So I had to drag my butt out of bed at 7am on a Saturday to go off to my professional rescuer class. I don’t know what I was expecting, but I’m sure I wasn’t imagining a warehouse that looked like it belonged in an old Columbian drug cartel movie. Boxes of who knows what stacked to the ceiling, dust covering everything, and only a lone 20 watt bulb to light the entire room. Well it wasn’t that bad, but our training room was a filthy warehouse. The Red Cross needs some serious funding.
The first thing on our agenda after an hour of videos was to practice removing soiled gloves without contaminating our hands. I was honestly surprised at how many people found this to be a daunting task. I wasted no time in getting them off. Although that was probably because the fake blood (ketchup) expired years ago and had turned brown while giving off an odor that would make formaldehyde a welcome scent. It wouldn’t have been so bad if we did this at the end, but instead we got to smell road kill for 7 hours.
I was wondering why they were only planning on spending 10 minutes on the AED until they brought it out. You would have to be a complete moron to ever screw it up. The pads are labeled with pictures and instructions in two languages. The device itself displays instructions on the tiny screen as well as shouts them at you. It won’t even charge unless it has a potential shockable rhythm (V-Tach/V-Fib). It is definitely an impressive little machine, even if it does looks like Hasbro made it.
Having them label the course “Professional Rescuer” imbues a sense of authority. It makes it sound special. Now as far as I can tell the only differences between the normal CPR class and the Professional Rescuer class is teaching how to take the pulse(yes the manual actually said that), move victims, and use breathing masks of various types - an excellent way to charge $25 more. I know I’m bitching about a trivial amount, but college students don’t have a lot of cash to begin with, and that’s like 6 days worth of food.
Anyways, after taking the class I feel confident that I could sustain a life long enough for some form of advanced care to come and take over if a life or death situation ever came up.
At least now the ball is rolling, even if this wasn’t a very big step.
Saturday, June 7, 2008
I'm a professional rescuer!...Sort of.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
13 comments:
Hey man, I like your pink trauma shears. :)
Also, I think it's funny as shit that yall had to practice taking off soiled gloves.
Thankfully thats just a generic picture, I didn't get those snazzy shears. :( I was also surprised that we had to practice that, but people actually couldn't do it.
"I was also surprised that we had to practice that, but people actually couldn't do it."
That doesn't surprise me at all.
Trauma shears are your friend, buy or steal some before you start clinicals.
Yeah, everyone I talk to says to get a pair of shears and a good pair of boots. I just don't want a lot of shit hanging off my belt.
Yup, boots are a big thing too, get some that cover your ankles. I like Bate's 8 inch side zips.
"I just don't want a lot of shit hanging off my belt."
HAHA, yea, you don't want a bunch of crap, but trauma shears, a flashlight and 2 pens are essentials...and they can be kept in your pocket. I also like carrying a knife.
http://stretcherjockey.blogspot.com/2008/05/whats-in-my-pockets.html
http://backboardsandbandaids.blogspot.com/2008/04/q.html
Thanks for the links to stretcher jockey - I had found yours the other night when I was looking for basic supplies people carry. At least its good to know that I'm not the only one that doesn't want to carry a whole lot on me. Several "nasty" pens is a good idea.
Do you have any recommendations on flashlights? I have a nice surefire one, but I really wouldn't be happy if I lost it.
http://www.maglite.com/product.asp?psc=2AACELL
That's what I carry. It was 8 bucks or so at Walmart (and it came with a holder that goes on your belt).
It has a "High-intensity adjustable light beam (Spot to Flood)" which comes in handy, flood for scanning scenes making sure you don't get shot/stabbed and the spot light for checking pupils to which drugs they're on.
Oh...maybe that was just what I used it for last night... :)
That should say "to see which drugs they're on."
L o v e the ketchup story, toooo funny! i'm right there with you bud-dy, on the emt-b class thing. i had to miss the State exam when my class took it and i am supposed to take it this week....i've done it before, and even had to re-test once, so why am i so scared...??? First time visitor to your blog and i love it!
Thanks sooo much!!!
was an emt-b years ago, that's what i ment by "before"
sorry to ramble...must be nerves.....
EE - Sounds like you had a fun night.
Tracy - Thanks for stopping by. Good luck on the state exam! Hopefully I'll be joining you in taking that soon. Let me know how it goes.
Post a Comment