We asked some of our first Austere Emergency Care students how this training has impacted their jobs and if they had any stories for us. Read on to see what they had to say.
“I responded to a motorcycle vs. deer a few weeks ago. The motorcycle was travelling at approx. 65mph when it hit the deer square-on, throwing the rider. The rider suffered multiple fractures to their right arm/right hip & leg. For the challenge, I used the AEC training drip calculation and set-up a Ketamine drip for pain management, by hand. It was quick and easy (especially since math isn’t my strong suit) and was very effective for controlling the patient’s pain!
Had I not had that easy calculation, I would’ve used individual push-doses of Ketamine and Fentanyl, however the ease of the infusion calculation and length of transport were much more conducive to an infusion, so using the knowledge from AEC, I just dove right in!
Aside from that specific call, I really try to incorporate PCC into all my calls, whether 911 or IFT. The lessons presented regarding longer-term care, “nursing” care, etc. that the course taught really help me form a good mental model for treatments that I’ll do (or prepare for) now, in 15-30 mins, after an hour or more, etc. The course really just gave me a good framework for continuation of care, beyond those first few minutes.”
Ross Francis, NRP/TP-C/FP-C [Senior Lieutenant, Gunnison Valley Health Paramedics]
“I’ve had 3 Search and Rescue Patient encounters. Most importantly, the skills I developed in your course allowed me to always think way, way ahead of where I am now. From starting the mission (why are they always in the dark?), to what I might need over the next few hours and conserving supplies. 1 of the 3 was a HAPE patient at around 10,5000 feet about Vail. We had to climb a bit less than 2 miles, and about 1300 feet of vertical elevation. Upon our arrival, we deemed him unable to walk out, and due to conditions, time, darkness and overall patient health we decided to fly him to Summit Medical Center. We had to contract a hasty litter with downed trees, Paracord and NRS straps and then carry him about 700 yards to a Flight for Life Helicopter. “
Greg Sawyer [Eagle County Paramedics]
“We ran a MCI recently. This was a plane crash with 4 patients, required a hike in, and we had to split resources between the different patients. Small details such as pushing only an mL or two from a flush and being especially mindful of the amount of syringes/needles we were using.”
Robin Weiss [Gunnison Valley Paramedics]
“I’ve taken a few higher level courses, and this is still the best I’ve seen so far. It’s a combination of tactical, wilderness and critical care all rolled into one week. The walk, crawl, run format of teaching was well executed and had a good balance of lecture and hands on. It’s still the only course I’ve taken where a full day was dedicated to a real time scenario actually having to select, pack and use your equipment, and have real time go by was hugely beneficial rather than verbalizing your way through consequential interventions and passages of time.
The instructor team was really good too. I’ve taken courses with current and former military before and there is, unfortunately, often a lot of chest puffing and war stories that were irrelevant to the content of the course but there was none of that in this team. The instructors showed that they had “been there and done that” through the quality of the presentations of the content, and they also were clearly experienced teachers as well.”
Chris Carr [Eagle County Paramedics]
Have your own story? Please send it to us and we will post it here. Knowing how this training is helping you do your job better AND saving lives is really important to us.