EMSer Needs Your Help
From Dora McCarthy, NEEMS
Posted 11/3/08

As many of you may have heard, Don Wade has been diagnosed with cancer and is actively being treated at this time. Don has been a major contributor to the EMS system in Region 4. There have been several fundraising activities to help him defray his costs, and the Northeastern Maine EMS Executive Council has voted to participate as well. We have decided to match all donations received for Don in our office to a maximum of $2500.

If you are interested in participating, please mail your donations to Don Wade Fund, C/O NEEMS, 354 Hogan Rd, Bangor Maine, 04401. Please make checks out to Don Wade. All contributions will receive a confirmation, and Don will receive a listing of contributors unless specified otherwise.

If there are any questions, please feel free to contact Rick Petrie through this office.

MEMS Roster Change
Posted 11/3/08

The Maine EMS CEH roster has been changed. The new (September 10, 2008) form can be accessed on the MEMS web site's training materials page. it's available as a PDF file that can be printed as is, or as a Word file which allows you to fill in some parts of the roster before printing it.

Remember that you must submit a MEMS Continuing Education Hours Approval Request Form (along with instructor qualifications and an outline of the program) to your regional EMS office seven days prior to date of your program. Within three days of completion of the program, you have to return the original roster (you should keep a copy) to the regional office which approved the program.

KVEMSC Works with Brady Publishing
From the KVEMS web site
Posted 11/3/08

Kennebec Valley EMS recently worked for 2.5 weeks with Brady Publishing and author Dan Limmer on his newest textbook. The project asked for local public safety providers to pose as Emergency Medical Responders (EMR) for the textbook. EMS models were asked to demonstrate various skills (over and over and over again) as the Michal Heron the photographer from New York captured thier movements on film. Those helping with the project found it very interesting and a great way to review thier skills in a unique setting. A medical expert was on hand each day to review the skills being demonstated to be sure they met national standards. We were able to secure assistance from public safety provider from Carrabassett Valley to Newport to Monmouth. We had some 30+ providers and patients ages 6 weeks to 82 years take part in the project all of whom donated thier times and talents.

Most days they found themselves working with other providers they might never had ment and were asked to work as a team. Thanks to NorthStar Ambulance and Delta Ambulance for allowing us to use equipment and vehiles for the shots. Special thanks to the members of NorthStar, Monmouth Rescue, Winthrop Ambulance, Kennebec Sheriff, Jay Police, Fairfield Police, Newport Fire/Rescue, Oakland Rescue, Belgrade Rescue, Waterville Fire, Winslow Fire/Rescue, Augusta Fire, Fairfield Fire/Rescue, Wilton Fire, Litchfield Rescue, Delta Ambulance, and the many family and friends who offered to serve as patients. Without your hard work and dedication to this project we would not have been able to complete the project.

Please enjoy the "outtakes" now showing on [KVEMS's] photo gallery. As a result of your work we have recieved a donation to the Maine EMS Memorial from Brady Publishing for $1500. OUTSTANDING WORK TO ALL! Each of us will never look at a textbook again [I think they meant to say that they would never look at a textbook "the same way" again!/jbv] and we look forward to seeing our hardwork in the new book expected out in the coming year.

Random things I've stumbled across
Posted 11/3/08

Here's an introduction to peripheral IV access. I like the step-by-step description toward the end of the article.

"Electrodes, leads & wires: A practical guide to ecg monitoring and recording" provides a great discussion about the placement of electrodes during the obtaining of an EKG.

Who'd have thought that hearing music while performing CPR might help you do it right? This report about a study from the University of Illinois suggests that by using the same beat as the Bee Gees "Staying Alive," a rescuer can maintain an optimal rhythm for CPR.

• August, 2008

Mapping America's Deadliest Roads

Researchers at the University of Minnesota's Center for Excellence in Rural Safety (CERS) have developed Safe Road Maps, an interactive site that uses their data and Google's maps to show all traffic fatalities in the country.

• July, 2008

The Choking Game

I asked Kelly Roderick and John Leighton, as a couple of EMS-C people, if they were aware of "the Choking Game," or "the Pass out Game," and they both said that it's been around for a long time. I found this web site, which says it is "committed to raise awareness, inform communities, and advocate education and support victims of the Choking Game."

New Contributor to I/C News

In July the I/C News welcomed someone whom we hope will be a regular contributor. Mike Azevedo, Jr., from Carmel Fire and Rescue, has volunteered to do a column targeted at training officers and others who teach stand-alone (as opposed to licensure) courses. You can go directly to Mike's first article here or you can go to the Journal archives on the MEMS web site and click on the July 2008 issue.

