As emergency services leaders, we always wonder why some people wait for so darned long before they call for help or why others simply refuse help until it’s far too late. We work on our emergency notification messaging. We examine our use of social media. We conduct customer service surveys. […]
The Positive Paramedic Project
This episode of The Positive Paramedic Project comes to us from John Levac of Yarmouth, Nova Scotia. “65” I live in a small town. 12,000 strong if you include the county. When I am driving around it is common to see a 65 sticker on the back of a car. […]
I wrote this stream-of-consciousness piece as a ‘soundtrack’ for a series of mixedtapes sent to a few well chosen friends. Have you ever considered Condition White? Condition White is the lowest end of the mental awareness spectrum developed by American law enforcement instructor Jeff Cooper. Condition White, according to the […]
We began hosting concerts in our home because we live in a small town (3,000 people) about two hours away from the closest large music venues (e.g., Montreal QC or Burlington VT) and we wanted our twin teenaged daughters to be able to experience top-quality live music in an audience-friendly […]
This was the eulogy I crafted for Dr. Peter Cohen’s farewell service on September 5, 2014 in Verdun QC. — Faith. That’s the word that comes to mind when I think of Peter Cohen. He had such faith. I met Peter for the first time when I was in […]
A nugget of Big Medicine for your consideration. #101 Vital signs. Back in October, I dropped the Bad’Baru off for an oil change and a couple of NASCAR-style body patches at the Garage Generale Stanstead. I loved the place. It was like Cheers! with grease. Everyone really did know your […]
#100 Shit happens, vomit splashes & dignity is assisted. Transcript from an actual call to 911. Caller: He’s down on the floor. He collapsed. He’s vomiting. EMS Communications Officer: Is he breathing? Caller: I don’t know. He’s in the other room. EMS Communications Officer: You need to check if he’s […]
A nugget of Big Medicine for your consideration. #99 Time. “Time is fleeting…madness takes its toll.. ahh.. but listen closely.. not for very much longer.. I’ve got to keep control.” – The Time Warp, Rocky Horror Picture Show. EMS is all about time. We cannot control time but oh, how […]
#98 Blood. I learned fairly early on in my career as a paramedic that I was okay with blood. One of my first few calls involved enough blood-letting in a kitchen it could have been fodder for skits performed by Dan Ackroyd as The French Chef on SNL. There was […]
A nugget of Big Medicine for your consideration. #97 Carpets. Carpets have figured prominently in several of my more memorable EMS calls. Yes, that’s right. Carpets. One of my least favourite carpet calls came in as difficulty breathing and then got re-prioritized as respiratory distress. The address was a very […]