Paramedics rely on a multitude of tools. Imagine treating the range of patients you encounter in the field – from cardiacs, to trauma, to pediatrics – without a wide assortment of tools from which to choose. Impossible, right? And although some of these tools are essential to the job, and dictated by local and national standards, each tool contains various components that make it ideal for the system within which you work.

The child was pulled from the deep end pulseless and apneic. CPR was initiated immediately, and by the time you and your crew arrive on scene, a faint pulse is detectable. Your partner begins ventilating the patient, when suddenly the child vomits. Your potential save is once again in peril; this time from choking and aspiration. You reach for your portable suction unit and realize you left it on the truck. A crew member races back to the rescue to retrieve it as you log-roll the child onto his side, all the while struggling to ventilate, maintain c-spine, and continue resuscitative efforts. Not a good scenario.

The Zika virus has been getting a lot of coverage in the media. Primarily transmitted by infected mosquitoes, those who acquire the disease will experience symptoms such as fever, rash, and joint pain. Though the disease symptoms are relatively mild, concerns exist for pregnant women who contract the virus because it can lead to serious birth defects. 

It’s a bright fall morning and you’ve just arrived at your station. The off-going crews are still asleep, no doubt from a previous busy night of calls, so you drop your gear beside the truck and head for the kitchen to make coffee. As the crews filter in, you get caught up in a lively discussion about last night’s football game and before you know it, an hour has slipped by. Suddenly, the tones go off, summoning your station to a cardiac arrest. Chaos ensues as the ongoing crews rush to respond and the off-going crews rip their gear from trucks. The medic you relieve yells something about expired drugs, but there’s no time for details as you race from the station.

Nurses working in a small hospital often wear many hats. While a large, metropolitan hospital will often have a full staff of physicians, ancillary and support staff on-site around the clock, a small hospital may not have that luxury. This is especially evident during the “off-shifts” of evenings, nights and weekends.

After you’ve been working in the hospital for a while, it is clear to see that everyone has a defined role. Whether a nurse, a respiratory therapist, a laboratory technician or a facilities manager, all team members know their job duties, their scheduled work hours, and the hospital units that they cover.

Every medical administrator knows that purchasing life-saving equipment is one of the most critical decisions they must make. Whether you work for a large trauma center, a small walk-in clinic, or a rural fire department, the decisions you make when purchasing equipment will directly affect your personnel on the front lines. And one of the most important pieces of equipment in your life-saving arsenal is the portable suction unit.

Nurses know that efficiency is the name of the game when it comes to managing patient care over the course of a busy 12-hour shift. Scrambling for needed supplies is the last thing you want to do, especially in the case of an emergency. To avoid this, it is necessary to keep important supplies nearby and easy to access at all times.

The call comes in as a “gunshot wound to the head,” and you arrive on scene to find a middle-aged male with what appears to be a self-inflicted, small caliber entry wound to the right temple. He is sitting in a recliner and bleeding profusely from the nose and mouth. You carefully place him on a backboard, but once he is supine, his airway quickly fills with blood. Things are not looking good.

For those of you who have worked in the field of EMS for several decades, you can attest to the radical changes that have taken place in equipment over the years. Patient compartments are better designed, equipment is more sophisticated, and computer technology has greatly improved patient care, report writing, and access to reference information.