Help In Preparing For Emergency/Austere Medical Situations - A Shout Out To A Fellow YouTuber

Folks who read my last post know I got my EMT-Basic certification about a year ago. But I didn't stop there.

In my constant effort to be more prepared for whatever comes, and to be of help to my family, friends, neighbors and colleagues, I took some additional seminars dealing with emergency medicine in an "austere" setting. What do I mean by "austere"? My EMT training was primarily geared toward helping the patient stay alive, and preventing further injury, until they could get to the hospital. This is all well and good, and works in most situations. But what about a massive grid down situation? Or another hurricane Katrina, where massive flooding prevents rescue workers from getting to you in a timely manner? Those situations can be termed "austere", because doctors, nurses and hospital care may NOT be readily available - for some time, if at all. A fellow YouTuber comes to the rescue for these scenarios.

There is a Registered Nurse (RN) who maintains a YouTube channel called "The Patriot Nurse". If you go back and search through her videos, you will find she has posted lots of valuable medical information - as well as some at times brutally frank, politically oriented ones. I'm NOT here to debate politics or to comment one way or the other on the merit of the political stances expressed in some of her YouTube and Patreon videos - THAT is for another blog. I will NOT address or render comments on politics or take sides here in this forum. BUT the FREE MEDICAL information she provides in some of her videos is outstanding and is of concern and potentially helpful to all of us - regardless of one's religious or political persuasion. Additionally, she offers a series of paid seminars called "Medical Prep 101, Medical Prep 201, and Medical Prep 301.

My adult step daughter and I took all three of the medical prep classes several months after I got my EMT-Basic patch. So I had some background with which to evaluate the course content. In short, I think the classes are EXCELLENT - especially for laypersons, or even people with a "nurse's aide" level of training. There was another EMT there besides myself; we both thought it was a good review as well as offering certain valuable info that we DON'T normally get through EMT training and continuing education. To follow is a very brief synopsis of what you get during the classes:

Medical Prep 101 and 201 - covers all major aspects of first aid, diseases one is likely to encounter now or during a disaster, and also offers frank discussion of how quickly medical care deteriorates when infrastructure is damaged or destroyed. She comes from a background of having been a nurse in 3rd world countries where the facilities and technology we take for granted are at times severely lacking. Video presentations and a course notebook she provides augment the lecture and hands-on exercises. A question and answer period after each "chapter" or section gives ample opportunity for students to get their questions answered, as well as for class discussion that can be quite informative.

Medical Prep 301 - briefly recaps some material covered in Medical Prep 101 and 201, then offers excellent coverage dealing with new and re-emerging old diseases which bear watching now, and which can quickly become problematic during a disaster. She presented good information about the rise of antibiotic resistant bacteria, ebola, plague, tic-borne diseases and other potential threats - diseases that can in themselves trigger a major disaster. Exctensive coverage is given to nutritional and holistic approaches to maintaining health as well as helping the body's own defenses and systems fight back and heal from a disease or injury. Issues such as maintaining adequate sanitation when water and sewer utilities are damaged/destroyed are discussed at length and are a topic EVERYONE should know and be equipped to deal with.

Other topics include feminine hygiene, childbirth, preventing (and recognizing) STDs.

Much of the information she presented dovetailed nicely with my prior EMT training. After all, emergency medicine is emergency medicine. However, FOR ME, the true value I found in it was the viewpoint or "angle" the material was presented from. As stated earlier, all of my prior training was STRICTLY geared toward pre-hospital care during "normal" times in "normal" circumstances. Her presentation is more akin to what is given in Hesperian.org's book titled "Where There Is No Doctor". But UNLIKE reading Hesperian's book - which I DO recommend - The Patriot Nurse offers the hands-on experiences, the classroom interaction and question-answer opportunities one does NOT get from reading a book.

And As I mentioned earlier, these classes are a superb primer for those with little medical knowledge, yet contain enough solid information to arm even those folks to contribute meaningfully to helping during a disaster or grid down scenario. The information that my step daughter has gotten from Patriot Nurse's Medical Prep seminars has also helped empower her in terms of knowing what to do in a medical emergency.

And what is wonderful about knowledge is it is one thing that cannot be taken away from you. FWIW.

Book review: Patriots

Patriots is an action-packed novel by James Wesley Rawles. It poses the all-too-likely scenario of a complete collapse of the American economy. Starting with a stock market crash, followed by crippling hyperinflation, commerce and supply chains topple like proverbial dominoes. Soon thereafter, gas/electric/water/telephone utilities and all other infrastructure fails. Nationwide, rioting breaks out, causing looters and refugees to leave the cities in search of food and other resources. The story follows several foward-thinking people, who met years before in college, as they flee to a retreat they prepared in advance in Northern Idaho.

Before the story is over, the group must defend themselves against multiple attacks by hostile outsiders and negotiate with other groups for mutual security and needed resources.

Rawles also gives a chilling foretaste as to what we can expect from the United Nations and other unelected people as they jockey to fill the power vaccuum left after our current government fails.

Some online commenters have called Patriots "a survival manual in disguise". Indeed, there are TONS of practical "how-tos" packed into this story. Subjects covered include weapons (of course), communications, selecting/equipping a retreat location, OPSEC (operations security), field medicine, and much more. In the battle scenes, Rawles explains how resistance cells are organized and how military operations are properly conducted. In reading this story, the reader will gain a basic education in nearly all topics relating to surviving a social/economic collapse of these United States, and what to realistically expect during the aftermath. Rawles writes with authority on all of this, drawing from his background as a former Army Intelligence officer.

What I did NOT like about the book: Certain aspects of the story were almost formulaic. ALL of the college buddies who came together and formed the retreat had, or obtained upon graduation, great jobs that paid beaucoup bucks, allowing them to afford many of the goodies one might expect to see on the "Doomsday Preppers" TV series. They ALL ended up with ravingly hot-looking wives who did NOT argue or fight them on the money spent on survival preps or the amount of time their husbands spent at the shooting range, learning other skill sets they would need, etc. Now come on, HOW LIKELY is that, REALLY???

Personally, I would like to have seen more "normal" type folks as the protagonists in the story. People who, other than being awake to world conditions, have normal "nose at the waterline" salaries that don't allow for ANYTHING beyond the rent/mortgage, food, car, insurance, etc; normal wives who would likely balk at some of the time and money going into preps; and normal "asleep" colleagues in college and at work who would NOT be of ANY use - and who in fact could well prove to be a hinderance - in a collapse situation; etc. Also good would have been "normal", yet intelligent folks with a "normal" array of skills. People like electronic technicians, auto mechanics, accountants, nurses, store clerks, college faculty, etc. - though granted, one of the wives in the story WAS a nurse.

Conclusion:
Despite the above-mentioned aspects I did not care for, I still found this to be an excellent read overall. The book was fast-paced and never lagged. As an amateur (ham) radio operator, I especially enjoyed the parts dealing with communications and COMSEC (communications security). And for any shortwave listeners who, like me, have ever heard those mysterious "numbers stations", the part about codes the survivors used on the radio will prove nothing short of fascinating. Certainly the story gave an insight into basic military operations I have not found in most other books. For readers unfamiliar with the true reasons for the current economic mess, or with prepping in general, this book provides a gentle and entertaining introduction to the political and economic basis for the current economy, as well as to nearly every aspect of prepping.

Not only was I entertained while reading this book, I was further educated in certain areas which may prove useful at some point. DEFINITELY a recommended book!

Here is where I got my copy: