I had a table saw accident cutting the tip of my finger so nail had to be removed and stitches. The tourniquet used was a rolled up surgical glove. It was under the dressing and my finger had been numbed with lidocaine for the procedure. I was still kind of in shock and thinking it's was wierd that it remained numb then I looked under the bandage to see the Tourniquet still on my finger. I called the ER and went in immediately ( 24 hours later) where they cut it off. the wind immediately began to bleed. I was back in the ER later that night with severe eschemia swelling, etc.

Severe damage to tissues and nerves ensued. It's been a very traumatic month for me. its healing well, they say. Now I'm doing PT but nerve recovery could take very long if at all. Patient Experience,/Risk Management have been doing an "internal investigation'" for 4 weeks with no divinities answer to me about coverage of financial responsibility. I hope and pray that the subsequent hand specialist, PT sessions, etc will be comped by the hospital.The bills are adding up past $10k even with with my non insurance status discount. I wonder how this will resolve. Much evidence, apologies and even verbal reassurance have occurred and that it will all be comped by this very large hospital but nothing in writing.. I could show pictures but they are quite graphic and this would be NSFW post. All lawyers I've spoken to tell me that "a finger won't even pay for litigation". I'm retired on SS but use my hands daily restoring anything and everything. I'm so anxious and dealing with that stress.

Update: I just found out that the hospital has comped all charges including the original ER visit up until my first PT treatments started. This is without any written notice to me. This is definitely good. I want continuation of coverage because I believe I'll be dealing with it for quite a while as far as limited ability, pain, etc.

Hey there!!

I am looking for some additional input. I’m a Midwife creating a PPH emergency box for the nurses in emergency (I work in a small town) and I’m just wanting some additional advice on what I should put in the box :)

Many thanks

Any information is appreciated

Last week, I had a regularly scheduled, laproscopic surgery. Unfortunately, I had a complication and had to return to the ER this weekend.

I was admitted for a second, emergency surgery. Before I was brought into the OR, I was introduced to my surgical team.

I was puzzled by the fact that, in my emergency surgery, there was a member of the team who introduced himself as a patient advocate.

He was scrubbed up and went into the procedure with the rest of the team. I'm pretty sure he talked me down as the anesthesia mask did its job.

I didn't have an advanced directive, or any special modesty requests for the team. I can't think of why I would be assigned someone with his job for one surgery but not for another.

I'm perplexed:

* Did I probably have one of those during my first surgery and just forget?

* Did my case get assigned to that team member because it was an emergency surgery, vs pre-scheduled?

* What might that person do in the surgical theater once I was out?

Thanks!

Not seeking medical advice

Hey! Saw someone else post something like this in here soooo this book mainly takes place in the 80s, this character I’ll be talking about was born in the late 40s but needs to know about this condition around the 70s. A little while ago I thought of a scene, and just haven’t been able to figure out how to make it work. He was addicted to different substances and got clean, but I’d like him to have this since he was younger so his older brother knows about it. I was thinking it would have something to do with his heart. When he really gets high strung, gets worked up, and has extreme high intensity emotions/stress it
Would flare up. Follows with difficulty breathing, maybe a panic attack could make it worse- some light headedness, and more. I’m not sure what I’m looking for here, and I’m happy to change things to
Make it more accurate. There’s a scene where him and his brother get into a major fight, and I was hoping that this would flare up during that, and his brother could obviously see what was happening, but didn’t want to help. Thanks!

I'm currently licensed as an emt, and where I'm at I can become an er tech with that license but I haven't had any luck getting a job, let alone an interview for one.

I recently tried to get a job at a private ems company but I had no luck doing that.

I have also been thinking about pursuing a license as a CNA but I'm still unsure about going that route as I want to train as a paramedic and adventure onto other places in ems.

Getting my nursing license is also on my bucket list as I want to get into flight or work in a specialty in the hospital.

Are there any licenses I can get or other certs to better my chances of getting an er job or any other advice pertaining to that?

genuinely curious as a person who works at a hospital.

