I recently had the opportunity to review Informed’s “EMS Field Guide – ALS Version”. I took the guide with me on every shift for a month and used it at every opportunity that I could. Overall I found the book to be an asset. It’s a good size for carrying in my back pocket or in my backpack, plus it contains a bunch of useful information. Below is a breakdown of my experience with the product.

In Field Use

For the first couple shifts, I had trouble remembering that I had the field guide with me. I was used to using my nurses drug reference, a medical dictionary and my Android phone. Once I started to get the hang of it, I actually found myself turning to the field guide before using any of my other resources. While the guide simply can’t compete with the volume of the nurses drug reference, I had no trouble finding any of my patient’s home medications in the field guide. Not to mention the fact the drug guide in the back is simple and to the point. I don’t have to read through 2 pages of information to get what I’m looking for. Definitely EMS friendly.

I tried out the Radio Report sheet found on the first page of the guide a couple times. I found it to be pretty handy but I ended up using my custom one that I have printed out on a 3×5 card. This wasn’t at the fault of the field guide, I’m just used to using my own format. One thing that was really neat was the ability to reuse the page by wiping it down with an alcohol prep. I wrote on it with a standard ball-point pen and had no trouble wiping off what I had wrote. The content never completely wiped away, but it didn’t bother me as the writing was so faded that it didn’t get in the way. Here are some before and after pictures.

The 2nd picture demonstrates how it looks after wiping it down with a single alcohol prep.

One section that I found to be the most useful was the poisons. While this certainly couldn’t replace calling poison control, I did find it to be really handy. I basically lists several different types of poisons and then explains recommended treatments (given that your protocols permit) and tells you what symptoms to expect. I can honestly say that this is my favorite section in the whole guide. I found more use out of this than I did anything else.

Other features not tested in the field

There is tons of great information in this book, however I did not test all of it in the field. In some cases this was because I simply didn’t run any calls that could apply to those sections. In other cases, it was because I don’t believe in relying on guides for doing things like ACLS.

The emergency medications listed in the book are pretty handy, but I think it should be used more as a study guide / refresher and not necessarily something that you turn to before administering a medication. I firmly believe that this information should be drilled into our heads so that we don’t lock up when we leave our field guide at home. Having said that, we are humans (well most of us) and we do forget things from time to time. Especially when we don’t use the knowledge on a regular basis. So having the information in your back pocket could save you from doing harm.

The pediatric medication chart looks extremely promising. It’s like a Broselow tape but only a fraction of the size. This is something that I actually would use in the field if given the opportunity. While I still believe in knowing your doses, I think having the ability to check your work is extremely important when it comes to weight-based doses. I typically do the math, draw up the med then, quickly check my guide / Broselow Tape to make sure that my dose is correct. This way I’m confident that I’m giving the right amount of medication, and yet not screwed when I forget my field guide.

I found absolutely no in-field use for the ACLS section. However I did find myself refreshing my memory while sitting on street corners or while sitting in quarters (given the Dodgers weren’t playing).

The MCI / Multiple patient section is pretty cool as well. When responding to an MCI (especially if you are the first unit in) it would be great to review the algorithms and refresh on the unit leader rolls before getting on scene. The information is brief and to the point. My only suggestion for this section would be to add a spreadsheet of some sort to keep track of multiple patients. I realize that in an ideal situation, I would be “that guy” standing around with a clipboard and radio while everyone else works. However I typically have to assist with packaging and loading patients being that our resources are limited, so something that I can keep in my pocket would be worth it’s weight in gold.

Conclusion

I can honestly say that this guide will be permanently added to my arsenal of resources that I use in my daily responsibilities as a Paramedic. It’s small size is ideal for EMS responders and the information packed into the guide is priceless. I realize that there are smart-phone versions of this guide (which I plan on buying) but I would still recommend having this guide. Phones lose reception, batteries die and they are fragile. While I do consider myself to be a proponent of high-tech gadgets, I still enjoy the old-school reliable method of having a paper copy when it comes to this kind of valuable information.

If you don’t have this guide, I would highly recommend buying it. It’s inexpensive and you will be glad you did.

You can order it from Amazon or find it at your local book store.

Please feel free to contact with any questions or comments.