Oh, and just as an aside, here's an article from the Bangor Daily News about a training burn in Carmel; the article quotes Mike.

MCEMS Opens Online Bookstore
From the I/C News, published in the July, 2008 issue of the Journal of Maine EMS

MCEMS recently opened an online bookstore to sell their left over EMS textbooks and other EMS books. Becky Flanders, the creator of the bookstore, explains how the online store came into being. She said that the region needs to purchase books for courses before knowing exactly how many books they will sell. As a result, they often end up with many left over books, and very often before they are able to sell the overage, the publishers have come out with a new edition of the books. Because publishers have a time limit on returning books and require a restocking fee, the region was ending up with closets full of outdated materials. Flanders, who herself used to run her own online bookstore, offered to set up a storefront for the old EMS books. She says the store has been quite successful thus far, and that she has sold books to people all the way from Maine to California and most states in between.

Flanders sees this as a great opportunity for all involved. The region, while selling the books for less than original price, is still able to recoup some of its costs. Students anywhere in the country are able to purchase books at “sale” prices. And new but unused books aren’t ending up in the landfill.

Click here to go to the bookstore yourself. And Becky says she would be happy to help any other region to set up a bookstore through half.com.

Tell people about the Stroke Collaborative

"The Stroke Collaborative is a joint campaign of the American Academy of Neurology, the American College of Emergency Physicians, and the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association to encourage Americans to recognize stroke symptoms, call 9-1-1, and get to the emergency department."

Firefighters May Face Higher Risk of Bladder Cancer
From Medline plus

This article suggests that firefighters might ask to be screened annually for bladder cancer because, being regularly exposed to toxic fumes, they appear to be at greater risk of developing this cancer which isn't routinely screened for.

Resource about Sudden Cardiac Arrest

The Sudden Cardiac Arrest (SCA) Foundation has been established "to meet the need for an easily accessible, objective, comprehensive information clearinghouse on the prevention of death and disability due to SCA."

EMS Blog

I recently asked for your recommendations for EMS and/or nursing blogs. If you're not easily offended by somebody with a strong opinion, A Day in the Life of an Ambulance Driver is a hoot. Send me any others you know about.

• April, 2008

Reliable Health Information
Posted April 15, 2008

A reliable source compiling studies relating to health care and all things medical is Medline Plus, a service of the US National Library of Medicine and the National Institutes of Health. You can view the studies by date or by topic. Here's one on uninterrupted chest compression. The Medline Plus site has information on general health topics including diseases and conditions, drugs and supplements, it has a medical dictionary, and encyclopedia, and plenty of other resources.

National EMS Museum
Posted April 15, 2008

The stated mission of the National EMS Museum is "... memorializing and commemorating the history of EMS and the individuals and organizations that provide emergency care to the sick and injured." Begun with a thought in June of 2006, and with startup funding from the National Association of EMTs, the museum is being developed in three phases, a virtual museum, traveling presentations, and a building for permanent display and storage. You can see the virtual museum online now.

Just for Fun
Posted April 15, 2008

No matter what your politics are, or what your feelings are about George W. Bush, this is a great video of President Bush and Steve Bridges impersonating President Bush. Pull up a chair; it's about 11 minutes long.

Se earlier "What's News" articles items. (For everything from March 2008 and before.)

• A Collection of Published Articles

General Articles:

Twelve Tips for Twelve Leads (April/May/June, 2005; re-published July 2008)
Maine Spine Assessment Comparison between 1994 and 2002 Protocols (April/May/June, 2003)
Is That Your Final Answer? When No Doesn't Mean No (October/November/December, 2002)
IO: A Procedure Review (April/May/June 2002)

Documentation Series:

Part 4: Documentation: The Finishing Touches (July/August/September, 2004)
Part 3: The A&P of SOAP (April/May/June, 2004)
Part 2: Objectively Speaking (January/February/March, 2004)
Part 1: Simply Subjective (October/November/December, 2003)

Mike Azevedo, Jr., EMT-B
Planning a Training Session (I/C News section of the October, 2008 JoMEMS) New November 2008
Learning Styles (I/C News section of the July, 2008 JoMEMS)

John Bastin, PA-C
First Responder Weapons of Mass Destruction Training (Fall, 2004)
WMD Resources on the Web (Winter, 2003)

