FF-PHRN

All the property of the pt goes back to them. We have no rules to keep anything other than illegal stuff. A pt that is awake\alert or a family member gets the helmet speech. A helmet has a one time use. Technically, if a helmet is even dropped, it is no longer of any use as the integrity of the outer shell may be compromised. That also applies to minor scratches. The inner foam is compressed in even a minor accident making it also compromised. I give the helmet back also for the reason that they may want it. I am an avid biker and have several old helmets hanging in my garage. Garage art is what I call it. (yes, I am strange!) And....if I pull a car door off in an extrication, after the pt is out, the car door goes with, or in the car. All the pieces of the vehicle goes with it when it is towed away. Thats my experience Legz.

Anybody remeber the IO that you had to twist and push in "until you feel the pop". Yikes!! The EZ IO goes in like buttah!

Good idea. Another approach is to flat out ask the medics what info they want or need after you give them report. Gets right to the point. They will appreciate it also.

To answer your question, I'll tell you I can't answer your question. What education do they have or what do they understand. It will vary greatly. I have taken many patients from various facilities. You can be giving me report and see me as the local fireman just riding the ambulance, what the heck would I know about lab values and such. So, am I a 15yr ER\Flight RN, or new paramedic fresh out of school. You won't know. It sounds like the reports you are giving are fine. Too much information is certainly better than not enough. Your bases are covered.

Give report just like you would to a nurse. Some medics are high speed and some are not. I have been surprised at how they can be both ends of the spectrum, just like some nurses I have dealt with. I have been on an ambulance and had a nurses talk down to me like I am some sort of EMT basic. That is a mistake. It is also unprofessional. Don't underestimate and your report will be just fine. Hopefully, if the medic doesn't understand something you give in report they will ask, but you are covered in having given a complete report.

Is the patio enclosed or ventilated at all? Or are we talking outside all together? Do you take the pt to the patio and let them smoke alone coming back to take them in when they are done? Can you give a description of the process you go through to allow the residents to smoke.

Twelve of my fifteen years as an RN have been in the ED. I left a flight job to get back in the ER. It is an addiction. I missed the chaos and the drama you don't get anywhere else. Sometimes getting to help people who are really sick is nice too. Sounds kinda sick and twisted when you write it. Maybe one of the psych nurses here can give me another diagnosis to go along with my ADD I didn't know I had;) I know several other nurses leave and come back after a short time. Do I love it? I don't know, but I know thats where I am at my best and I think we should be where we do the best with our individual talents.

Yup, happens on occassion. If thats what they are comfortable with, I have no problem getting a female. I go as far as getting female nurses to do my foley\peri care stuff with the younger females. It just makes sense they would feel more comfortable. My elderly pts never seem to care. OB pts in school were 50\50, seriously. I am a 6'1 200lb athletic, militant looking dude. May have something to do with it. I've been told I don't look friendly. I am though, I promise.

I was just waiting to see the responses....figured it would be entertaining since you used the "g" word. PC stuff what it is these days. Anyway, don't overthink this, they are just scrubs. It not like they want all white or all pink or something ridiculous. You are the only one to see it this way. I wear blue with white top by choice, just not a big deal. Like what what was mentioned earlier, there are those really loving the old caps. I would have to draw the line there for sure. BTW, never been a fan of the Navy whites. Gotta respect the MOH though!

.......and all the guys are gonna wear ....um....what? I catch enough grief from the guys at the firehouse. I have heard every gaylord focker joke known to man. For the sake of the profession, can't we just let the nurse cap go away?

Now that looks like fun! How does one get into this? Maybe there should be a thread for this sort of thing

Please, don't shed any tears for me. I don't mind actually working for what I get out of life. I feel sorry for those affected by affirmative action.

Ok, I am gonna be a little clearer. I am a fulltime firefighter (the FF of FF-PHRN), I have multiple experiences of water rescues and as part of the boat crew\water rescue of my dept. You dont understand how this is quite the challenge and NOT something a local YMCA can teach. He is 6'3, 280lb, 6ft of 50degree water, he doesnt want to just walk back in. Cant just throw him a line or a life vest that they dont even have. He will need to be forced in. So..this is actually a very challenging scope of practice to achieve. BTW, We average 15 calls\day, no ping pong, but alot of training though, sleep whenever possible and situations ,as you stated, that are much worse than this. Thats kinda like saying nurses sit around the nurses station eating donuts. However, I agree this is a policy issue. Were they supposed to break policy and lose their jobs and possibly their lives? They have local coast guard availabilty probably leading the FD cutting water rescue budget. My point is that this is tragic but there are no fingers to point for the inability to act here. The city council determines budget. Changing the policy, by that chief, was merely a political move until the FD is actually equipped.

The article stated they are going to retrain, re-equip, and allow land based water rescues at their discretion (the incident commander) As a nurse, I am not doing anything outside of my scope of practice much the same as this FD on scene. I do know that going into 50 degree water trying to pull an unpredictable 280lb 6'3 man that wants to die, without a wetsuit, safety ropes and other misc safety gear is gonna be a lose-lose. They clearly had none of that gear. I do put myself in harms way, risking bodily harm, but only with proper training and equipment. Its a calculated risk. Freelancers and cowboys don't do well in these situations and are highly discouraged. These rescuers were faced with something outside of their scope of practice, they weren't trained for and professionally forbid from doing. They calculated the risk and came up with the right answer that day. It was tragic, but for only one victim and not several. BTW, I didnt read anywhere that he was 50yds out with tide only, no currents. I don't think that would change anything though.

