The Drug That Never Lets Go

‘Any Call Has the Potential to Become Violent’ - Printable Version - Jems.com Friday, February 24, 2012 Gailynne M. Ferguson Over the years, the EMS and law enforcement industries have seen changes ranging from their ballistic protection and equipment to training and response procedures. Unfortunately increases in violence, mental instability, drugs, gangs, lack of attention and desperation have forced people in both occupations into combat situations. The result has been more high-risk tactical incidents for law enforcement that ultimately involve EMS. Fairfax County (Va.) Looking at statistics in both EMS and law enforcement, there’s obviously a problem.(1,2) Although there’s no national database on EMS deaths associated with law enforcement activities, a 1992–1997 study published in the December 2002 Annals of Emergency Medicine determined that 114 EMTs and paramedics were killed on the job. Tactical operations in law enforcement require special skills and training of everyone involved, including EMS responders. References 1.

10 Mind-Boggling Psychiatric Treatments by Dan Greenberg Nobody ever claimed a visit to the doctor was a pleasant way to pass the time. But if you're timid about diving onto a psychiatrist's couch or paranoid about popping pills, remember: It could be worse. Like getting-a-hole-drilled-into-your-skull worse. 1. The coma-therapy trend began in 1927. 2. Ancient life was not without its hazards. 3. Charles Darwin's grandfather Erasmus Darwin was a physician, philosopher, and scientist, but he wasn't particularly adept at any of the three. 4. If the word "hydrotherapy" conjures up images of Hollywood stars lazily soaking in rich, scented baths, then you probably weren't an early 20th-century mental patient. 5. Much like Yoda, Austrian physician Franz Mesmer (1734-1815) believed that an invisible force pervaded everything in existence, and that disruptions in this force caused pain and suffering. 6. Ah, if only we were talking about a therapy for malaria. 7. Nobody ever said doctors had flawless logic. 8. 9. 10.

Effective Communication Between Providers & Physicians Improves Patient Hand-offs - Printable Version - Jems.com Thursday, April 12, 2012 George J. Koenig Jr., DO, MS Samuel M. The “hand-off”—or transfer of patient care from prehospital providers to emergency department (ED) physicians, trauma surgeons or critical care physicians—represents one of the most important elements of successful care for patients with serious injuries or illnesses. Developing the means to transfer information with effective communication skills can’t be underemphasized in EMS. Understanding Doctors & Nurses In critical care settings, communication loads can be extremely high, complex and cognitively taxing. Although much of the present literature has been devoted to physician-to-patient and physician-to-physician communication, the principles gained from this research are applicable in EMS. Importance of Hand-offs Communication deficiencies exist at all levels, and miscommunication has the potential to result in errors that could compromise patient safety. References 1.

I Human Engineering and Climate Change Abstract Anthropogenic climate change is arguably one of the biggest problems that confront us today. There is ample evidence that climate change is likely to affect adversely many aspects of life for all people around the world, and that existing solutions such as geoengineering might be too risky and ordinary behavioural and market solutions might not be sufficient to mitigate climate change. In this paper, we consider a new kind of solution to climate change, what we call human engineering, which involves biomedical modifications of humans so that they can mitigate and/or adapt to climate change. I. Anthropogenic climate change, or climate change for short, is arguably one of the biggest problems that confront us today. The risks of the worst impacts of climate change can be lowered if greenhouse gas levels in the atmosphere can be reduced and stabilised. There is lively debate in the relevant literature about these different kinds of solutions.

Study Determines Optimal Chest Compression Rate - Printable Version - Jems.com Wednesday, August 29, 2012 The quality of CPR and chest compressions are key factors for survival from cardiac arrest.1 Over the past 50 years, there has been a progressive increase in the recommended rate of chest compressions during CPR. In 1960, the recommended rate was 60 compressions/minute; this increased to at least 100 compressions/minute in the latest guidelines from the American Heart Association (AHA) in 2010.(1–4) However, guidance is not provided for a maximum chest compression rate. In this article, I’ll review key studies and gaps in our knowledge about chest compression rate, including the study recently published in the journal Circulation and how it can be used to guide clinical practice.(5) I’ll also review what further studies need to be done regarding chest compression rate and quality of CPR in general. I began the review of chest compression rates by searching for appropriate articles in such databases as PubMed and repeated it several times until November 2009.

