A nugget of Big Medicine every day. #56 Break down barriers to care One of my proudest moments as the head coach of CSL EMS came in the midst of a cold February day in 1997. One of our crews was quietly working their way through the floors of a […]
Monthly Archives: July 2012
22 posts
A nugget of Big Medicine every day. #55 Blow out your metaphysical envelope In December 1997, Dianne and I were staying at the lighthouse keeper’s cabin on Cape Borda on Kangaroo Island, South Australia. It was the first real vacation I had since taking the reigns of the all-volunteer Cote […]
A nugget of Big Medicine every day. #54 Put your soul into it It’s late on a Friday just at the time when afternoon slips out of its workclothes and pulls on something a bit more comfortable for evening. We’re walking down College Street in Bethany, West Virginia. We walk […]
A nugget of Big Medicine every day. #53 Always have your partner’s back A long time ago, in another life it seems, François and I rolled on a call for a patient who was 75-percent intoxicated and 25-percent angry and insisted he needed to be seen in an Emergency Room. We […]
A nugget of Big Medicine every day. #52 Build on strengths Dean DiMonte was raised in a tight-knit family where stepping up to help people in need was as much a part of family life as getting together for big dinners and sharing laughter and stories. His parents are the […]
A nugget of Big Medicine every day. #51 The sanctity of porcelain When I left Montreal to move to Baltimore to pursue graduate studies in Emergency Health Services, my EMS colleagues organized a going-away bbq dinner. They wished me well as I headed south to a place where calls for […]
A nugget of Big Medicine every day. #50 Kick at the darkness…* Welcome to the 50th episode of The Positive Paramedic Project. I started The Positive Paramedic Project after receiving yet another letter, e-note, or phone call rejecting my application for an EMS posting. I am sorry I can’t remember […]
A nugget of Big Medicine every day. #49 Bake birthday cakes On average, when someone suffers sudden cardiac arrest, irreparable brain damage occurs within four to six minutes. On average, in a big city, the time between recognition of a life-threatening event and the arrival of a trained and equipped […]
A nugget of Big Medicine every day. #48 Asking why? I’m a very secular human being. I don’t do synagogue or church unless my presence is required to celebrate a christening, confirmation, bar/bat mitzvah, marriage, or funeral. I don’t have routine conversations with God. Words I’ve spoken in church are […]
A nugget of Big Medicine every day. #47 Take care of Mrs. Rosenberg Mrs. Rosenberg is still dead. I was there when she died. She was everybody’s grandmother. She called 911 after enduring crushing chest pain all night. She said she didn’t want to wake anyone up. It’s been fourteen […]