Grand Rounds From the EMS Blogosphere: January 2011

Grand Rounds provides regular updates from many of the most popular EMS blogs around the Web. EMS blogging has become very popular; this is just some of what is being talked about.

Newbie Rightfully Scared

Over at the blog Medic 22, the author, who remains anonymous, has just been hired with a 9-1-1 ALS transport service. He has been doing interfacility transfers with his other job, but hasn't been running emergencies. In his post "Cut Loose," he expresses the fear he is experiencing with gaining the added responsibility. At one point he says he's scared to screw up.

I believe that is actually something quite encouraging to see. I believe it is that fear that makes the good medics good. Medic 22, you are going to screw up, and you may even screw up big--but I can't name a single paramedic who has been doing this for any length of time and hasn't. You should be most scared when you don't have that fear, because when you become complacent or arrogant, you are more dangerous. Remaining humble and cognizant of the fact that you will never know it all will only help strengthen you in this field. Head over to the Medic 22 blog and leave a comment or two for this newbie. I think he is off to a good start.

The Rounds

Over at Too Old to Work, Too Young to Retire, the author, who writes about everything from politics to sports, has provided us with a bit of insight into what it's like to work the holidays in a blizzard in a post titled "Working In a Winter Wonderland."

Dale Johnson gives us his 2010 wrap-up on his blog, 9-Echo-1, in a post titled "2010; going, going...". Make sure to check out Dale's blog--he has some great posts in his archives.

Steve Whitehead, another EMS author and blogger, has put together a very well organized blog I've mentioned before, The EMT Spot. He lets us know what he thinks makes a good leader in a post titled "The Measure of a Leader."

Justin Schorr, the Happy Medic, has graced us with his version of the 12 days of Christmas. Over the past year, Justin has made great strides with his friends Mark Glencorse and Thaddeus Setla with EMS 2.0 and their Web shows.

EMS Office Hours is a great EMS dedicated podcast. Jim Hoffman provides us with a little information on how to adequately meet the needs of patients with left ventricular assist devices in "Are You Ready For Your LVAD Patient?" This is a very important subject, and Rogue Medic Tim Noonan even posted on the topic recently in "Asymptomatic Sustained Ventricular Fibrillation in a Patient With Left Ventricular Assist Device." Phew, that's a heck of a diagnosis.

Tip of the Month

Make sure to cite and use any content you acquire from somewhere else appropriately. With the nearly universal use of electronic media, all kinds of information are readily available for anyone. With so much content available for free online, many print media companies have fallen on hard times. One company in particular has decided to file lawsuits against certain bloggers and Web forums for the unlawful use of its published content. Full versions of said company's articles were reposted without any attempt to obtain permission to do so. Don't get yourself caught up in a legal mess like this. Post a link to the original site, or a snippet to avoid such allegations.

Adam Thompson, EMT-P, is a paramedic with Lee County EMS in southwest Florida and an EMS educator with Edison State College. Read his blog Paramedicine 101 or contact him at paramedicine101@gmail.com.