tables, algorithms and flow charts with essential information for paramedics pertaining to a selection of emergency situations commonly encountered in practice. These sections should be referred to in order to find basic essential information in an emergency situation and are in no way meant to be a comprehensive set of Guidelines.
The Pocket Book is a handy reference guide for use in practice and most paramedics will refer to it or the app on a daily basis. Either one should always be referred to when administering any medications to check indications, contraindications, dosage and any other pertinent information relating to the drug in question. This best practice approach reflects the requirements of the paramedic standards of proficiency.
The Page for Age section of the Pocket Book is the only section which is completely unchanged from the large reference guide, with the Pocket Book containing full information for each age group. This enables paramedics to find key information on drug dosing by age group easily in an emergency.
Each drug in the Medicines section contains the same information as in the large guide and the only difference in this section is that the more comprehensive Medicines Overview chapter in the large guide is abridged to the Medicines: Best Practice Checklist in the Pocket Book. The Best Practice Checklist is situated at the beginning of the Medicines section of the Pocket Book (see Figure 2.4). This checklist should be referred to before giving any medication in practice and gives a list of drug administration checks as well as reminders about drug administration routes and documentation. All the drugs listed in the large guide appear in the Pocket Book and the Pocket Book contains full information on presentation, indications, actions, cautions, contraindications, side‐effects and dosage and administration for each drug. This means the Pocket Book alone can be referred to when administering a medication in practice with no need to use the large guide.
Figure 2.4 Medicines Best Practice Checklist.
Source: JRCALC Pocket Book, 2019.
Reflection
Take some time to think about your reading so far and make responses to the following questions.
The Glycaemic Emergencies algorithm in the Glycaemic Emergencies in Adults and Children chapter in the Medical Emergencies section of the JRCALC Guidelines (section 3) contains information about when to administer which two drugs?
Use your JRCALC Guidelines to find the correct drug dosages for administering morphine sulfate to a 6‐year‐old patient by the IV/IO route and orally.
Use your JRCLAC Guidelines to find the initial dose, repeat dose and maximum dose when administering atropine sulfate to an adult patient.
The Heart Failure chapter in the Medical Emergencies section of the JRCALC Guidelines contains specific information about which three drugs used as therapy for heart failure?
JRCALC Guidelines digital application (app)
The JRCALC Guidelines are also available as an app for smartphones, tablets and laptops. The big difference between the Pocket Book and app is that the app is essentially an electronic copy of the large reference guide and is not abridged like the Pocket Book. Many paramedics now choose to use the app over the Pocket Book as it contains the full reference guide. Another big advantage of the app is that it automatically updates when Guidelines change so it does not end up out of date between editions as the printed versions frequently do.
The app is available in two forms: the basic JRCALC Guidelines app (www.classprofessional.co.uk/digital‐products/apps/icpg‐the‐jrcalc‐app‐subscriptions/) and the JRCALC Guidelines plus app
(www.classprofessional.co.uk/digital‐products/apps/jrcalc‐plus‐app/). The basic app is available for purchase in either android or iPhone format. In contrast, the plus app is only available to employees of ambulance service trusts which have subscriptions to it. The basic app contains all the information held in the main reference guide, while the ‘ plus app may contain more or less information depending on how it has been customised to reflect the specific requirements of a particular ambulance service trust and its employees. Ambulance trusts which purchase a subscription to the plus app are able to restrict and remove content and can also add their own local guidelines or information as required to best reflect their regional service needs.
The app is easy to navigate and is split into five main tabs: Dashboard, Guidelines, Medicines, Algorithms and Page for Age. The Dashboard is the home page and allows easy access to updates and Page for Age as well as allowing Medicines and Guidelines to be bookmarked for quick reference (see Figure 2.5).
The Algorithms tab is unique to the app and contains all the algorithms from each of the Guidelines displayed together in alphabetical order. This makes finding an algorithm for a particular condition or situation easier, plus there is the option to navigate directly to the related full guidance from each algorithm. Another useful feature of the app is the search function. This is situated at the top of the Dashboard home page and enables users to search more easily.
The Guidelines, Medicines and Page for Age tabs of the app contain all the information that the large reference guide holds. The Guidelines tab is split into the same sections as the large guide and the guidelines within each section are displayed alphabetically (see Figure 2.5). The Meds tab contains full information for each medicine and again is displayed alphabetically. The tabs mean information is easy to access in an emergency and the app is well laid out and very user friendly.
Figure 2.5 Dashboard.
Source: South Central Ambulance Service, JRCALC plus.
Test your knowledge
Know where to find this information to help inform your practice.
The Pain Management in Adults And Children chapters can be found in which section of the JRCALC Guidelines?
According to the JRCALC Guidelines, for what conditions can paramedics administer adrenaline 1 mg in 1 mL (1 in 1000)?
Which chapter in the Medical Emergencies section of the JRCALC Guidelines contains information about which drugs to administer for patients having a seizure?
Which section and chapter of the JRCALC Guidelines contain information for paramedics about the administration of atropine in a CBRNE situation?
Useful additional resources
The JRCAL Guidelines in its different forms offers paramedics a core ‘go to’ reference
