Ok…so there are about a weeks worth of posts that I’ve yet to publish.  Small set of network troubles whilst in Roatan, but they’re written.  [Of course, I’ve been slacking since I returned to the States, but that’s another story.]

So…jumping to the conclusion.   My DMT certification has been approved and processed by the National Board of Diving & Hyperbaric Medical Technology (NBDHMT)!!!   WOOHOO!!!

Ok….no tigers bears, but plenty of lionfish.    They breed like rabbits!!!

We saw a couple of turtles.  This one was nice enough to hang around for a photo.

Jodi was having a good time..looking all relaxed above the reef.

And, as we were headed back to the boat…a school of fish to swim with.

Woohoo!!!   EMT-B is complete!   We ended the course with a 150 question written exam on Thursday.   While the exam wasn’t trivial, preparation paid off.   I finished the exam fairly quickly.  As Ron was over at the chamber running a treatment, when I finished I took my exam over to ask a couple of questions (burn dressings & sucking chest wounds).   Then he asked if I wanted to finish the treatment and he’d go back to class.  Somewhere between cool and nerve wracking.  He left me alone to treat a patient.

Now that we have the prerequisites done, DMT starts on Monday.   IV’s, gas laws, Navy treatment tables, chest tubes—the fun stuff.  😉

Ron shared some great (sometime gory) stories during the EMT program.  Benefits of 30+ years as a firefighter/emt in the states.   While I doubt I’ll ever ride on an ambulance, the stories about practical application were invaluable.

[Oh, yeah..I did pass the written exam.  😉 ]

TLAs galore (three letter acronyms)!

As stateside EMS systems require an introduction to the National Incident Management System(NIMS) and Incident Command (ICS), we got it, too.   Nothing really new here (I’d already taken online courses on both topics), but it was great to hear how the fire services use it in the field.

Then it was on to WMD (Weapons of Mass Destruction).   Nukes, Chemical, Bio and incendiary weapons.  What fun!   We definitely benefited from Ron’s real-world experience and his networking with other emergency professionals.

These were the last lectures.  EMT written exam is all that remains of the EMT program.  🙂

Woohoo!  Playing with needles at last!!!

That’s right, IM and Sub-Q injections, drawing up meds and disposing of sharps.

Ok…Robert was having too much fun.  😉