Firefighter Intern: Day 57 and 58
Jan. 26th, 2019 08:24 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
grim23Nothing ever goes away until it has taught us what we need to know. - Pema Chödrön
As part of my EMT program, I get to ride on a full 12.5-hour shift on a community ambulance. I rode with a Senior Paramedic and a Field Trainer on Unit 61, a fully-stocked 911-capable Medic Unit. We were system-status with the Portland/County 911 Dispatch, as well as the MetroWest Dispatch Center, for making sure that all of the MetroWest Ambulances are evenly spread around the county to ensure fast response times no matter where they are in the county. We spent the day posting and staging to different areas, and using different convenience store, grocery store, and hospital bathrooms all over the city. *grin*
When we weren't staged and posting, we responded during our shift to a sudden onset of nausea and vomiting with an older gentleman, a minor trauma/skin tear in an elderly woman in a care home, three non-emergency hospital transfers, and a minor cardiac incident. Near the end of our shift, we paired up with another unit for a very interesting transfer from a clinic to a trauma hospital of an older gentleman with severe pulmonary edema. I got to observe and assist with a Code-3 transfer with a CPAP and multiple systemic problems and treatments, all at 75 miles an hour down Highway 26, as well as the report and the transfer of care to the Emergency Department physician.
I finished my shift at 11:30 pm, went home and slept until 5:45 am, and blearily got up and went to Station 48 for the second day of my shift. After our usual short meeting, we got our house chores in and also did our rig checks, pulling out Engine 488 and talking about foam applications and swapping out our expiring foam for newer and better foam buckets. We also spent the rest of the morning throwing the 35-foot ladder, the longest and heaviest ladder we carry. It takes three firefighters to throw it correctly. I led the first evolution, getting my ladder commands right, and got the ladder up and into the building, and securing it with the correct knot the first time (that's the first time that's happened)!
I spent the rest of the day readying my gear, doing three loads of towels (blue, red, and green for the different shifts) and my own laundry, and driving Utility 482 to County Vehicle Maintenance for repairs.
We didn't have any calls all night, but I didn't sleep well. I was almost TOO tired. *grin*
Diminished lung sounds can indicate serious conditions like hypoventilation (not enough air with ventilation), pleural effusion ( too much fluid around the lungs), obstruction, or atelectasis (partial or complete lung collapse). If you auscultate (listen to sounds from the heart, lungs, or other organs, typically using a stethoscope) diminished lung sounds on one side of the chest it could indicate a pneumothorax, or collapsed lung which is a serious condition.
Conditions likely to cause diminished lung sounds:
• Pneumothorax
• Severe Asthma
• COPD
• Lower lobe consolidation
• Pneumonia
• Lung Cancer
• Pleural Effusion
• Obese & Muscular patients
As part of my EMT program, I get to ride on a full 12.5-hour shift on a community ambulance. I rode with a Senior Paramedic and a Field Trainer on Unit 61, a fully-stocked 911-capable Medic Unit. We were system-status with the Portland/County 911 Dispatch, as well as the MetroWest Dispatch Center, for making sure that all of the MetroWest Ambulances are evenly spread around the county to ensure fast response times no matter where they are in the county. We spent the day posting and staging to different areas, and using different convenience store, grocery store, and hospital bathrooms all over the city. *grin*
When we weren't staged and posting, we responded during our shift to a sudden onset of nausea and vomiting with an older gentleman, a minor trauma/skin tear in an elderly woman in a care home, three non-emergency hospital transfers, and a minor cardiac incident. Near the end of our shift, we paired up with another unit for a very interesting transfer from a clinic to a trauma hospital of an older gentleman with severe pulmonary edema. I got to observe and assist with a Code-3 transfer with a CPAP and multiple systemic problems and treatments, all at 75 miles an hour down Highway 26, as well as the report and the transfer of care to the Emergency Department physician.
I finished my shift at 11:30 pm, went home and slept until 5:45 am, and blearily got up and went to Station 48 for the second day of my shift. After our usual short meeting, we got our house chores in and also did our rig checks, pulling out Engine 488 and talking about foam applications and swapping out our expiring foam for newer and better foam buckets. We also spent the rest of the morning throwing the 35-foot ladder, the longest and heaviest ladder we carry. It takes three firefighters to throw it correctly. I led the first evolution, getting my ladder commands right, and got the ladder up and into the building, and securing it with the correct knot the first time (that's the first time that's happened)!
I spent the rest of the day readying my gear, doing three loads of towels (blue, red, and green for the different shifts) and my own laundry, and driving Utility 482 to County Vehicle Maintenance for repairs.
We didn't have any calls all night, but I didn't sleep well. I was almost TOO tired. *grin*
Diminished lung sounds can indicate serious conditions like hypoventilation (not enough air with ventilation), pleural effusion ( too much fluid around the lungs), obstruction, or atelectasis (partial or complete lung collapse). If you auscultate (listen to sounds from the heart, lungs, or other organs, typically using a stethoscope) diminished lung sounds on one side of the chest it could indicate a pneumothorax, or collapsed lung which is a serious condition.
Conditions likely to cause diminished lung sounds:
• Pneumothorax
• Severe Asthma
• COPD
• Lower lobe consolidation
• Pneumonia
• Lung Cancer
• Pleural Effusion
• Obese & Muscular patients
