The difference between pre-hospital medicine and physical therapy...

"All patients lie, you know." Says the physical therapist friend to me.

"Yah. I know." says, I, thinking of the drunk/addict/prisoner who's "faking it."

"What do you do if the unconscious patient doesn't respond?" he asks.

"Well," Says I, "You put a stick down their throat or a tube in their nose; If they object, they're faking it."

(Oropharyngeal or naso-pharyngeal airway.) This is the best way to ensure someone can breathe, regardless of their mental state.

"Shit, man. You have a cool job!" He says.

The therapist is now intrigued by being a (volunteer) EMT.

--maddog