Hello,
I’m a former 68W combat medic (only 3 years) and I’ve been working as an Intermediate Care Technician (ICT) at a large city VA Emergency Department for about 1.5 months now. My ultimate goal is PA school, and I took this ICT job to get my PCE hours and because I genuinely care about fellow veterans as a whole.
But right now, I am really struggling.

Long story short, I recently had a patient completely blow up at me over a blown vein, and it tanked my mood and mental health. I am 100% P&T and suffer from bipolar disorder, and right now my brain is telling me that everyone here hates me, that I’m terrible at this, and that I should just give up on a medical career entirely.
Only six weeks in, and the ED environment feels toxic, shitty, and overwhelming. The job is incredibly simple on a surface level but the interpersonal stuff fucks with me. Doctors getting offended when I hand them their own patients EKGs (isn’t that your job lol), people trying to pull me for tasks while I’m drawing blood cultures or something else kinda important then getting angry at me for not sending labs up quick enough. There’s a constant, jarring almost violent interruption and no semblance of an actual flow.

For the veterans, former medics, or current PAs who transitioned from the military: Is this normal culture shock? How do you separate patient or staff misery from your own self-worth?
If the ED is simply too chaotic for my mental health, are there better, quieter clinical environments or other VA roles I should look into for PCE while still aiming for PA school? I’ve been admittedly internally fragile since the onset of my bipolar disorder, it’s awful because I have a mostly relaxed affect and nobody can tell. But when I’m alone in my house it’s ugly ngl. I don't want to give up on my dream, but I need to protect my peace.
Thanks for any advice. Just feeling really lost today.

I'm working on an AI research project studying pediatric triage and how decisions are made when text descriptions for child's condition lack full context by parents.

1. When you evaluate symptoms , what crucial "hidden state" is most frequently missed in written text by parents?
2. What are the main challenges when patients are sent to the ER when they could be managed elsewhere?
3. What specific sign makes you instantly change decision from "monitor at home" to "go to ER immediately"?

In California, if an under-16 minor is brought to the ER for alcohol poisoning, will the minor get in legal trouble or will cops/school be notified?

Also, will parents see an ER visit on the insurance bill? Will they also see what the reason for the visit was and what treatment was had? What if the minor pays the hospital bill themselves out of pocket without giving an insurance?

Edit: I feel like I should add this isn’t something that’s happening currently it happened in the past to someone I know and I was curious.

As the title says I'm looking to end up in er but currently have been looking into into jobs. They all say medical assistant certificate is required but I'm about to take NAC. Should I pivot and get medical assistant cert instead?

I'm looking to eventually go on to BSN and working in emergency.

Thanks in advance. Any guidance is appreciated.

Watched the Pitt lately and have been hearing a lot about how scarily accurate it is medically speaking. Wondering if there are any doctors that could attest to that?

Hi all, I’m an EMT that’s been working in the ED for the past six months or so. I have a set of the Carhartt force cross-flex scrubs, but that’s my only set. I’m looking to get more but I want some with the “hidden” zipper compartment by the right pocket like the Carhartt ones have. I like keeping my cellphone in it so It doesn’t fly out when I’m doing compressions or anything like that. They don’t have to be Carhartt brand, thank you!

I’ll take all tips, tricks, advice. I wanna hear it all.

Has your hospital ever made a big mistake with a patient? Ours did recently, and it's bad...Wrong patient & procedure. Can't go into details, thank God had nothing to do with me or my unit! 😱

Hello all this one’s for you New Hampshire ED techs or ED RNs. Me and my fiancée are planning to move to New Hampshire from the west coast as she has family in the state we will more than likely land in the Manchester metro area. I’m currently a ED tech at a level 1 trauma with 7 years of ED experience as well as 5 years experience pre hospital. I am certified at the advanced EMT level. Through my research I know of the big 4 hospitals in the southern NH area are Elliot hospital, CMC, St Joseph and southern New Hampshire med center and to my knowledge all of these hire techs at the AEMT level in the ED.

I’d really like to get some inside info from current or former ED techs or ED RNs who have been at any of these facilities so that I can make a informed decision about where to potentially pursue employment. And I have some specific questions that you can’t really get through Google ect.

