Own the OG

I am not by nature a boastful person.  In fact, I have issues with self confidence.  Many might find this hard to believe, but that is only because I work hard to present a calm, confident exterior, as I think it benefits everyone at a job if I keep my inner turmoil to myself.

However, one thing I reckon I do ok at is the technical side of being a paramedic.  The old cry of “they can never get a drip in me” is merely a challenge, and I have never met an airway I can’t secure somehow.

But we all have a nemesis, and mine is the gastric tube.  I can happily jab the wriggliest of veins through the adiposist of tissues (pretty sure that’s a word), slot an ETT in the grade 4ist of airways, and then come horribly unstuck trying to pass an OG tube.  Nope.  Cannot do it.  Not happening.  Fuck it, you do it while I cry in the corner.

I keep my OG tubes in the fridge to keep them stiff and help me get  them in, but even the stiffest of tubes still will not go where I want it (oo ‘er!)  Now, however, I have a new trick that I can’t wait to try, thanks to some of the smartest and nicest blokes in #FOAMed, the ScanCrit crew.  Check out Daniel’s post “Own the O.G.” over at ScanCrit.  I don’t want someone to need an OG, but by  god I want to be there when they do so I can try this!

 

Update: it works! I felt like I was some kind of wizard today: intubated a cardiac arrest pt during CPR, got ROSC, loaded up, on the vent, then… Bam! OG goes in like a boss! No sweating, no swearing, no giving up and sulking.

This has transformed my life!