VHEMT Chemical Release - Printable Version - Jems.com Thursday, June 21, 2012 Mark A. Kirk, MD Faced with a large number of people exposed to a chemical warfare agent or a toxic industrial chemical, EMS responders should remember a simple rule of thumb: Consider the victims to be on fire and act with the same urgency. Medical management following a large-scale chemical release requires a sequence of steps to remove patients from a toxic environment, decontaminate them on scene and deliver them to a hospital setting. When performed swiftly and with the proper techniques, decon limits adverse health effects. Preparedness is critical because the threat is real. When it comes to decon, EMS personnel can benefit from knowing the fundamentals of toxicology. Toxicology Fundamentals Hazardous chemicals can enter the body through contact with the skin or the two pathways of inhalation, called routes of exposure. The term dose response refers to the escalating harmful effects that occur as the amount of the contaminant increases. References 1.

Sure, We Can Build a Better Toilet. But Will People Use It? | Wired Science A latrine over water in Cap-Haitien, Haiti. Photo: Remik Kaupp/Flickr The Gates Foundation’s plan to build a better toilet has inspired optimism for the future of sanitation in the developing world. But if history is any guide, good intentions and clever engineering aren’t enough. Would-be designers of post-porcelain thrones won’t just need to account for water use and material costs, but sociology and psychology — the human factors that, as much as any tech spec set, determine whether an innovation takes root. “You need a good engineering solution, but there’s also this behavioral and social science problem,” said Mushfiq Mobarak, an environmental economist at Yale University. Mobarak is supported by the Gates Foundation in studying how best to promote the new toilets. The problem was, and still is, dirty cookstoves: the open fires and smoke-billowing stoves, fueled by wood or coal or dung, used by nearly half the world’s population. 'Designing a new cool gadget is neat and fun.

How to Protect EMS Patients through Better Research & Understanding - Printable Version - Jems.com Wednesday, July 25, 2012 For the past four decades, the evolving medical discipline of EMS has had its demonstrated successes in many communities worldwide.1–7 Not only has there been a documented lifesaving effect, but many EMS therapies also have been used to diminish morbidity and discomfort for our patients through earlier intervention.8–10 At the same time, in our well-intended attempts to provide prompt and aggressive care for our patients, we have also applied practices that, inadvertently, may have been detrimental for our patients or simply not effective.11–32 In some cases, many interventions that could clearly be lifesaving have been used too zealously or have been provided either too early, or simply too late, leading to a negative effect.13,14,16–18,26 In other cases, we haven’t used the procedure properly. As a result, we were unaware of the resulting ineffectiveness and subsequent loss of a potential lifesaving outcome.12,16,33–39 Paul E. Sandra M.

How Memory Works: 10 Things Most People Get Wrong Human memory and recall works nothing like a computer, but that’s what makes it all the more fascinating to understand and experience. “If we remembered everything we should on most occasions be as ill off as if we remembered nothing.” ~William James It’s often said that a person is the sum of their memories. Your memory and recall is what makes you who you are. Despite this, memory and recall is generally poorly understood, which is why many people say they have ‘bad memories’. Here is my 10-point guide to the psychology of memory and recall (it is based on an excellent review chapter by the distinguished UCLA memory expert, Professor Robert A. 1. Everyone has experienced the frustration of not being able to recall a fact from memory. So it seems obvious that memories decay, like fruit going off. But what on earth is the point of a brain that remembers everything but can’t recall most of it? 2. Obviously the only one that’s of interest is the most recent. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10.

It Begins: Pedophiles Call for Same Rights as Homosexuals Excerpted from the Northern Colorado Gazette: Using the same tactics used by “gay” rights activists, pedophiles have begun to seek similar status arguing their desire for children is a sexual orientation no different than heterosexual or homosexuals. Critics of the homosexual lifestyle have long claimed that once it became acceptable to identify homosexuality as simply an “alternative lifestyle” or sexual orientation, logically nothing would be off limits. “Gay” advocates have taken offense at such a position insisting this would never happen. However, psychiatrists are now beginning to advocate redefining pedophilia in the same way homosexuality was redefined several years ago. In 1973 the American Psychiatric Association declassified homosexuality from its list of mental disorders. B4U-Act calls pedophiles “minor-attracted people.” Pedophilia has already been granted protected status by the Federal Government. Dr.