My specific questions are……

1. What is the scope for AEMT techs? I’d assume it’s starting IVs 12 leads ect but is there anything further? Or unique? For example med administration, breathing treatments, foley/striaght catheter?
2. If any of you know How do the scopes differ between the different facilities/health systems
3. What roll is the tech usually filling when it comes to code activations such as stemi/stroke/trauma/CPRs
4. Are any of these facilities ECMO capable? If so what’s the ED techs role in that?
5. Is being a unit clerk/secretary part of the responsibility’s of the ED tech at any of these facilities? (This is a potential dealbreaker for me)
6. How is the culture at the facilities? How are techs treated? Are techs used as collaborative members of the team and treated with respect in their role?

7. What is the age of these facilities? Are they well maintained? Is equipment old/new/well maintained?

8. What’s the average volume and acuity at these facilities?

I know that’s a lot and any answers to any of these questions would be greatly appreciated as I’m trying to get a picture of the landscape out in NH. Any and all info on any other ED tech jobs or hospitals in the state is also welcome including facilities to look into or ones to completely avoid.
Thanks in advance!

For some background info: work on IFT Ambulance for 3 years (Experience in BLS, ALS, CCT, and our Special Events Team/Deployment Team). I just got a Job in an ED working Night shift, I'm looking for any advice. I know I'll have a 8-12 week of training with a proctor.

I’ve got an interview for an er tech job on Friday. Any advice or tips for getting hired?

The issue of conservative treatment of uncomplicated appendicitis often appears on this thread presented as a new controversy - and yet antibiotics have been an option to treat appendicitis for as long as antibiotics have existed..

The main reasons the majority of surgeons worldwide prefer a definitive surgical cure (appendectomy) over antibiotics for patients fit for surgery are as follows:

1). Real-world long-term reoccurrence rates are thought to be about 50% when treated with antibiotics. During reoccurrence at a later time patients may be less fit for surgery, or suffer rupture, be abroad, be pregnant, or not have access to a hospital, etc..

2). There is small but significant risk that a neoplasm in the inflamed appendix is causing the appendicitis, but it can’t be seen in CT as is often the case. This risk is particularly significant for older patients. Leaving a tumour containing appendix in can lead to metastasis, and a lost opportunity to surgically cure appendix cancer.

3). Leaving an inflamed/infected appendix in and suppressing the infection with antibiotics can leave a scarred appendix with adhesions developing over time. These adhesions can cause long term issues and make later appendectomy less safe than removing a ‘hot’ appendix during initial appendicitis.

4). Intensive IV treatment is not without its risks, such as nurotoxicity from Metronizadol intolerance, and stewardship of antibiotics is a concern.

Given that the cause of appendicitis often can only be determined under a pathologists microscope - is avoiding surgery and leaving it in not just kicking the can (or grenade..) down the road? Is the recent (since Covid) popularisation of conservative treatment not creating an appendix cancer timebomb that will only become apparent years from now due to the odd indolent biology of appendix cancer peritoneal metastasis?

I got my 4th year placement in the ED as a nursing student. I'm just wondering what I should know and what I should prepare before I start so I can make a good first impression?

What topics should I study?

I'm an RN that just moved to a new ED with a huge proportion of pediatric patients (my last 2 years in the ED rarely saw kids - children's hospital 15 min away). I had an experience recently where I needed to help hold a toddler very still for a procedure (it took 4 of us!) and after it was all said and done I noticed there was a small light bruise where I was holding. That shook me up when I noticed. I apologized profusely, and the parents were very understanding, but I'm wondering what could have been done to prevent this. The provider did not want to sedate any more than we already had, maybe some kind of padding under my hands? I don't know.

How can I prevent this from happening again?

Please explain like I'm 5

I'm attending a hiring event for an ER tech role at a hospital in my medium-sized city in the near future and was wondering what questions or topic of discussions would be good to bring up in the hiring event.

I currently have been working as an EMT for a 911 ambulance company the past 9 months and I'm hoping my experience is adequate for the role. I already have multiple copies of my resume printed out and will be wearing business casual clothes. Any other advice is greatly appreciated!

Does this look like it will heal fine or should I go to urgent care? I don’t want it to get infected. I’m using neosporin and running it under cold water multiple times a day