New to EMS.

So I am still a student working through the first few weeks of class and I am having some major issues with the Anatomy parts of all the tests, is there anyone out there with the same issue that has a way of making it easier?

Tags: anatomy, student

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Permalink Reply by Randy "Lasagna" Massicotte on June 9, 2009 at 12:29am: If your patient has a pain in their tum-tum, RUQ do they have colon cancer, a ruptured spleen,or a lacerated liver? If its a female could it be an ectopic pregnancy? Knowing GENERAL anatomy and physiology are what this career are all about. If you see BRIGHT red blood spraying is it an artery or a vein? Do arteries carry blood to the heart or away from it? If you want to see complex, take a look at some of the anatomy books that doctors and PA's need to study. We as pre-hospital are really given an abreviated version and yes, you do use it and more than you think.
Learning about the alveoli in the lungs and understanding perfusion may help you someday when you come across a 12 yr old kid that is blue around the lips but is breathing just fine. HMMM... what could it be? Asthma, COPD, anaphylatic reaction to the dog he just played with or the peanut butter he just ate? No you're not doing surgery but you need to have a basic understanding of the body and its systems to know how to "fix" it when its broke.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Thomas Hoffman on June 8, 2009 at 12:22pm: Yeah that's what most of my class is saying after all the tests. It's the only reason I failed my first test. It's really annoying when they make you label all the interworkings of the heart.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Sean Stell on June 8, 2009 at 12:24pm: Yeah just some basic memorization works.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Thomas Hoffman on June 9, 2009 at 10:49am: Yes, ultimately I want to become a flight nurse but I don't want to leave the field so I am trying to find a way to get my RN through being a paramedic.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Heather Lineberry on June 9, 2009 at 1:18am: hello. anatomy is EVIL!!! i have been taking classes forever now and I still have a little trouble. Go to a book store and check out the anatomy books. Some are great(:; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Thomas Hoffman on June 9, 2009 at 10:47am: Yeah anatomy is by far the most evil thing the health care industry has put into the prehospital care business.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Randy "Lasagna" Massicotte on June 9, 2009 at 11:30pm: AMEN!; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Dave Leach on June 10, 2009 at 2:10pm: Amen again!! EVERY call starts out as a basic one....Ah, the "sharp stabbing dull aching belly pain".lol

The best thing I ever did is get in on an autopsy, it ties alot together, if you have an opportunity take it!

And yep where your patients belly pain is located or any pain for that matter is VERY important. For example a guy falls off a roof, lands on his left side has an obvious FX of his left proximal humerus. Okie-doke strait forward enough, but just because I want to do a good assessment (and I am the curious sort) I start poking around his gut, has some bruising in his RUQ....Hmmm....Palpate "ouch man"......Even though he's sitting up talking yadayada.

Onto the cot 2 large bore IV's monitor, high flow oxygen, a helicopter flight...He tore his liver when he hit the ground...Am I a genius for getting that, nope, my teachers were great many years ago making me learn that, it brings the "index of suspicion" to light......Pretty "basic" really..............

There was mechanism, there was palpable pain, and it was really basic anatomy.......

When my partner and I arrived at that scene I was told his arms broke that is it.......Learning the fundamentals of anatomy can help you take the blinders off at calls and lesson your tunnel vision.......JMO....

Dave; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Thomas Hoffman on June 10, 2009 at 3:26pm: I fully agree with needing to know but unfortunetly I need a better job and minimal school time. I have a wife and son and a little one on the way and I can't take too much time out of life to go to school to further a career quickly. That and school is expensive. Too many bills and not enough money so I am hoping to start at a hospital and slowly progress through school and work with everything I am taught one step at a time. The only reason A&P messes with me is because it is Latin and I took a little French and between the two they are really similar but some things can mean opposites and it's hard to remember sometimes. The physiology part is not hard at all but the names of everything tend to be a little overwhelming.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Dave Leach on June 11, 2009 at 1:42pm: Eric, We ALL are bare minimum providers when we walk in the door on a call, it goes from there. To tell you the truth I would take a $h&t hot basic as a partner over a lazy ALS provider everyday and twice on Sunday.....But to answer your question Yep, I think you ought to know as much and learn as much as you can, it makes you a better care provider.......SAAAYY for instance....

I go on a call for a fall an older gentle man is on the floor not making alot of sense etc...The elderly wife says "dad has "Picks".....There is no evidence of trauma or anything else that would make me think he is traumatically injured, according to the wife he "slid off the chair" she seems reliable..........

I know that "Picks Disease" has something to do with the frontal and temporal lobes and can cause dementia. Do I know or really care about the patho/phys of its cause or treatment "Nope not me" but it rules many things out, will I check a blood sugar after looking at his meds and talking with his wife maybe .....Will I collar him tie this confused man up and cause him a great deal of unnecessary pain?....Nope, why? Anatomy.......Some may argue that hey Dave that's Neuro, that is a different ball game, nah not really the temporal lobes have something to do with speech and memory - He's confused, The frontal lobes (Posterior frontal lobes) premotor and motor skills - he slid off the chair........

Vital signs WNL, rest of the secondary assessment was really freaking unremarkable....We had a pleasant chat on the way in about whatever he remembered about the kids, the old job etc......That was a BASIC CALL............

Let no one say that you do not need it , you do, it will make you better provider, your patients will benefit and so will you!!

Look at it this way, if is it hard to learn it is probably good for you :).........; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Jeremy Arthur on June 14, 2009 at 2:27am: every paramedic must make a differential diagnosis on every call other wise we wouldn't ever open our drug boxes to try and "fix" anything but back to the subject at hand the reasoning behind knowing Anatomy and Physiology is so when you do palpate where ever the injury site is you know how serious it is you should know for instance that if you have a PT with a broken Femur or Hip you need you call for ALS or helicopter but if its a simple tib/fib FX if you absolutely had to you could transport that at a BLS level or if you have a pt with abdominal pain you need to know what quadrant the pain is in and what kind of pain it is so if you as a first responder find it before the ALS crew gets there when they do get there you can tell them what you found and that they really need to take a look at it most of the time they will listen to you if they are any good at what they do; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Dan L'Allier on June 10, 2009 at 9:15pm: Thomas, All I can say, the time you spend learning all you can about anatomy and physiology will pay you and your patients back ten fold. You are your patients best advocate, when you deliever them to the Emergency Department you will need to convey what your impression of thier condition is to the ER Doc. You want to come off as being intelligent and proffesional, the more you know about these subjects the more informed the Doc will be and the quicker the patient will recieve the proper care. It could be as simple as does the patient need Air transport or should they go by ground. You as the Basic EMT will be making these descisions, These can be life or death decisions for your patient. This is all based on your knowlege of anatomy and physiology. Learn all you can !; ▶ Reply to This