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ALS vs. AMLS
AMLS focuses on more rapid identification and treatment of the medical patient vs. the trauma patient. For instance, a patient with 34 respirations per minute and a pulse of 150 with bilateral upper quadrant abdominal pain and jaundiced eyes is entering the compensated shock stage with Liver issues. This patient should immediately be PROPERLY bagged in order to achieve CO2 expiration and given a 250cc bolus of Saline. When I say properly bagged, I mean literally squeezing the bag then counting 5 seconds, 12 times a minute. We've been doing patients harm in the past by bagging too fast. If the CO2 doesn't get discarded efficiently, the metabolism becomes acidotic, then there's a whole host of other issues to treat. Our doc required all 3 levels (EMT-B, EMT-I & EMT-P) attend the class. However, it was originally formulated for the third year medical student. For those who don't know what ALS means, it's "advanced life support" which is the alternative to "basic life support". An ALS ambulance contains at least one Paramedic, or EMT-P. ALS encompasses advanced measures (i.e. invasive airway support, intravenous crystalloid solution {saline, lactated ringers, D5W} and administration of pharmaceuticals) which allow the most aggressive measures regarding pre-hospital life support without the presence of a physician. If a competent doc shows up on scene, there are no holds barred. If he wants to give a drug regimen which is not the norm, the EMT-I or EMT-P may assist.
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Stay safe!
FedAgent
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Excellent Summary
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