Since ambulance safety is such a broad and important topic, in this blog I will discuss on ways to improve ambulance safety. As stated in the last blog, ambulances are one of the most dangerous vehicles on the road. We want this to change immediately and them to become one of the safest. There are several things that need to be done in order to ensure that this happens.
One of the first things that will be changed is crash testing for ambulances. This will help improve ambulance design for future ambulances and ensure that they are tested and overall safer.
Another step towards improved ambulance safety will be training. Driver training will help an EMT not only be aware of their surroundings, but handle the ambulance overall much better regardless of conditions. Dangerous conditions include bad weather, darkness, traffic , and just the overall stress of daily activity. Extensive training will help reduce accidents and bad decisions.
As far as ambulance design, more appropriate harnesses should be worn in the patient compartment. This will secure EMT personnel but will not prevent them from being able to assist the patient. Along with harnesses extra padding should be used on ambulance ceilings and floors to prevent hitting your head. All loose objects should be secure such as needles, equipment, cabinets, and cabinet corners should be padded to avoid injuries.
These are some of the most important ways to improve ambulance safety not only for the EMT themselves, but for everyone on the road.
Monday, April 25, 2011
Tuesday, April 5, 2011
Ambulance Safety
Just like any other job, the most important aspect of work on a daily basis is safety. This is an area that as an EMT, you cannot overlook. To say the least, as an EMT you have many distractions and have to multi task often. From caring for the patient or victim, to treating them, safely transporting them to a medical facility, getting through traffic and making any necessary phone calls to report what is going on, the daily duties for an EMT keep them extremely busy.
There are many hazards that an EMT must be aware of in order to be as safe as possible. Over the next few blogs I will go over some EMT statistic's when it comes to safety, as well as several hazards EMT's are confronted with everyday.
EMT fatalities are more then twice the national average for any other profession.
There are an estimated 12.7 fatalities per 100,000 workers.
There are a few different causes of these fatalities such as homicide, infectious diseases, and exposure to hazardous materials. But the main cause of EMT fatalities is ambulance crashes.
Other dangers of the job include assaults, lower back injuries, hearing loss, stress, long work hours which leads to drowsiness, and extreme temperatures.
With safety being the biggest area of concern, it is important to try to prevent as many EMT fatalities as possible. To do this proper training and exectution of what you have learned as an EMT must be put into place. In addition to training, ambulance safety is the biggest issue at hand. Many adjustments need to be made to ambulances in order to go from being one of the most dangerous vehicles on the road, to one of the safest.
There are many hazards that an EMT must be aware of in order to be as safe as possible. Over the next few blogs I will go over some EMT statistic's when it comes to safety, as well as several hazards EMT's are confronted with everyday.
EMT fatalities are more then twice the national average for any other profession.
There are an estimated 12.7 fatalities per 100,000 workers.
There are a few different causes of these fatalities such as homicide, infectious diseases, and exposure to hazardous materials. But the main cause of EMT fatalities is ambulance crashes.
Other dangers of the job include assaults, lower back injuries, hearing loss, stress, long work hours which leads to drowsiness, and extreme temperatures.
With safety being the biggest area of concern, it is important to try to prevent as many EMT fatalities as possible. To do this proper training and exectution of what you have learned as an EMT must be put into place. In addition to training, ambulance safety is the biggest issue at hand. Many adjustments need to be made to ambulances in order to go from being one of the most dangerous vehicles on the road, to one of the safest.
Friday, April 1, 2011
Drawing Blood
From time to time as an EMT, you will have to draw blood from a patient. There are a few important steps to follow when drawing blood. In this blog I will go over those steps.
1. The first step when drawing blood is to find the right vein. You want to find the most common point which runs on the inner part of the forearm.
2. Next you want to prep the chosen location and gently pat down on the vein and look at it's size to determine the best angle in which to draw the blood at.
3. Insert the needle into the vein whcih a smooth fast motion. The fast motion equals less pain for the patient.
4. Push the blood specimen tube into the holder keeping the needle steady. It will automatically fill the right amount of blood needed.
5. Pull the needle out at the same angle you inserted it once the last specimen is collected then dispose of the needle and apply gauze to the patient's wound.
1. The first step when drawing blood is to find the right vein. You want to find the most common point which runs on the inner part of the forearm.
2. Next you want to prep the chosen location and gently pat down on the vein and look at it's size to determine the best angle in which to draw the blood at.
3. Insert the needle into the vein whcih a smooth fast motion. The fast motion equals less pain for the patient.
4. Push the blood specimen tube into the holder keeping the needle steady. It will automatically fill the right amount of blood needed.
5. Pull the needle out at the same angle you inserted it once the last specimen is collected then dispose of the needle and apply gauze to the patient's wound.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)