How much medical training do you have?

20 years as US Army Combat Medic but it has been 20 years since I don't do that any more. I still go to the various training stuff out there .
 
I have my EMT-B and Just recently got my Wilderness EMT. If you guys are looking for first aid for the back country look at the NOLS courses. I was extremely impressed with their courses. Being an EMT is great, but thing are very different in the wilderness than they are when you have almost any resource you need. There are also a lot of things that EMT's, and Paramedics cant do (legaly, or are even trained to do) that wilderness first responders (WFR's) or wilderness Emts (WEMTs) can do in the wilderness. Stuff like reducing dislocations, ruling out spinal immobilization, when to stop CPR, etc. I dont want it to sound like i am downplaying EMT's or medics, I'm not. I work with EMT's and Paramedics a good amount and they are extremely knowledge and helpfull with things in there scope of practice. But when you have are hiking 10 miles out and have someone with a femur fracture and you draw a blank because you don't have a traction splint lying around, that training wont help you as much.
 
My medical training is limited to first responder treatment and first-aid & buddy care training from the miiltary.

I would feel comfortable enough getting most type of injuries initial care while help is on the way. I have never been in a situation where I needed to provided sustained care and/or treatment.

My wife is a critical care RN and suprisingly enough with the small amount of training I've received from the military I've been able to pick up a few pointers from her.
 
Noshtero said:
I want to do EMT training next year for just that reason. What's interesting, is I'm running into some roadblocks with EMT training in my area. The first question they ask is "why do you want EMT training?" and it seems like if your answer is anything except "I want to be a paramedic" they are reluctant to let you in the class. Now, I understand they don't want people to get the license, not use the knowledge for a year, and then be falsely confident they can use their training. I do think that they should let people take the class if they want to though.
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Go to the Red Cross website and look at Medical First Responder. It has been my understanding that, in order to maintain the EMT, you must be under direct supervision of a medical professional, i.e., doctor, which you wouldn't be if you are simply wanting it for backwoods emergency.

I personally work in the security industry and have worked in chem plants, as a mechanic, offshore, and all over the place. I have my CPR and AED cards and have been 'trained' by a few combat medics and a friend who is/was an EMT in the Houston metro [I used to do ride alongs when he was a VFF] I also picked up alot of my skills through the BSA and growing up on a farm and learning the hard way.

PeACE
Dougo
 
Guitar demon...I'd have to agree and disagrre with you on that ...you can program a machine to run a protocol, but what makes a good ems provider is the ability to think on there feet and creatively problem solve..more that 1 way to make a traction splint...However people that do this are the exception rather than the rule
 
Rescue Riley,
I couldn't agree more. My thinking was that people who don't plan to work in urban ems would probably benefit more by learning how to improvise and use what they have, rather than learn how to use what they wont have access to.
 
dipbait said:
Ive been hurt { crushed heel} had friends hurt, {concussion , cracked sinuses, seizures] while out in the woods. At the time of these occurances I had no idea what to do. Now , Im an EMT and could handle these situations better than most doctors. Most doctors cant even perform quality CPR. How much training do you guys have?
If you have no training you might want to think about taking some Basic Life Support classes.
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+1.

I'm way out of date, though. My last really serious classes were in my Cave Rescue days ... that's well over a decade ago. :o
 
dougo83 said:
Go to the Red Cross website and look at Medical First Responder. It has been my understanding that, in order to maintain the EMT, you must be under direct supervision of a medical professional, i.e., doctor, which you wouldn't be if you are simply wanting it for backwoods emergency.

I personally work in the security industry and have worked in chem plants, as a mechanic, offshore, and all over the place. I have my CPR and AED cards and have been 'trained' by a few combat medics and a friend who is/was an EMT in the Houston metro [I used to do ride alongs when he was a VFF] I also picked up alot of my skills through the BSA and growing up on a farm and learning the hard way.

PeACE
Dougo
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Dougo,

I don't completely understand what you are saying but if your talking about what I think your are talking about, I don't think this is entirely true. As long as you are practicing within your scope of practice(what you have been trained, and certified to do) you do not need to have a medical director. If anybody else feels that this information is incorrect please feel free to step in. I by no means claim to know everything about this, and it may very by state to state.

As far as maintaining your EMT, different certifiers require different things. In my experience I have to receive X number of hours of CE's(Continued Education) and mail them to my certifier.
 
Flanker said:
3 years in college - bachelor in nursing, and advanced CRP certificate (called A-HLR here) that includes the use of a defibrillator... Although the latter expired a couple of years ago, as I have no use for it in my current job.

