EMTprep Free Training Materials

            In this article, we are going to discuss the opioid abuse epidemic, what constitutes opioid abuse, and review the treatment options. Opioids are a class of drug that acts as a depressant on the central nervous system. This works by slowing or stopping breathing in an overdose, they increase pain tolerance, decrease reaction to pain, and decrease the perception of pain. Opioids are frequently prescribed by doctors for acute pain, debilitating pain, or for chronic pain in a palliative care setting. Because of this, opioids are frequently abused for their CNS depressant effects and because of their euphoric side effects.

            The rate...

           In this article, we are going to discuss what Ebola is, how it is spread, how we prevent its spread, and how we treat it in the field. A few years ago there was an Ebola outbreak that caused widespread panic and in order to combat this panic, we want to educate ourselves on how this happens and what we can do about it. There is still a lot of research that is being done on Ebola to determine how to best combat it, cure it, prevent it, and reduce its effects on us.

            Ebola is the name for a combination of 4 viruses that infect humans, one virus strain that affects primates and pigs, and one virus strain that isn’t fully understood...

In this article, we will look at an overview of Acute Coronary Syndrome (ACS). We will address how to recognize it, how to treat it, and we will review some of its causes. ACS is an umbrella term that encompasses:

• Stable angina
• Unstable angina
• Myocardial infarctions.

ACS is most often caused by atherosclerosis, a buildup of plaque in the coronary arteries that causes vasoconstriction and a lack of blood flow. ACS can also be caused by vasospasms which cause temporary vasoconstriction and lack of blood flow. One of the most common symptoms of ACS is chest pain, however, just because a patient has chest pain does not mean that they are...

ROSC. If you’re new to EMS or are looking into Paramedic school, you may have come across this term. If so, you’re probably asking yourself three major questions:

• What is it?
• How do we know that we have it?
• What do we do after we achieve it?

Let’s take a minute to examine cardiac arrest in general, so we can then define what ROSC is. Cardiac arrest is the spontaneous cessation of perfusion by the heart. The heart may continue to squeeze or fibrillate but it is no longer effectively pumping blood throughout the body. This can happen for a number of reasons, but we will focus on three primary causes. First is a traumatic event causing a...