Daryl Boucher, MS, RN, EMT-P
Systematic Program Evaluation For EMS Education Programs (I/C News section of the October, 2008 JoMEMS) New November 2008
Jumping through Hoops -- Immunization and Other Pre-Matriculation Mandates For EMS and Allied Health Students (October, 2007)
Use of Dimensional Analysis to Reduce Medication Errors in EMS (June, 2007)
Help! I've Been Asked to be a Peer Reviewer (Spring, 2006)
Research Review: Conducting Research -- Helpful Tips (Winter, 2005)
Why Did You Do That? Evidence Based Research as Part of Teaching (Fall, 2004)
Using Case Studies to Teach EMS (Part III) (Spring, 2004)
Using Case Studies to Teach EMS (Part II) (Winter, 2004)
Using Case Studies to Teach EMS (Part I) (Fall, 2003)

Mike Carroll, EMT-P
HIPAA and the EMS Instructor (Winter, 2005)

Joanne LeBrun, EMT, MSEd
The Games People Play (Winter, 2003)

Dan Limmer, EMT-P, I/C
Teaching Affective Concepts In the EMS Classroom (Winter, 2006)

Dan Palladino, CCEMT-P
What is NAEMSE? (Winter, 2004)

• MEMS Continuing Education

• Maine EMS and its Regions

close file close file

Maine EMS Exam Committee minutes

• Maine EMSer's Pages

Sean Hall

Clarence Spady

Dan Limmer's home page
Dan Limmer's blog

• Other Maine Sites

• Maine Hospitals

• Maine's EMS Services

If your service has a site, please e-mail me and I will update this list to include it.

• Maine's Educational Institutions
  which haveEMS Programs

• EMS Instructor Resources

Also available from NHTSA:
2002 Supplemental Airway Modules for EMT-Basic
1995 Emergency Vehicle Operators Course (Ambulance) Instructor's Guide
1996 EMD Instructors Guide
2002 EMS Educator Guidelines

Teaching Resources for Instructors in Prehospital Pediatrics
TRIPP ALS
TRIPP BLS

Other
Less Stress Instructional Services
Quia (make your own online classroom-type activities)
EMS Educational Resources page
Trainers of Emergency Medical Services
Learner Associates

American Heart Association Instructor Information page

Presentations available online:
EMS Professions PowerPoint Presentations This amazing site has PowerPoint presentations for every topic in the paramedic curriculum. You have to see it to believe it! And the site says they're there for you to use for your studies and classes.

Guidelines to Effective Graphics

• EMS/Nursing/
  Medical Publishers, Clearinghouses, and On-line publications

AAOS Paramedic anatomy and physiology review

• General Emergency Medicine and EMS Resources

• Articles/Specific Resources

Miscellaneous
AEDs May Negatively Impact Outcomes
Auscultation Assistant
Bystander CPR Still Matters
EMS Agenda for the Future (Be patient, the link takes forever to open.)
EMS is Hyperventilating Resuscitation Patients
EMS Researchers Call for Action
First Aid for Soldiers (1/25/06 Available in PDF format)
Institute for Safe Medication Practices, ISMP
HIV/AIDS, STDs and TB information from the CDC
How to Use a Stethoscope; and The State of the Stethoscope
Latex Allergy Links - EMS
Jeff Mann's Emergency Medicine Guidemaps
National EMS Scope of Practice
On the Road to Successful IV Starts (no longer available free online)
Researchers Show Arm Position Matters when Measuring Blood Pressures
Rural/Frontier EMS Agenda for the Future
RSI in the Prehospital environment
Selective Spinal Immobilization
Telemetry Certification Online
The Value of Bystander CPR
Transport of Stroke Patients May Become More Specialized

• On-line Continuing Education
  Credit Resources

EMS:
EMCert (EMS, sign up for periods of 1 or 2 years, with options ranging from 4 CEUs to an unlimited number during your desired time frame)
LearnATest (programs for those reviewing for licensure testing)
Wild Iris Medical Education (courses ranging from $6-36, and 1-11 contact hours)

Nursing:
E-learners (nursing)
NetCE (nursing, courses from $0-39, 1-15 hours' credit each)
NursingSpectrum (pay as you go, or sign up for unlimited hours)
RN.com (nursing, offers at least one free CEH program each month)
Wild Iris Medical Education (nursing, $10-65 per course)

Both:
EMInet/Healthstream (EMS, nursing; doesn't separate out EMS into ALS or BLS courses)
MEDCEU (seems to have both, but I haven't figured out yet how they're divided)

• Nursing Links

• Physician Links

• Domestic Violence Links

• On-line Medical Texts and
  Resources

• National Organizations

• State EMS agencies

• Bioterrorism, Disaster Planning,
  and other Related Sites

• Hospital Uniform Shopping

• EMS Products

• EMS/Medical/
  Nursing Blogs

E-mail me if you find any others!

• Just for Fun