Last two day shifts!

Before holidays that is! Nothing much happened, I did get a kiss and a cuddle from a local resident who is an artist who's privacy I have invaded several times to respond to her vita-call alarm. A false alarm this time so we just sat and talked for a bit. She was reputedly very Bohemian in her younger days and I love visiting her eclectic home.



Well that's enough I'm off,

See you at the big one,
Taz

Pulled two overtime shifts!

Greetings all,

As it say's I got two overtime shifts.

Different areas with different demigraphics, one a night and one a day shift.

Nothing overly taxing about either shift, just steady work.
So back to work tomorrow for my final four shifts before holidays! Until later,

See you at the big one!

Taz

As I end my Easter shifts

I'm sitting enjoying my end of shift beer, I reflect on the work we had and wish there had been more.
A couple of assaults, one of whom bolted off the stretcher before we could get him to triage.
The odd mental health patient, not unusual at festive times as these are usually family orientated and cause distress to some.

Four off now, but I have said that I'm available for overtime so I'll see what that brings.
I hope everyone I know had a safe and enjoyable Easter and I'll see you at the big one!

Taz

Good Friday and Easter Saturday

Well these have been my dayshifts, and by far the most boring in my career at this station. I think we have averaged 4.5 jobs a day. Word has it that there are a couple of Dance Parties on tomorrow night (our first night shift) So I'm looking forward to a better night.

Taz

Can't Sleep

I hate this, it happens just about every week, the night before I return to work I either can't get to sleep or I wake up after a few hours and then can't get off again. It's 0324 hrs eastern summer time here in Sydney right now and as is my norm I'll be cycling to work, departing some time just before 0600, they have forecast showers today but so far it seems to be just a little wind that's all.
Well I'll post this and then play some Solitaire and try to get another hour or so.

Taz the insomniac

An interesting syncope!

So as we all know you usually get, or I do, some interesting stuff on an overtime shift. Did a night shift down south on Tuesday, luckily there was an officer from a station I've worked at before doing a roster there to help out with a staffing shortage (where doesn't have one of those?) and I worked with him. We responded to 5 jobs (god I was bored, not like the 8 or 10 I would have in town).

One of our jobs went like this,

A mature male, Unconscious/Near fainting.
O/a - Pt is supine on his bed, GSC=15, BP=124/80, PR=84, RR=22, ECG=normal sinus rhythm (textbook perfect), SpO2=98%, BGL=6.1, no cardiac history, no medications and no allergies.
The story goes that he jumped out of bed to visit the toilet and got as far as the hallway before collapsing, I suspect there was some LOC as he further states, that he came to and got up and collapsed again.
This time the wife heard the thud and got out of bed herself and made him wait before assisting him to bed. He was feeling a pounding, rapid pulse with associated nausea. So I explained the thing about getting upright to quick,,, and that from sleep this is compounded by the resting state of the body and it's regulatory mechanisms,,, etc.

I allow ten minutes and start postural BP measurements with stethoscope and brachial measurement, no palpated radial cheapo/shoddy job.

Sitting=110mmHg, Standing he's sweating, panting and looking green around the gills with a systolic <80mmHg, put him back on the bed supine, started some O2 and waited 15-20 minutes to give his body more time to wake up and return to normal but similar BPs were recorded with the next attempts and so he got transported.

An hour later at hospital after dodging the glare of the triage nurse for bringing in a healthy syncope, the pt was maintaining a standing BP=110mmHg systolic with no change in ECG, pulse or GCS.
He was discharged two hours or so later with bloods having been taken but no results.
I know I did right but what do you guys an' gals think might have been wrong with him and could I have done anything else?

Be careful out there and I'll see you at the big one,

Taz

And then I returned to Home

On Saturday 23rd of September 2006 I commenced at a station closer to the CBD. The old station at which I had served out the last six months of my probation year had been gutted and renovated. The external rebuild did not change the vibe of the staff and we were all glad to have somewhere to call permanent home.

Many of the old staff have moved on to other projects and I now find myself as one of the old hands on station.

Be careful out there and I'll see you at the big one,


Taz

After Basic Training

Well then I spent time on road learning the skills necessary to make a good 'Ambo'.

I was posted to three different stations around Sydney during this first year before I went back to school and got examined on what we had learnt!

I passed, and was posted to a station in Sydneys south east for the next two years.

Be careful out there and I'll see you at the big one,


Taz

Where and when did it all start?

Rozelle, the Ambulance Education Centre at approximately 1630hrs on Sunday the 26th October 2003. That's when I arrived with all my current worldly possessions in the back of the car to find 3 similarly aged gents hanging around near the front of the building, John (Poppa Smurf), Liam (Red Neck) & Steve ('6').


Introductions done and the joke about was I moving here with all this gear? 'Yes'! They gave me a hand to get it up into the cell that was to be our home for the next seven weeks and then we all retired to the Orange Grove Hotel across the road and there I was given the nickname 'Taz'

Stuff me I've been kicked off!

I don't really know if I'll be able to find time to do anything on this site but drop by every now and then to check.


Taz

Michael, here you go, GO NUTS my Sweetness!!!