tran...

Ok, where to start? G.W. is my president, just like the womanizing, lying, impeached, bloated, gas bag was my president, or the stuttering no new taxes guy, the jelly bean Iran Contra guy, peanut boy, the I am not a crook guy and even I pick my nose ...

Michael Moore is a self promoting douchebag who uses the suffering of others to pay for his million dollar apartment and his vaction homes. Do not believe for a minute that he gives a damn about anyone but himself. Having said that, yes our health s...

My sig says it all. Former Paramedic, before that EMT-Basic, before that high schooler working at a grocery store. Peace, Tripps

Hmm, I was always curious what became of my ex. Seriously though does your facility not have a policy regarding gifts from patients or patients families. I mean this goes way beyond flowers, a card or cookies. This seems to be the reason those poli...

You know they have medication for that now. Peace, Tripps

My worst experience was after surgery. I was in PACU, drugged out of my mind and in some pretty severe pain despite the meds/anesthesia. Someone (I cant remember who) drew an ABG and left the RN to hold pressure on the draw. Me being ever helpful ...

They sell these little dropper bottles of breath freshener, minty fresh or something like that. Just a drop above your lip, works like Vick's without the horrible smell. Peace, Tripps

Damn sounds a little high schoolish to me, I'm pretty sure "titty twister" is not in the medical literature anymore. It amazes me to see what was at one time a normal practice that seems so barbaric now. I once saw an RN use hemostats to squeeze th...

I live in Longview which is basically becoming a bedroom community for Portland/Vancouver. We call it the "Banana Belt" here, the Coast Range Mountains get the brunt of the rain and we live in the "shadow". We get less rain than Portland and someti...

Look I am not a big fan of wiping my own butt, it's gross and kind of degrading. The only thing worse would be if someone had to do it for me. Patient care is about the patient not about the caregivers feeling toward certain body functions. Now a q...