Mendham Borough First Aid Squad
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The head bone is connected to the neck bone....

1/25/2016

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With the basics of the EMS system and moving/lifting skills under our belt, we turn our attention to perhaps the two most critical elements of the EMT course: Human anatomy and development, and the overall plan of patient assessment necessary to determine appropriate treatment and transport priority.

EMTs are not doctors. We're not asked, expected, or required to diagnose what ails our patient. Heck, we're pretty much told to avoid jumping to any conclusions, and look to treat life-threats and transport safely to a higher-level medical care facility as our primary responsibility.  While we may suspect kidney stones or gallstones, a broken toe, or an allergy to a specific food based on what a patient has told us they are experiencing by way of pain or discomfort, or what they were doing prior to the start of pain, at best we're told to maintain an "index of suspicion" rather than attempting to reach a conclusion and diagnoses. That's simply not the function of being an EMT.
Skeleton and bone names
The keys to providing effective care, however, requires us to understand human anatomy and how all the systems within our bodies both work and inter-relate. And while it is a major amount of stuff to learn, it's probably not much more than the average 8th grade health class or high school biology class.

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    Author

    Jon Alperin, one of our MFAS volunteers, shares his journey to becoming an NJ certified EMT.

    Picture

    from the Start

    Here is Jon's journey, presented in time order:
    • T-30 & counting
    • A look back at my first year with this squad
    • 1500 pages of EMT know-how
    • Class is in Session!
    • We pick things up, we put things down
    • The head bone is connected to the neck bone...
    • Questions? We've got a million of them...
    • Practice is vital, and vitals take practice
    • Getting ready for the 1st test
    • Taking a breather
    • Be still my beating heart
    • Gearing up for mid-term exams
    • A peak inside a PSAP
    • Urgency, not emergency
    • Paramedics - Our partners in success
    • Under pressure
    • Around the bend, the end is in sight
    • From beginning to end
    • A grim way to learn
    • The toughest lesson
    • One behind, one ahead
    • Tom Petty had it right...
    • Just gonna let this speak for itself
    • The end of the beginning

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24 E Main Street, Mendham NJ 07945
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