It was a typical hectic Monday. Traffic was backed up; the young father was running late, and he was scheduled to give a presentation at the office in less than an hour. At the last minute, his wife asked him to drop their two-year-old off at daycare. As he sat in traffic, he reviewed his presentation in his head. When traffic finally got moving, he made a beeline for the office.

Anybody in emergency medical services knows the critical role pre-planning plays in the success of your operations. As an emergency responder, you must be ready to confront a wide range of critical situations. It is not enough to learn from your mistakes—you must actively pursue training and educational opportunities that provide real-world situations and responses.

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.

Anyone who works in the medical field knows how crucial his or her equipment is to the success of patient care. Your job would be impossible without the tools you depend on each day. From IV equipment to monitoring devices, modern medicine is dependent upon an array of gear, and one of the most fundamental pieces of equipment is the medical suction machine.

Have you ever stopped to think about the fact that one of your most important pieces of EMS equipment is also one of your simplest? Such is the case with medical suction machines. The ability to generate effective negative pressure that is then channeled via a portable suction unit means that even the most clogged airway can be cleared. And there’s nothing that can replace this most valuable of machines.

Anyone who has ever used a portable suction unit knows the importance of power and reliability. Suction units, like any other piece of lifesaving equipment, must be durable, effective, and able to tackle the most difficult of airways.

The scene is chaotic. You’ve responded to the community pool for a “patient not breathing” and find a young boy, no older than 10, in full cardiac arrest after being pulled from the bottom by bystanders. Good CPR is being delivered, but all eyes are on you as you quickly set up your equipment. As your partner hooks up the monitor, you whip open the portable suction unit to clear the copious amount of water erupting from the patient’s mouth. You flip on the switch and…nothing. You fiddle with the knob, but your suction unit is dead. The crowd stares in horror as you struggle to come up with Plan B.

No matter how long you’ve worked in healthcare, you know there is always room for improvement when it comes to skills. We practice intubation procedures, review drug protocols, and simulate mega-codes, all for the sake of sharpening our techniques and refreshing our knowledge base. In the ever-changing world of medicine, you can never stop learning.

Effective oral and nasal suctioning is a proven lifesaving treatment. When faced with an obstructed airway, due to blood, vomit, or secretions, there is no substitute for suctioning.

We’re all familiar with the proper steps in suctioning, but perhaps it’s been awhile since you’ve performed this vital skill. So, in an effort to enhance patient safety, let’s review some medical suction requirements so that we reduce some of its potential complications.

The start of the new year provides a great opportunity for reassessing your field procedures. Perhaps you are working with new personnel. Or you’ve been promoted to a new position, where you will oversee fellow employees. No matter the degree of change the new year ushers in, it is always a good idea to reflect on your daily treatment regimes. Are they working? Are they efficient? Perhaps some continuing education is in order, or maybe new equipment should be added to your assemblage.