Author Archives: mark

The simple answer is: "when it is incapable of restraining the patient".  What is not made abundantly clear is that the straps sold to you (the EMS Provider) with your cot were specifically designed to hold your patient safely, in conjunction with the floor mount, in the event of a motor vehicular accident.  The only way [...]

What do you use to acquire a patient's temperature on a routine call?  This question comes up frequently in my discussions with EMS providers.  Thermometers vary widely in their type and usefulness in EMS.  I would like to take a moment to discuss these types and their operating characteristics.
The Oral Thermometer.  With the elimination of  the [...]

It is becoming a common occurence to hear "What brand of tape do you sell?"  Our most common response is "Why do you ask?".  Our customer then say "Because the stuff made in Durkastan doesn't stick".   Apparently, in a world where so many products come out of other countries (China?), we succumb to the lure of price [...]

In the battle of the Latex vs the Nitrile Glove one basic fact is indisputable.  Latex is inherently stretchy and Nitrile is not.  The debate over which glove is best for EMS will rage on as long as glove-wearing is a universal precaution however, understanding what to look for in a glove will lead to [...]

Many times I will be asked by a service if they should switch from the standard Laryngoscopes they have been using for years to the Fiberoptic Laryngoscopes that are generally perceived as "brighter and better".  Without taking either side, I believe it is time to examine the benefits (or lack thereof) of each type of system to allow that decision to be [...]

Recently someone asked me about getting Tourniquets for their service to stay compliant with the new protocols set up by New York State Department of Health.  They wanted to know if they could buy the "little stretchy ones" the medics use to start an I.V.  I realized at that point that we have been using the wrong [...]

Q: why do all portable suction units crap-out during cardiac arrests?
A: they don't.  They actually failed weeks ago and nobody noticed !!!!.
Something that hospitals learned many years ago is that electronic
equipment require a technician to check and maintain them so they
will work when called upon.  many EMS systems spend endless money
on maintaining their expensive defibrillators [...]