The traumatic events experienced by EMS providers as part of their jobs can eventually intensify to the point where they feel too much distress. When we start taking it home with us, when our behavior begins to change, when we can’t seem to get it out of our minds, we’re suffering from what’s referred to “secondary” or “vicarious” trauma.
Did you know that lightning does strike twice in the same place? Read on to test your knowledge of this dangerous natural phenomenon and learn how to treat your patients and keep yourself safe when responding to volatile—and electric—weather.
February JEMS includes the annual "200-City Survey," which sets the benchmark for practices in your organization by offering a national look at prehospital care.
In 2003, USA Today declared Washington, D.C., as the nation’s worst EMS system. Read how our capital is moving forward with an ambitious plan to become the nation’s best.
As our population continues to grow and the price per acre continues to climb, buildings and cities continue to expand outward and upward. And this expansion has another cost—injury.
This article describes EMS patient assessment errors and the common cognitive dispositions to respond that contribute to them and identifies cognitive strategies to reduce errors in EMS patient assessment.
Dealing with suicidal patients is inherently challenging, and prehospital treatment options are limited for this population.
Oklahoma EMTs and paramedics faced an unusual MCI on Oct. 17, 2007, when high, straight-line winds caused a circus-sized tent to collapse at Tulsa's Oktoberfest.
This article examines the appropriateness of tourniquet application and reports on the effectiveness of prehospital tourniquets on multiple patient outcomes.
Should we splint all fractures, sprains, strains, dislocations or soft-tissue injury sites on an extremity?
A 12-year-old male is accidentally shot in the face by a friend with a 410 shotgun at a distance of about 5 yards in a rural area. Air transport is not possible. Should you manage his airway in the field?
Read how EMS units handled an MCI with multiple critically wounded children in a peaceful Amish community.
Every year in JEMS, we provide a listing of ambulance manufacturers that includes photos of delivered vehicles that might inspire your next vehicle specs.
These 13 women responded to our survey about their experiences in the field of EMS.
February JEMS includes the annual "200-City Survey," which sets the benchmark for practices in your organization by offering a national look at prehospital care.
No one at Littleton Fire Rescue can remember a traumatic incident, like the one involving Victor Soto, having such a positive outcome.
California, a state overwhelmed by people and their electronic devices, plans to implement wireless emergency alerting in the near future.
This month, I'll take you through how to create an effective concept map of calls or continuing education issues and use them to document competency and provide an alternative training method.
Every other month, JEMS author Elizabeth A. Criss reviews studies to determine what they mean to EMS. In this issue's Research Review, Criss discusses several studies, including two that address the injuries received from improvised explosive devices and kitesurfing.
For the past eight years, paramedics on Long and Brier Islands in Canada have provided primary health-care and prevention services to some 1,200 residents.
On arrival, you find a 42-year-old male with a severe open neck wound. The patient is unconscious with agonal breathing. What do you do next?
While working the medical tent at the finish line of a marathon, a petite, 28-year-old woman is brought in. She’s confused, stumbling and slurring her speech. What should you be concerned about, and how should this patient be managed?
What does the word accountability mean to you? Does it mean that you answer to a medical director or QA committee? Does it mean you’re being held to a state law, standard or set of rigid protocols?
Cowboys and cowgirls still salute each other with a tip of their hats. Beyond a greeting, it's a sign of professional recognition and mutual respect. What about you, Life-Saver?
As an EMS manager, you never want to open the morning paper and read a headline claiming one of your employees is responsible for stealing drugs from your service. But cases of prehospital drug abuse are making the news across the U.S. So what can you do to avoid it?
Everything changes, and changes are often dramatic. This is especially true with 12-lead ECGs.
EMS is called to an abandoned home by friends who witness their buddy become somnolent after injecting one bag of heroin. On arrival, the crew finds a 22-year-old male down, cyanotic and near apneic. Vitals: RR 4/min; BP palpable at 92 systolic; pulse 55/minute.
Multi-specialty panel presents consensus guidelines for prehospital management of...
Ways to keep agency differences from affecting patient care and your public imageScenario:...
Which medications does your EMS system use to treat each of the following respiratory problems?