Med terminology lecture 3: paramedic equipment and terminology

PCP

Primary care paramedic

BHP

Base hospital physician: Who certifies you

CTAS

Canadian triage and acuity scale; how sick they are

ACR

Ambulance call report; what you leave behind

ACP

Advanced care paramedic: adds cardiac life support, procedural and combative-patient sedation, and narcotics to the scope of practiceCC

CCP

Critical care paramedic; Ornge, moving ventilated patients, infusions, balloon pumps and neonates between facilities

AEMCA

Advanced emergency medical care assistant: all primary paramedics need this

FTO

Field training officer; trainers and mentors for students and new recruitsS

Supervisor

base level for managers in paramedicine. above them are commanders, deputy chiefs, and chief

Who certifies paramedics for all controlled medical acts in the ALS PCS?

The base hospital

Who authorizes your medicine?

The base hospital

Who employs you?

Your service

BLS PCS

Basic life support standards

ALS PCS

Advanced life support standards

RPPEO

Our base hospital in eastern ontario

Patch to a BHP means

call for consult to base hospital physician

BVM

Bag valve mask

NRB

High flow O2, low aerosol: Non-rebreather mask, reservoir bag.

Simple oxygen mask

High aerosol generation; largely phased out

nasal cannula

low flow o2, minimal aerosol

oxygen tubing

connects mask to oxygen supply valve

oxygen cylinder: where are D tanks vs M tanks located?

D tank in bags, M tank in vehicle

flow meter/regulator

controls flow rate in L/min out of a cylinder

Are flow rate and concentration the same in oxygen delivery?

hell no

What is in a suction kit?

suction unit (vacuum), yankauer tip (rigid hockey stick), wide-bore tip (large straw for chunks), cannister (collects what you removed), tubing (tip to unit and canister)

what is in a trauma bag for hemorrhage and dressings?

trauma shears, pressure dressings (large and small), abdo pad (used everywhere for larger hemorrhages), eye pads, 2×2 and 4×4 guaze (dressing minor injuries), emesis bag/basin (collects vomit), saline (sterile fluid: wet dressings, irrigate wounds, or fluid replacement)

KED

Kendrick extrication device, typically used for MVCs

What device is used for maintaining c-spine?

cervical collar

Use of spinal board and scoop

extrication device that moves a patient onto stretcher while maintaining the spine in anatomically neutral position

malleable vs rigid splint

malleable is bendable, rigid is not

traction splint is called what brand name and is used when?

sager, mid-shift femur to reduce pain and improve blood flow (helps with muscle spasms)

what is contained in a burn kit?

sterile water and sterile dressings

what goes in the sharps container?

needles, lancets, and bio-hazardous waste

list examples of safety and scene equipment

hi-vis vest (roadway), safety boots (always), helmet (roadway, highway, construction), road flares, fire extinguisher

patient-moving equipment:

stretcher, pedi-mate/neo-mate (secures pediatric or neonatal patients to stretcher), stair chair, bariatric lifting devices (air cushions, winches, bariatric stretchers), mass casualy kit (more than five seriously injured patients), obstetrical kit (for prehospital delivery and labor)

I know the last few aren’t actually for moving patients but good to know.

what is the bench seat?

seat that runs parallel to stretcherwha

what is the jump seat?

the “captain’s chair” at the head

pass-through in back of ambulance is what

window to front of cab

IV poles and hooks located where in ambulance?

stretcher-mounted and overhead

when are soft restraints used in the back of an ambulance?

for combative patients

where does the attending medic typically sit in the back of an ambulance?

bench seat

what personal equipment should the paramedic carry on themself?

stethoscope (for auscultation), blood pressure cuff, portable radio, protocol book, PPE (gowns, goggles, gloves, N95, surgical mask, boots), optional kit (stab or ballistic vests, multi-tools, tac belts, glass breakers, seatbelt cutters, etc.)

CBRNE Describes what

chemical biological, radiological, nuclear and explosive— it’s a specialization in paramedicine

tactical paramedics do what?

assist tactical police teams (SWAT) during operations— care inside a perimeter most crews cannot enter

public order/support paramedics do what

assist police in situations involving large crowds or riots

transit paramedics do what

work at busy urban transit stations at peak periods

HUSAR describes which specialty in paramedicine

heavy urban search and rescue: large scale disasters, building collapses, earthquakes

Community paramedics do what?

geriatric patients and those with chronic or acute social and mental health needs; proactive home visits and chronic disease monitoring

MCIT specialty paramedicine:

mobile crisis intervention team; police officer paired with mental health nurse or paramedics skilled in de-escalation

peer support team describes what specialty

paramedics trained to assist fellow service members with acute and chronic mental health struggles

Label each level of CTAS

1- Resuscitation - immediate physician attention

2- Emergent

3- Urgent

4- Less urgent

5- can wait several hours without adverse effect

What CTAS level requires always going to the closest hospital?

1 and 2

List the CTAS bypasses:

-STEMI bypass (ST-elevation myocardial infarction goes to a STEMI centre with an emergency catheterization lab, which finds a blocked coronary artery and places a stent. going to a hospital without one just adds a second transport)

-Stroke/CVA bypass (cerebrovascular accident: patients with stroke symptoms go to hospitals equipped to treat them where thrombolysis and clot retrieval are available)

-Field trauma triage (FTT- a protocol initiated when patients meet specific physiological, anatomical, MOI special criteria. lets a crew with critically injured patient bypass the closest hospital for a trauma-equipped one)

What is an LTH and what does it consist of?

Lead trauma hospital

-trauma nurses

-RTs

-Anesthesiologists

-Orthopedics (surgical repair of fractures)

-TTL (Trauma team lead)

phleb means…

vein

10-4 means?

acknowledged

10-8 means?

on route to call or transporting

10-7

arrived on scene10

10-9

repeat the message

10-200

request police, non-emergency

10-2000

request police, emergency

10-20

what is your current location?

10-26

cancellation— dispatcher, refusal, or no patient found10-

10-19

return to base

10-2s

slang for police

CACC is?

Central ambulance communications centre

MPDS?

Medical priority dispatch system. the CACC call-taker works through question to determine a code for the call

What are the color-coded response priorities in MPDS (Medical priority dispatch system)?

purple- immediately life-threatening

red- potentially life-threatening

orange- urgent, no threat to life

yellow- non-urgent, threat unlikely

green- non urgent-non-serious

True or false: the ACR is a legal document that is ready by quality assurance, base hospital auditors, lawyers, and coroners

true

Code 5 means?

a patient who is obviously dead and beyond resuscitation

-decapitation, transection, major burns, evisceration, gross rigor with dependent lividity, obvious putrefaction, opacification of the corneals, among others