This article has some interesting stuff in it... some of it is scary
following their U-ABCC method is going to get you sued pretty fast considering how most north americans are taught simple airway management skills. Most people are taught a sequence of simple steps (ABC) and if they throw triage in there and c spine stuff... you're in for some serious suprises if you're not a trained medic.
"Have someone check pulse and breathing every 5 minutes and document it. " ... again, scary.
It is super important to consider legality issues, even if you're acting in good faith.
Motorcycle helmet removal (illustrated guide) - P.64 - http://www.neann.com/psc.pdf
Consciousness - How do you know when someone is actually unresponsive? - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AVPU_system
CONSENT!!! - unless A) the person is unconcious (see link above to determine this) B) You're an EMT, or greater working on the job... you must get consent!!
Legality Items - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Good_Samaritan_law
I would suggest formal training before attempting any first aid other than super basic stuff, becuase you'll get thrown on the grill if you can't explain your actions interms of your training.
problem is everyone trys to do that, and will often FIGHT the person to keep them still. Paramedics arent much better in the same sense.
after already having gone through a portion of shock that scared the hell outa me for the duration (Going Blind with a white blur with no shadows even with my own hand infront of my face, and fighting wanting to sleep) with all that past they strap on O2 turned all the way up telling me take deep breaths then begin asking me questions while the O2 made my head swim. and i dont know about anyone else, I cant stand not having my own questions answered or worse being lied to about the shape im in.
Quote from: Blueknyt on April 21, 2006, 08:25:08 PM
problem is everyone trys to do that, and will often FIGHT the person to keep them still. Paramedics arent much better in the same sense.
after already having gone through a portion of shock that scared the hell outa me for the duration (Going Blind with a white blur with no shadows even with my own hand infront of my face, and fighting wanting to sleep) with all that past they strap on O2 turned all the way up telling me take deep breaths then begin asking me questions while the O2 made my head swim. and i dont know about anyone else, I cant stand not having my own questions answered or worse being lied to about the shape im in.
They have a protocol for the oxygen - depending on the situation you're looking at anywhere from 10-15L per minute of oxygen on non-rebreather mask.
If you have paramedics that fight you to keep still, consider yourself lucky. They're fighting to get you restrained so you won't do more damage if there's spinal injuries. if you want to flop around, ok, but at least flop around with a C collar on :)
It is important to get information out of people quickly becuase you don't know if they're going to unresponsive. Good medics will ask questions where the answer actually answers many questions and they'll observe you and check things off mentally in their mind. They need to keep the hospital ER in the loop as much as they can - questions like 'when did you last eat', 'alergies?', and so on are pretty important questions.
The lying is... well, kind of important sometimes, they do it to protect you and minimize shock. They kind of have quick phrases they use to answer most common questions... and yes i agree, they are kind of annoying.
"we're doing everything we can" is supposed to be used rather than "yeah, he/you will be alright"
example: Bob just fell off his motorcycle, the medic checks bob's toes... can he move them?
medic: bob can you please move your toes for me?
bob: yeah
medic: ok, thank you, that is good
- when bob arrives at the ER, the doctors will follow the same logic for the most part. they're not going to tell bob nothing is moving down there until they're ready to make the next steps.
OR
medic: bob can you please move your toes for me?
bob: yeah
medic: i don't see them moving, can you try again? Are you sure you can't move them?
bob: oh sh*t *HR goes though the roof*
medic now has another medical emergency on his hands becuase he just had to tell bob the truth.