Pocket guides

[ColoradoDave]

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[NobodyAnymore]

I have heard good comments about Informed (in other online communities similar to this one, but EMS-focused). I haven't looked at one myself, although I do have their iPhone app. I'm not sure if it's the same content or not.

[ColoradoDave]

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[NobodyAnymore]

Ya I saw the app. You can buy them as a package. I though about gettin the one for my iPhone but I dont take my phone on calls and I dont think it would look to good if I was on my phone at a call even though I was looking something up.

Yeah, I get what you're saying, but unfortunately, using a field guide in the field kind of looks just as bad. Actually, having a cell phone with you on calls has certain advantages. There are some areas in my county, for example, where the mobile and portable radios can't get a good signal but cell phones will work. There are other conceivable situations where having one can be a good thing. You are right that there are certain situations in which you should avoid using it, though, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't have it with you at all.

[ColoradoDave]

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[mrpita]

Dave,

I have one (forget which brand off hand) and I used to carry it at all times. Wasted weight in my pocket, especially as a first responder. I do still carry it when I do squad rotation (maybe one week every 8-12 weeks). Even then I only use it for two things -a) given a particular drug, what is it used for? and b) spelling check of med terms in my reports.

BTW, I am a EMT (in addition to being a FF); not everyone here can make that claim, be wary of those giving you advice.

[ColoradoDave]

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[NobodyAnymore]

Dave,

I have one (forget which brand off hand) and I used to carry it at all times. Wasted weight in my pocket, especially as a first responder. I do still carry it when I do squad rotation (maybe one week every 8-12 weeks). Even then I only use it for two things -a) given a particular drug, what is it used for? and b) spelling check of med terms in my reports.

BTW, I am a EMT (in addition to being a FF); not everyone here can make that claim, be wary of those giving you advice.

ColoradoDave, what mrpita is trying to tell you is that the only other person to reply to this thread so far (me) is not an EMT. And although mrpita is correct, what he is apparently unaware of (though I've posted it in public here before) is that I have been one in the past, and have had around 3,000 direct patient contacts where either I and my partner were the crew directly responsible for those patients. In 2009, I lost my job as an EMT due to an injury (it wasn't work related, but other than that, is a long story), and due to not being affiliated with any EMS agency at the time I was due to get re-certified, I was unable to do so. At the time, I wasn't much concerned about it, thinking then that my interests were going in other directions. Recently I realized I was wrong, and am now re-taking the full EMT course. I actually welcome that as an opportunity, too.

[NobodyAnymore]

Ya I'm thats my battle. I have the space for it in my pants but do I spend the $25 for it if I never use it?? I know I have a couple LT's that like to ask questions in the rig coming back from a call. So if I could open that up to clarify things ....

It can still be valuable even if you don't carry it with you on every call. Particularly if it's by a different publisher or author than your EMT class textbook. Reviewing it in downtime can give you a different perspective on things you've already learned, and it helps to keep various bits of knowledge fresh in your mind.

[mrpita]

I thought starting out I would want the quick reference material, and thinking back to my rookie year I probably did use it more then. But basically I came back to my training.

I am fortunate times 2. One I get to work in one of THE busiest EMS systems in the country, and even in my relatively few years of experience I believe I have more experience than a lot of EMTs get for 2, 3, even 4 times the years. (This has been reinforced by those with experience from before joining my dept.) For example, I have been first on scene EMT at dozens of shootings - more than most will see in a career; the squads I have worked do upwards of 8,000 runs/year. With that experience comes repetition, and mistakes learned from, that reinforces the training.

My second fortune was the training; taught by my dept. in the academy, an accelerated course boot-camp style that was so thorough yet overwhelming that in 3 months I went from not knowing a damn thing to being prepped well enough to succeed in this system. The only regret for my training is I didn't know what to ask when I went through. It'd be nice to have a 1-year or even 6-month refresher to jar loose and reconnect somehow the difference from the classroom to the field. Kinda like we were a lump of clay, formed one way to get through the training, then the field shaped us to another similar but different form; some kind of compare/contrast to rectify the two forms would then be ideal.

[BoxAlarm187]

I have to disagree with it "looking bad" if you have to look up something in the field. When I was doing my medic rotations in the various hospitals, it wasn't at all unusual for the docs to have the physicians-style field guide on them ... and they even used it!

Some medics & EMT's are better than others, as far as bedside manner, job performance, job knowledge, and memory of drip rates, med administration, and the like. Some simply might need a quick reminder on any of these items, and having a field guide handy doesn't hurt.

I don't carry one on my person, but we have one (ALS version) in the jumpbag, just in case anyone on the rig needs it.

[NobodyAnymore]

I have to disagree with it "looking bad" if you have to look up something in the field. When I was doing my medic rotations in the various hospitals, it wasn't at all unusual for the docs to have the physicians-style field guide on them ... and they even used it!

Some medics & EMT's are better than others, as far as bedside manner, job performance, job knowledge, and memory of drip rates, med administration, and the like. Some simply might need a quick reminder on any of these items, and having a field guide handy doesn't hurt.

I don't carry one on my person, but we have one (ALS version) in the jumpbag, just in case anyone on the rig needs it.

I hear ya. And I don't mean what I said in any kind of absolute sense. I should have qualified it a bit further. Whether it's a fellow emergency responder or a patient, there are some (meaning not all) who will see a field guide being used and assume that the person using it isn't that good, or shouldn't be out there.

Personally, I think there's nothing wrong with them. If it comes down to realizing you don't know something, and either making a guess or pulling out the field guide and possibly having some of the people around you worry about your competence, I think making the guess is probably the wrong way to go. It depends on circumstance, too. If it's a fast-paced critical life-or-death situation, you might not really have time to consult the guide.

Just out of curiosity, these physicians you mentioned, did they do their guide-consulting in front of patients?

[gunnyv]

I've carried one almost every day for a few years. In addition to being a good reference for patient meds that you may not recognize, it is also a handy for reminders while you are enroute to some of the less frequent calls-pediatrics, child birth, etc. It is a convenient place to keep computer passwords for reporting software, email, etc, plus door codes for hospitals, radio frequencies, phone numbers, etc. Mine has been customized with sticky notes, taped in business cards (assisted living home contact info), and writing in the margins.

I have found it worthwhile to buy the new version when it is released every 2-3 years, just for the updates to patient medications.

[Hopster]

I work as a full time ALS provider. I currently carry the ALS version of Informed and a small PDR I found @ Barnes and Noble. While I don't carry them with me on the actual calls I will reference them when typing my PCR or reviewing things with students.

[NobodyAnymore]

I work as a full time ALS provider. I currently carry the ALS version of Informed and a small PDR I found @ Barnes and Noble. While I don't carry them with me on the actual calls I will reference them when typing my PCR or reviewing things with students.

How does the small PDR compare to the full version? I mean does it have some information omitted, or does it just use really small print, or what?