Kenneth Ellman

Kenneth Ellman Reviews The 60-Second EMT: Rapid BLS/ALS Assessment, Diagnosis & Triage Paperback 2nd Edition,
by Gideon Bosker M.D., Weins M.D., Michael Sequeira M.D.
Kenneth Ellman, Box 18, Newton, New Jersey 07860, Email:ke@kennethellman.com
A 251 page wonder in small paperback.

I have owned this book since 1997. While written for Emergency Medical Technicians, any medical staff would benefit from having this volume. As a strong believer in medical education for all persons whether in the profession or not, this book again is an excellent training resource. It should be in every ER and Ambulance. I often wonder why we do not require all High School students to be exposed to medical and legal training, since such would aid them to take their place in our society. The title of this book “The 60 Second EMT” is very appropriate and the subject is how to save lives in an immediate emergency medical setting. This is not a full EMT training manual nor a complete Emergency Responder course. Do not look at this short and small paperback volume as that. What it is however should draw you to it so that you read from it regularly and keep it close by.

This book takes you on an excursion into created events of emergency medicine and demands from you to develop rapid assessment and understanding of the patient and most important rapid intervention when seconds count. The created emergencies are fully realistic and easy to assimilate. The authors combine the ability of creative writing with non fiction medical education and they do it very well.

Using a fictitious EMT as an instructor in the created events your are taken and confronted with valuable experience and practical knowledge on how to question, observe, interrogate, evaluate, measure, contemplate and make a diagnosis sufficient to perform and provide the Emergency Medical care to save a life. It is not written like most medical books and uses the stage of life as an interactive play to make you see what you should do. The book tries to replicate a clinical service experience and to a large extent succeeds. You will greatly benefit from this knowledge.

An example on Page 20 of patient interview where the “EMT Jerry” questions elderly patient:
“Where were you sitting when things went black?
In the chair the man answered in a frail voice.
Are you on any medications?
No.
Do you have any history of heart disease?
No.
Do you have a seizure disorder?
No.
Do you have an irregular heartbeat, or any history of extra beats,
or problems with your heart rhythm?
Can’t say that I do. You know I really think that I am ok now.
You boys can run along. I don’t think I need to go to the hospital.
Thanks for all your help.
… Some EMT might have followed the old man’s advice and left but not Jerry Donnelly.
[Jerry] took the patient’s pulse again and said, You know Tim [to another EMT], this guy
has a resting heart rate of 110 when he’s lying here quietly on the floor. It’s too fast. And his skin feels a little clammy. We’d better take him to the hospital.
What do you think is going on Jerry? [asks the other EMT]. He’s got a regular heart rate and his blood pressure is normal.
[Jerry answers] For a man of his age a pressure of 120/70 might actually be low. In fact I bet his normal pressure is higher than that. This guy is probably hypotensive and hypovolemic.
…[Jerry] then took orthostatic pulses and blood pressure and sure enough the man had a 15 point systolic drop and a 30 beat per minute increase in his heart rate.”

The book goes on and on with continuous real life incidents, differential diagnosis and patient evaluation and examination creations. This book applies your skills and knowledge and challenges you to take what you learned to the patient bedside and apply it using in depth rational realistic processes. Most important in an emergency medicine setting it teaches you to do this quickly, fast enough to save a life.

There are charts, graphs, mnemonics, algorithms and other teaching aids, along with the valuable dialog and event creation. The book covers subjects spanning Myocardial Infarction, Coma, Toxicology, COPD, Diabetes and on and on. As I have said in some of my other book reviews, certain works should be in the hands of everyone. This is one of them. Coupled with Emergency medicine texts, you have a wonderful exposure to a written clinical experience.
Buy it and learn. Buy it for your older children, the life they save could be yours.
Kenneth Ellman , email:ke@kennethellman.com, Box 18, Newton, New Jersey 07860