Any suicide is tragic if they are crying for help or just ready to end it. The article doesn't state anything about basic decency slipping away so I am assuming you are thinking the basic decency of those who were present is slipping away? This is your addition to the article, correct? I believe this has nothing to do with decency. It appears to me to be rescuers and bystanders using basic common sense. Common sense tells me this is a bad situation they were not prepared for and unable to respond to. Did they want to? I have no doubt they did. Firemen are alot like nurses in that they WANT to help people. That is the draw to the job. Kamikazee missions are not part of the job.

I absolutely agree. Letting them get too tired to fight or maybe even lose consciousness is unfortunately going to be a better outcome for both victim and rescuer. Also, what is the likelyhood that this man could have been rescued just to turn around and walk back in. I have seen jumpers cry for help after they hit the water. I dont think this was a cry for help. Those that want to commit suicide tend to get it done.

His lifeless body was probably floating back to shore.

Budget cuts that mean they had no training or gear(as stated in the article) for a rescue that was in a bay that is known for cold temps and swift currents. Rescuing a man that is comitting suicide is not the same as a rescue of a normal drowing victim. 1.Without any gear, that is going to be difficult considering the body of water temps and currents. No floatation device and no rope to tie off is a very foolish thing to attempt. 2.A man committing suicide is likely to want to take you down with him or fight you, more than an already difficult drowning type rescue. He is trying to die! 3.The bystanders also saw a real the danger in this. It appears to be much more than wading out and retrieving him. 4.I am (along with my Fire Dept engine co. of course) the boat crew for my city for the Mississippi area we cover. No gear, cold swift water, and a suicidal victim equals a likely tragedy for all involved. 5.My experience from news articles\TV reporters that cover incidents I have been involved in, has been that they are very inacurate and tend to leave out important details that make for more drama. Thats as nice as I can put this. We are likely not hearing anything near the full story here.

That sounds pretty typical for my hospital and how we handle big traumas. The house supervisor comes down, SOMETIMES, when something is called overhead such as a "level1 trauma" or "code blue". the supervisor will write stuff as it happens on the dry erase board to be charted later. Maybe one of your other staff nurses could be assigned to write, or maybe your charge. Other than that, I do feel your pain. Pulling everything together to get the chart together as the pt is being shipped off somewhere is pretty typical.

1. To the OP, I am sorry the medic was harsh with you, however, you are going to need to know the rhythms to pass ACLS. Keep studying and you will do fine. You made it through nursing school and you can do ACLS. 2. Intubation is part of the class that must also be passed. Other professions use this class where it is required. I get 6-10 intubations a year in the field. I am a nurse. 3. Paramedics and EMTs do not hate nurses. Most have a healthy respect as we should for them. There are great medics and medics who are jerks, exactly like nurses. Sorry you met a jerk, most I know are great. 4. I really want to know how "we" save medics asses all the time. Please, do tell.

Sure, a manager could do with just a letter. Isn't that like giving a medication and not reassessing the results. If this is as outrageous as everyone is making it out to be, then go in and make sure the problem is addressed and solved. Does this nurse have a pattern, I would want to know. Was it just the only bad 5minutes of her career? Is she new and overwhelmed, or old and burnt out, maybe floated from another unit and just uninformed. There is possibly alot more to this than an old rude burnt out nurse, right? at least possibly. I would go in and find out instead of writing a letter. To me, it means more and will get better results.

Actually, I explained that I would have responded exactly that way especially if it was a rude patient. A variety of medical conditions make patients act rude or inappropiate. It more often needs to be looked past to see if someone has a condition or has just had situation that puts them in their condition. Rude Dr., same thing. I told you the truth. It does not hurt. I also said everybody can have a bad situation that leaves one responding in a rude manner. Imagine having just pronounced the 10month old code pink pt you had and going back to the 25yo pt with a cough x3weeks who is upset at what took so long to get that cup of water......It just might take a minute to compose ones self. Does that make sense as a possible reason one makes a rude comment but not necessarily make that nurse cold and heartless? I am not excusing it, but the environment can be a bit much at times. This triage nurse may have had something outrageous just prior to the OPs arrival and didn't have the opportunity to compose yet. Rude patients are practically the norm, medical condition or not. I am not rude back. Simple as that. No flames needed BTW.

If the OP finds this offense to be so serious, as most of the posts here indicate it should be, then she should go back to the ER and talk face to face to the nurse or the manager. The manager knows the nurses, the situation and the offending nurse, who may have a viable explanation. The manager will make the appropriate course in changing the behavior. Do not send a letter. Its just one sided emotion and easy. Do what nursing 101 tells us all to do with our pts and find out the entire story so an appropriate action can be taken. For those who said defending the triage nurse shows I need a new job and I am burntout. I say I evaluate the situation with the one side I was given and try to EMPATHIZE with the other NURSE and her position to find the real problem and the real course to correct it. There is another side to this we aren't hearing. Suggesting the other nurse act with only the side she saw is to do so uninformed and vindictive. I have no apologies for defending the triage nurse and for giving possibilties for her actions. As a nurse, I am a problem solver by profession, not given to emotional and uninformed decisions. Isn't that what we all do, as nurses? So...it seems the OP should give her information to the nurse and her manager face to face so an informed decision can be made. Not an emotional decision! The behavior then can be explained, changed, reprimanded or possibly even excused. So, I am not burned out or needing a new job. I think situations like these need to be looked at thoroughly without jumping to emotional conclusions. Kinda like the way I triage in the ED.

ADN--->EMTp--->Career Fire Dept! ...............better pay, better hours and better benefits. A different option you may not have thought of. The dual careers have worked nicely for me.

My hospital is starting to offer automotive detail service in the ambulance bays. ER staff will be washing\waxing the pt\customer vehicles while they are being seen. Should be a nice way to fill in staff down times...... OK, maybe not. Thats just as reasonable as the jewelry sales, book sales and every other wild hair sale that comes up. Hospitals doing only healthcare would be a novelty.