Love the job, but pay sucks and so does the shifts, weekends, christmases +++
I'll probably park my ass in an office, work daytime 5 days a week and earn more money within the next couple of years - Currently doing a leadership program at my workplace.
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Paramedic with BLS Instructor, ACLS, PALS and PHTLS. Flanker consider coming to California, USA. There is a huge RN shortage. Starting pay depending on the area is $60,000.00 to $70,000.00 US with signing bonuses.
 
guitardemon said:
Dougo,

I don't completely understand what you are saying but if your talking about what I think your are talking about, I don't think this is entirely true. As long as you are practicing within your scope of practice(what you have been trained, and certified to do) you do not need to have a medical director. If anybody else feels that this information is incorrect please feel free to step in. I by no means claim to know everything about this, and it may very by state to state.

As far as maintaining your EMT, different certifiers require different things. In my experience I have to receive X number of hours of CE's(Continued Education) and mail them to my certifier.
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This is what I was told. Basically, unless you work in the medical field in some capacity, you don't need the EMT because you cannot maintain it without a medical person as a supervisor/overseer...
 
I'm always amazed at the quality of people here on this forum. My hat's off to all the doctor/emts we have.
I myself have basic first aid and cpr training that is way out of date but still works whenever I am the first on the scene. As a truck driver I am often the first responder.
Not to hijack this thread but, if any of you professionals has a good list for a first responder kit I'd love to see it. I have a good kit but I'm always looking to improve it.
 
I've had some first aid training in the army, and just a few months ago I went to a 2 day Red Cross basic first aid course. I've also participated in Red Cross lectures for some more specific issues. So, not a lot of training, but Im confident that I could handle the most common situations anyway. I'm also used to carrying a small first aid kit in my EDC.

I've read a lot about wilderness survival of course, and parts of that such as dealing with hypotermia etc. can be considered as medical knowledge.
 
EMSI (Emergency medical service instructor - candidate) - Passed my classes, now just need to do my 25 training hours.
CT EMT-D
NREMT-B
Wilderness EMT
PHTLS
PEPPS

Keith
 
protourist,
Here is some a list I have from one of my classes that I thought was a good list.
Equipment:
Trauma shears
Tweezers
Safety pins
Scalpel
Thermometer
BP cuff and Stethoscope
Rescue mask
Emergency Blanket
PT assessment forms

Injury Management
Gloves
12cc irrigation syringe
antiseptic towelettes
steril scrub brush
green soap spunges
wound closure strips
tincture of benzoin swabs
2nd skin dressings
moleskin dressings
antibiotic ointment
1x3 fabric bandages
knuckle and fingertip fabric bandages
4x4 sterile gauze pads
3x4 non-stick gauze pads
3-inch conforming roll gauze
3-inch x 5 yards coban wrap
transparent film dressings
1-inch cloth tape
4-6 inch elastic wrap(ace bandage)
wire or sam splint
triangular bandages
trauma dressings

If you don't know what something is on the list, or know how to use it properly, don't put it in your first aid kit. Something important to remember is that there is no perfect first aid kit. Also ultimately you aren't going to save someones life by having the best first aid kit, but rather the knowledge to help.
 
Got my First Responder cert in the police academy back in '93. Went into a different direction in '96 and got my EMT-B. Since then CPR instructor, Rescue Tech and along with working for a EMS service I'm on a region strike team here in SW PA. Been looking into other ventures recently. My time on the trucks is coming to an end.
 
CPR, Red Cross First Aid. All multiple times and current. Infant/child cpr. seperately. A coupel diver's specific courses. I've done splints, dealt with a lopped off finger (not mine) for the 5 minutes until a corpsman showed up once. General outdoors stuff.

I'm also a bit tainted by the military experience. For one, my father was an FMF corpsman, and then I went in. I'm on board with the "you are not ALLOWED to pass out until I GIVE YOU PERMISSION to pass out, recruit"
 
protourist said:
I'm always amazed at the quality of people here on this forum. My hat's off to all the doctor/emts we have.


Im amazed too. I can imagine getting hurt at one of the w&s get togethers and have 15 rescuers fighting to get to you.
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How basic are you talking? Alot of the "basic" things I've learned are a more updated take on things I've learned in the scouts(that's if you were a scout). Check with your local fire/ems service and see if they offer classes(sometimes free and if not it's cheap). Some services offer a 1 maybe 2 day course in basic first aide. You'll be surprised how helpful they could be. There is a service near me that was trying to get every adult resident in their area to learn CPR. Last I heard, and this was a few years back, they managed to certify something like 1 in 4 residents. Also check your local community college. I know the one near me offers courses that meet 1 night a week for several weeks and it's usually really cheap.
 
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