Question for Our EMT/Paramedics/Medics/Doctors

**hound** · 09-07-2009, 10:00 AM

Yes I took that course on base. The I.V. training was exellent and I used it in the desert. Proper use of pressure dressings and turniquet were equally important. The I.V. comes after controling bleeding. I'm suprised the Army is going away from the c.l.s useing I.Vs.

**tacmedic** · 09-07-2009, 10:08 AM

Rick, I agree with the others here that have said a wilderness FR or wilderness EMT course would probably be the best way to go. With the FR course you will learn basic splinting, bleeding control (when to use and when not to use a tourniquet), oxygen administration, and how to take vital signs etc. Most states courses require you to do some ride along time with an ambulance crew even for first responder, which can get you some valuable experience.

**Justin Case** · 04-13-2011, 11:42 AM

Bump,,, sorry, I know its old,, but its a great thread,, Are your medical supplies up to date ? have you considered taking the first responder course ? I believe it only took two days if I remember right,,, Its a great class !

**welderguy** · 04-13-2011, 12:00 PM

In Dallas Texas Baylor offers an emt course and its only a 30 day course plus er and ambulance rotations. When I certified many moon's ago it was a 4 month course. First responder used to be a 30 day course, now its like a week and uoa half.

**Justin Case** · 04-13-2011, 12:03 PM

Yeah,, way back when,,, I was a Firefighter and our class was private,, (given by one of the Medics) ,, I think there were maybe 6-8 of us,,, so we blew threw it pretty fast....

**carbean** · 04-14-2011, 02:49 AM

The definitive references for lifesaving interventions would be Tintinalli's Emergency Medicine and Paul Auerbach's Wilderness Medicine. They are expensive. Maybe your wife could find an older edition at a hospital library. Some libraries give away older editions when replaced by newer. These, esp the Tintinalli's are probably beyond the scope of a lay person. But the Wilderness medicine has all kinds of cool stuff in it. Not recommending you try to practice anything you read about there, but I can imagine circumstances, though rare, under which a resourceful person with at least a theoretical understanding of the how's and why's could save a life. Just my $0.02.

**Galong** · 04-14-2011, 06:03 AM

Hey Rick,

What are the sorts of emergencies you might come across in your environment? What sort of activities? Are you outside in all weather conditions?

This is right up my alley as I run school group trips as the main part of my business and have had to get all sort of certifications to do so. I'm not sure about what all is available where you're located, but the EFR course is certainly one of the best. It's been available over here from time to time, but never when I was available, so I went with the Emergency First Response instructor-level course. You can probably get this through any PADI dive shop (I'm guessing there are plenty in Indiana... grin). If there actually are some dive shops there, you might consider their life guard course.

The Brits have a wonderful organization called ITC (Immediate Temporary Care) and took that three-day course a while ago... very worthwhile. Rescue 3 International is another good one.

A lot of these organizations have manuals that you can probably buy without actually taking the course. That's part of the reason why I listed them.

I would also concentrate on the mental side of rescuing. If you're rescuing a friend or family, you've got to be totally removed from what you're witnessing and just go with your training. A good book for that, though not directly related to it, is Deep Survival by Laurence Gonzales. It deals with the mental side of survival, but you could adapt it to emergency medical situations as well.

Lastly, check out the bandages at http://ps-med.com/products/detail.php?p=20 This is the site that has a lot of military-quality medical supplies.

**Justin Case** · 04-14-2011, 08:48 AM

Originally Posted by Galong

all comments removed

Pretty Damn childish to remove all you comments because of one disagreement

**finallyME** · 04-14-2011, 10:17 AM

Old thread, but I have found a website that shows an advanced kit that is way beyond my skill level. It will at least provide food for thought.

**lacigreshe** · 05-27-2011, 04:52 PM

Congratulations-I always love it when others try to further their training in basic survival and first aid. Your wife may be able to help with this but what about an advanced CPR course? There is a training for a certification called ACLS, that might be helpful. Sounds similar to the Army Combat course.

**carbean** · 05-29-2011, 06:42 AM

I think I might have found what you are looking for, Prehospital Trauma Life Support (PHTLS). I would take a BLS course first though. I don't think ACLS would be much help. It is mainly for in hospital resuscitation and is heavily focused on cardiac drugs.