Red Cross Advanced First-Aid Courses?

[tommytrauma]

444

I seriously doubt that they are going to let you in on some secret ways to heal the sick and injured that don't require a hospital.

Dude, you don't have protocols for the Mr. Miagi hand clap and rub soft tissue injury yet?

Skunk, as 444 alluded to, most of the tactical and decent trauma courses have at least EMT-basic as a prerequisite. Most tac medic courses require EMT-P. As others have pointed out, EMT-B is the basic foundation for all "real" prehospital courses. I took my tac medic course through the University of Missouri LETA a few years ago, and it was geared mainly towards teaching medics to deal with tactical situations rather than actual medical care skills. It did rock though, the lead instructor was a redneck klingon named Todd Burke. One of the most competent, motivating guys I've ever dealt with. "Sometimes it's just a gun kinda day".

 

[444]

I can't think of any true medical emergencies you can fix without equipment. At some point there is going to have to be either equipment or a hospital and in the vast majority of cases; both.
Of course you can use improvised equipment for some stuff; splints, bandages and that sort of thing.
I would love to hear more about this, but I keep asking and get nothing back.

 

[Glock-A-Roo]

I can't think of any true medical emergencies you can fix without equipment

That's not the point. The point is that if you understand the underlying principles of the body & what works to aid the patient, you can make the most of what you DO have on hand, and the people running places like WMA are exceedingly good at teaching this stuff. No one said these classes could teach you to do brain surgery in a ditch with only a #2 pencil.

Example: EMS classes teach you to use 1-3 helpers to roll over a collapsed patient who is suspected of having C-spine injury. In the sticks, though, its just you. WMA (& others) teach a very slick way for a single rescuer to vise-lock the patient's head inline while rolling him over to the supine position. They also teach you how to use this method to logroll the vomiting patient so he doesn't aspirate his vomitus. Common sense? Perhaps, until you try it a few times and realize it takes some practice. Or until you do it for the first time in a real situation, move the patient incorrectly, and paralyze him for life (or just kill him).

First-time improvisation and "common sense" are great, but you and the patient will fare better if you take the time to learn from those who have been there, done it, and learned the lesson. A smart man learns from his mistakes, but a wise man learns from the mistakes of others.

 

[444]

"EMS classes teach you to use 1-3 helpers to roll over a collapsed patient who is suspected of having C-spine injury.........."

Ok, so now that you have log-rolled him, now what ? If you are somewhere far away from any conventional medical facility how do you get the patient out by yourself ? You are still going to have to transport the patient to a hospital and all that, just like it happened in the downtown of a major city.

Contrary to what some might think, even EMS providers in urban areas have to occasionally do a certain amount of improvisation. Just because you are trained to use a certain piece of equipment doesn't mean you always have that piece of equipment. You might have just used it on the last call and got another call before you could re-stock. Or you might have just started your shift and the crew you relieved neglected to mention that they used that piece of equipment and didn't replace it. Or you might have one piece of equipment and have more than one patient that needs it. Been there, done that.
You might have been taught to log roll a patient with 2-3 helpers, but what if you don't have two or three helpers ? I have been on calls in a rural area where we have had a half dozen patients, all seriously injured and it was me and my partner with the nearest back up unit a half hour away.
None of this stuff is unique to any certain situation. The common sense part of it comes into play when you have the training to recognize that you need a certain piece of gear, you know you don't have it, you know what it does and how it works, so you find something else to take it's place.

 

[Glock-A-Roo]

...Contrary to what some might think, even EMS providers in urban areas have to occasionally do a certain amount of improvisation. Just because you are trained to use a certain piece of equipment doesn't mean you always have that piece of equipment...

444, isn't that basically what I just said? That improvisation is great even for the urbanite?

All I'm saying is that the wilderness/remote-oriented courses focus hard on improvisation & minimal gear, which sounds exactly what the original poster might well be interested in. I submit that your statement about EMS improvisation not needing to be taught and merely requiring common sense is biased by the fact that... you've been a medic for 21 years! To my knowledge, Skunkabilly is not a medic.

Ok, so now that you have log-rolled him, now what?

Ensure an open airway?

.

You might have been taught to log roll a patient with 2-3 helpers, but what if you don't have two or three helpers ?

In my previous post I described how WMA teaches a 1-rescuer logroll method, and how it can be quite handy compared to the textbook EMS methods, so I'm not sure about your line of followup.