Steven Velásquez - Granting "Sirenity"

Dec. 15, 2019 Several years ago, we sat across a table from each other. She, a young paramedic (and nursing student) of a different generation, was trying to figure out whether I should live or die. Re-emerging into the field of EMS after venturing off into corporate America and the world of IT (information technology) for several years, I had renewed my paramedic credentials and was meeting my new colleagues at Holy Name Hospital MICU . Like feral dogs displaying dominance, Meg and the rest of the staff surrounded me, sniffed and checked under my tail. They vetted and questioned to see who I know, did my audio match my video; " should we allow him to live or die ?"  Newly minted NAEMT AMLS Instructors (Advanced Medical Life Support) at UMDNJ Thank you Tracey Loscar I know, tough crowd right? Not really. They didn't behave any differently than all the other co-workers in all the other places my career had taken me to over the years. Perhaps a little more exclu...

Your patient is one of the dozens your system will encounter this week who's had an adverse reaction to an opiate ingestion. The patient is revived by law enforcement prior to your arrival with intranasal administration of Naloxone ® (Narcan) , the popular opiate antagonist cited in every news feed in the U.S. The rest of the call is a ground ball, an all too familiar, routine transfer to the local hospital where your patient is likely a frequent consumer of health services. Transferring Care     When your team arrives, there are several ambulances in the ER bays dropping off, picking up, doing the business of their trade. You roll your stretcher inside with your now awake, and visibly annoyed, patient (annoyed because you ruined his high), get him registered, and attempt to give the triage nurse your patient report. A neighboring volunteer EMS agency is also giving report on their patient (completely unrelated incidents) when their "leader" happens to overhear your...

Sitting in our station last night, the local cable channel showed a commercial of an unnamed, regional, academic medical center that is known for excellence in many specialties. We'll call it "Big Hospital X". I felt it was a good piece of marketing, liked the imagery, the aerial views of the facility, the smiling faces of the competent within. It was -- good marketing. In the middle of the night, we responded to a call for a person with chest pain who had consumed an enormous amount of nitroglycerine  (NTG) as in more than five times the prescribed dose, and more importantly, without relief. Some of our most basic training informs us that chest pain that does not respond to nitroglycerine is less likely to be angina and more consistent with someone having a heart attack. Upon arrival we encounter a strong looking, hulk of a man in his early 60's seated at the dining room table. Long story short, he's had heart attacks in the past, has had coronary artery byp...