LEARNING OBJECTIVE: Identify initial equipment and supply needs.
In a first aid situation, the
medical technician must always be ready to improvise. In
many field emergency situations, standard medical supplies and equipment may not
be immediately available, or they may run out. When medical supplies and
equipment are available, they will probably be found in an ambulance.
Table 3-1 lists equipment currently required for EMT-Basic level ambulances.
Table 3-1.—Essential Equipment for Ambulance ETM-Basic Level
| ESSENTIAL EQUIPMENT FOR AMBULANCES EMT-BASIC LEVEL | ||
| General Category of Equipment |
Detailed Breakdown | Comments |
| Patient transfer litter | Collapsible-wheeled litter | |
| Ventilation and airway equipment | Portable suction apparatus | Wide-bore tubing, rigid pharyngeal curved suction cup |
| Portable fixed oxygen equipment | Variable flow regulator, humidifier (on fixed equipment) | |
| Oxygen administration equipment | Adequate length tubing, masks (adult, child, and infant sizes; transparent, non-rebreathing, venture and valveless nasal prongs) | |
| Bag-valve mask | Hand-operated, self-reexpanding bag (adult and infant sizes, ~0.85), accumulator (Fi02, 0.9), clear mask (adult, child, and infant sizes), valve (clear, easily cleanable, operable in cold weather) | |
| Airways | Nasopharyngeal, oropharyngeal (adult, child, and infant sizes) | |
| Respirator (optional) | Volume-cycled valve, on-off operation, 100% oxygen, 40-50 psi pressure | |
| Immobilization devices (splints) | Traction (adult and pediatric sizes) | Lower extremity, limb-support slings, padded ankle hitch, padded pelvic support, traction strap |
| Extremity immobilization devices | Joint above and joint below fracture, rigid support, appropriate material (cardboard, metal, pneumatic, wood, plastic, etc.) | |
| Backboards (long, short, and clamshell) | Joint above and point below fracture site. Chinstrap (should not use for head immobilization), hand holds for moving patient, short (extrication: head-to-pelvis length), long (transport: head-to-feet length) | |
| Bandages | Adhesive tape | 2" or larger |
| Burn sheets | Two clean (not sterile) | |
| Triangle bandages | Eight, three safety pins each | |
| Dressings | Sterile, large and small | |
Roller bandages
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| Vaseline gauze | Sterile, 3" × 8" or larger | |
| Pneumatic Antishock Garment (MAST) | Compartmentalized (legs and abdomen separate), control valves (closed/open), inflation pump, lower leg to lower rib cage (does not include chest) | |
| Obstetrical equipment | Sterile obstetrical kit | Towels, 4" × 4" dressing, umbilical tape type, bulb syringe, clamps for cords, sterile gloves, blanket |
| Aluminum foil roll | Enough to cover a newborn | |
| Miscellaneous | Sphygmomanometer Stethoscope Heavy bandage scissors for cutting clothing, belts, boots, etc. Mouth gags (commercial or tongue blades covered with gauze) C-collar Flashlight |
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| Radio communication | Two-way communication (EMT to physician) | Radio UHF (ultra-high frequency) or VHF (very-high frequency) |
| Portable cellular telephone (optional) | ||
Table 3-2 lists the contents of an emergency bag that a medical technician might find in an ambulance.
Table 3-2.—Ambulance Emergency Bag Contents
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For may years, military medics and corpsmen carried the "Unit One Bag." It was made of nylon, weighed about 9 pounds, had an adjustable carrying strap, and contained four strong compartments. The civilian equivalent of the Unit One Bag would contain the items listed below in table 3–3.
Table 3–3.—Unit One Bag Contents
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UNIT ONE BAG CONTENTS |
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