fm2

I agree! The next thing you know you'll be telling every one "Check out my cool emergency medical kit".


Rob, nice post.

Bunny

I have one. But it's mostly for dogs and horses. (They have all the best toys) I have never even heard of a sucking chest wound until this month, I'd definitely be interested in a class that covers that, etc.

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MedPig

I have long suggested a course in high schools to replace some of the feel-good crap they currently mandate. First half of the class, EMT-A certification, full course, no ifs ands, or buts. Second half, Firefighter 1, or state equivalent.

No one will be expected to go through life as superman, but what if you NEED firefighters? At least some can start sizing up, relaying info, and without gear, surround and drown, rather than interior attack.

To teach everything you need to know in two days is inviting a visit from a lawyer. You have just trained yourself, so Good Samaritan might not excuse your screwups.. You will be held to a higher standard, and I doubt you'll get TR to come to court on your behalf. I applaud the idea, but think two days is WAY too little time. I believe NJ requires 120 hours for EMT. That's one hell of a 2 day course...

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Guns don't kill people.
Gaping wounds in vital organs do.
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Rob72

sigh... no, you haven't. No certification, no licensure, no more than the basic first aid/First Responder courses some high schools do offer.

Yes, I used to work clinical instruction with a state university.

You will learn slightly more advanced hole-plugging from certified and liscensed instructors. Same deal at many other schools.

Blackeagle

Most tac med courses aren't trying to teach "everything you need to know", or the equivalent of a full EMT course. They're usually focused on a pretty narrow subset, gunshot and stab wounds, basically.

MedPig

True, but merely "plugging a hole" on the surface does nothing. Volume Replacement is everything in trauma. Some paramedics like to play doctor, and be cardiologists. Others of us, like myself, are trauma junkies, enjoying the battlefield medic role more than treating ECG rhythms. Unless someone went into one of these classes with a decent skillset to start with, I can't see that two days is enough to teach anything useful.

I see it as catering to the "Walter Mitty" set. We had cops at my old shop who took 1 and 2 day courses, and to hear them, you would thing they were qualified to do brain surgery under fire. I was a paramedic for 20 years, and there are things I would want a month's training for, before I was comfortable...

__________________
Guns don't kill people.
Gaping wounds in vital organs do.
============
NRA Life Member
DPMS AP-4 (.223 AND .308) / DPMS LR-308L
Colt M1911A1 / H&K USP45

Rob72

Someone with Celox gauze and a SWAT-T or Cinch-Tight, and no more knowledge than how to use them, would have made a significant difference at VMI, I would suggest. At Trolley Square Mall, on the Beltway, etc., etc..

"Know what you don't know." Know how to apply what you do know; be able to integrate that into non-scripted scenarios, and be able to reason through unique situations; recognize and be able to verbalize the limitations of your current training and equipment.

"Walter Mittys" will always be around. If I took a shotgun blast, point-blank to my inner thigh, I would prefer a Walter Mitty with a half-clue and a clean Tshirt to Gina Soccermom who thinks calling 911 is going to help. Odds are, such a thing will never happen, but it sucks to be a 1%er...

Blackeagle

Exactly! (though I think you mean Virginia Tech, not VMI).

As always, the people on the scene when it happens are the real first responders. They may not be EMTs or trauma surgeons, but they can do things that will help keep the injured alive until help arrives. This is particularly important in active shooter type situations where medical help isn't going to be available until police secure the scene. When seconds count, help is minutes away (if not longer).

jaygibson

Howdy Folks,
Starting August 1 new people signing up for classes in Camden,Tn. will get $50.00 off, current police and active duty military will get 50 percent off and prior service military or police get 25 percent off.
This offer applies to classes scheduled in August.

Go to TacticalResponse.com for schedule and sign up.

Jay