New toys. (Kinda)
Today was the Paramedic Assist part of basic training. This involved 3 trainers running through the stuff that only paramedics can do - intubation, cannulation, IO cannulation, and drugs - and showing us the kit involved, so we know which bits to grab if we're asked to do something.
Intubation - ok, we're not doing this for a couple of years, but had a bit of a go on a disembodied training head thingy. I can't say it was easy, but I can see how it's done. Saying that, my technique will need work - I couldn't seem to pull in the right direction to be able to get the tube down the right hole. Meh, something to worry about in a couple of years.
Setting up giving sets is, well, not exactly complex. Take bag of fluid out of cover. Stick sharp pointy bit into bottom of bag. Fill up chambers. Run the fluid through, and get rid of bubbles. Oh, and how to draw up a syringe to flush the cannula through once the paramedic's stuck it in. Possibly something else that will need practice, given the amount of air bubbles in the syringe...
IO - Not Nice. This stands for Intra Osseous. Basically, if the paramedic needs to get stuff in and can't find a vein (such as in small kids), then they shove a needle into a bone and use that instead.
Drugs! This was a quick tour around the bigger paramedic drugs pack. Lots of stuff in there, that we can't use yet. But, still, nice ot know how they're laid out if we're asked to fetch something. Apparently opening the glass ampoules can be awkward if you don't do it right. Luckily, we were told how to do it right :) (Hold the top and the bottom, away from teh shoulders, blue dot away, and flick your wrist to take the top off.)
One of the other toys that I don't think I've mentioned are the manikins. If you've ever done a first aid (or CPR) course, you'll know Annie. Annie has smarter sisters. The first one we were shown has a little meter that plugs into her side, which gives you feedback on your compressions and ventilations. Green = good, orange = try harder, red = crunch or air in the stomach. Useful, but damned frustrating when you're traing to get a printout of a perfect 4 minute session and you make silly mistakes. Or, in some cases, she fails to recognise a response after you'ce thrown her around all over the place.
The smartest sister (I think) if the advanced life support version. You can shock this one with a defib. It can have a pulse, and an ECG rhythm. It can make noises - even if one of the moans does sound like an orgasm. The instructor has a little remote control, so they can alter things during an exercise to see how you deal with it. I'm sure we're gonna hate them when we get to our OSCEs - the assessments at the end of the initial 6 months, which we have to pass to get out on the road.
Speaking of defibs, there are a couple of those too. A weeny one, which is the main box for shocking people, but which has a little ECG screen on. And a mahoosive one, which does just about everything except make tea. (ECG, SpO2 (oxygen saturation of the blood), EtCO2 (concentration of CO2 being breathed out), BP, and can shock). There are possibly others on their way in to replace the big one, but it sounds like that's going to take some time to dribble through.
Tomorrow, the skeletal system. Which will be interesting, given how frazzled everyone is with the sheer amount of stuff that's been thrown at us, and how worried everyone is about the assessment coming up on Monday. Pass it (or the resit), or you could be bumped back, offered an A&E support job, or asked to leave.
ION, I had a hamthrax jab yesterday. My arm still hurts. Sniff. I was hoping to get the seasonal one too, but they'd run out of vaccine for the day.
Intubation - ok, we're not doing this for a couple of years, but had a bit of a go on a disembodied training head thingy. I can't say it was easy, but I can see how it's done. Saying that, my technique will need work - I couldn't seem to pull in the right direction to be able to get the tube down the right hole. Meh, something to worry about in a couple of years.
Setting up giving sets is, well, not exactly complex. Take bag of fluid out of cover. Stick sharp pointy bit into bottom of bag. Fill up chambers. Run the fluid through, and get rid of bubbles. Oh, and how to draw up a syringe to flush the cannula through once the paramedic's stuck it in. Possibly something else that will need practice, given the amount of air bubbles in the syringe...
IO - Not Nice. This stands for Intra Osseous. Basically, if the paramedic needs to get stuff in and can't find a vein (such as in small kids), then they shove a needle into a bone and use that instead.
Drugs! This was a quick tour around the bigger paramedic drugs pack. Lots of stuff in there, that we can't use yet. But, still, nice ot know how they're laid out if we're asked to fetch something. Apparently opening the glass ampoules can be awkward if you don't do it right. Luckily, we were told how to do it right :) (Hold the top and the bottom, away from teh shoulders, blue dot away, and flick your wrist to take the top off.)
One of the other toys that I don't think I've mentioned are the manikins. If you've ever done a first aid (or CPR) course, you'll know Annie. Annie has smarter sisters. The first one we were shown has a little meter that plugs into her side, which gives you feedback on your compressions and ventilations. Green = good, orange = try harder, red = crunch or air in the stomach. Useful, but damned frustrating when you're traing to get a printout of a perfect 4 minute session and you make silly mistakes. Or, in some cases, she fails to recognise a response after you'ce thrown her around all over the place.
The smartest sister (I think) if the advanced life support version. You can shock this one with a defib. It can have a pulse, and an ECG rhythm. It can make noises - even if one of the moans does sound like an orgasm. The instructor has a little remote control, so they can alter things during an exercise to see how you deal with it. I'm sure we're gonna hate them when we get to our OSCEs - the assessments at the end of the initial 6 months, which we have to pass to get out on the road.
Speaking of defibs, there are a couple of those too. A weeny one, which is the main box for shocking people, but which has a little ECG screen on. And a mahoosive one, which does just about everything except make tea. (ECG, SpO2 (oxygen saturation of the blood), EtCO2 (concentration of CO2 being breathed out), BP, and can shock). There are possibly others on their way in to replace the big one, but it sounds like that's going to take some time to dribble through.
Tomorrow, the skeletal system. Which will be interesting, given how frazzled everyone is with the sheer amount of stuff that's been thrown at us, and how worried everyone is about the assessment coming up on Monday. Pass it (or the resit), or you could be bumped back, offered an A&E support job, or asked to leave.
ION, I had a hamthrax jab yesterday. My arm still hurts. Sniff. I was hoping to get the seasonal one too, but they'd run out of vaccine for the day.