As an emergency responder, you have a lot of responsibility. You must be ready for anything: critical patients, natural disasters, and the ever-present threat of terrorist attacks. And a key to readiness is maintaining your equipment, for without your tools, you are little help to anyone.

EMS is a germy business. As an emergency responder, you are in constant contact with people suffering from communicable diseases. As your first line of defense, you must protect yourself. You must also protect your coworkers and, especially, your patients.

As an emergency responder, you know how critical maintaining your equipment is. If someone were to ask you to honestly evaluate your maintenance habits, how do you think you would rate? We all like to think that we are responsible, ready professionals, but we can always improve our habits. And when it comes to portable suction machine maintenance, there is no room for error.

Example of edit made in “suggestion mode”. Summer is upon us, and it seems like only yesterday we were dealing with the winter woes of emergency medicine: traumatic injuries from winter sports, an onslaught of influenza as the temperatures plummeted, and the winter doldrums that can lead to depression and anxiety for those predisposed.

For those working in the hospital setting, you may give your portable suction units little thought. Most hospital workers depend on wall-mounted units, which are plumbed and ready to go. You may go years without needing a portable unit. But when you DO need it, there had better be one available.

As an EMS professional, you know much of your job is spent maintaining your equipment. Trucks must be kept in good working order, supplies must be stocked, and medications must be in-date. Your equipment is of no use if it is not functional, and it's your responsibility to ensure everything is up to snuff.

Trauma-related respiratory emergencies can be some of the most difficult patient scenarios to treat. Trauma comes in many forms: from blunt to penetrating to blast injuries involving any or many parts of the body. And when the trauma affects the respiratory system, whether through direct impact (oral or facial injuries) or indirectly (pneumothorax or hemothorax), your patient can teeter on the brink of survival.

Treating respiratory emergencies is never easy. And when they are compounded by trauma, they can be downright deadly. So, let's discuss what to look for when it comes to trauma-related respiratory emergencies.

Mass-casualty incidents (MCIs) are a growing concern in EMS. It seems we can't go a week without a mass shooting—a frightening reality in today's society. But MCIs also take other forms: multi-car pileups on the interstate, natural disasters that strike without warning, and the threat of bioterrorism from enemies abroad. As EMS professionals, we must be ready for anything.

As good stewards of our EMS equipment, we should all be concerned with the life of our gear. Limited budgets mean we must make our equipment last, and when it comes to your portable suction unit, you can take a few simple steps to extend the aspirator's life. We break down these measures into three phases: before, during, and after the call.

If you’re a seasoned EMS professional, it’s intriguing to look back over your career and compare your current perspective to how you felt when you first entered the field. Think back to when you were a rookie paramedic or a green EMT. Sure, school prepared you for the responsibilities you would face in the field, but nothing compares to the experience you gain by running calls on real patients.