Instagram story viewer> @precision_with_purpose> Posts

Mike

@precision_with_purpose

27.5K

followers

1397

following

Veteran | Firefighter-Paramedic
Real-world EMS, trauma, rescue & gear.
What works. What doesn’t. What you should know.

POSTS STORIES REELS TAGGED

Download All

Nobody posts the part where they sucked.

The missed reps. The bad decisions. The corrections. The times you had no idea what the hell you were doing.

But that’s where everyone starts.

Being bad at something isn’t a reason to quit. It’s the price of becoming good at it.

Stay humble. Ask questions. Take criticism. Put in the reps.

Suck at it long enough to get good.

#PrecisionWithPurpose #KeepLearning #StayHumble #PutInTheWork #NeverStopTraining by @precision_with_purpose

21k

112

17 days ago

We all love training the things we’re already good at. It feels good. It builds confidence. It looks sharp.

But that isn’t where the growth is.

Find the skill you avoid. The procedure that makes you uncomfortable. The piece of equipment you’re slow with. The call type you hope someone else gets.

Then train it until it stops being a weakness.

Because the patient doesn’t care what your favorite skill is.

They care whether you can perform when it matters.

#EMS #Paramedic #Firefighter #Training #PrecisionWithPurpose by @precision_with_purpose

21k

112

a month ago

Did you know tou can get an enlistment bonus? You gotta pass selection though!

FY27 Enlistment bonuses are in.
Feel free to fact check I know there are nuances.

There are AD, Reserve, and National Guard roles that may change how bonuses work. Go ask a recruiter but these are what we saw floating out there

Also dont join a man course to find out how to succeed. Or post how good you are at underwaters we dont care and it makes you a target. Good luck! taken in Lackland Air Force Base, Texas by @precision_with_purpose

140

1

2 hours ago

12-leads can definitely be more challenging on patients with a larger body, but anatomy doesn’t change.

Don’t place the electrodes based on where breast tissue or body folds happen to sit. Find your anatomical landmarks.

V1: 4th intercostal space, right sternal border
V2: 4th intercostal space, left sternal border
V4: 5th intercostal space, midclavicular line
V3: midway between V2 and V4
V5: anterior axillary line, level with V4
V6: midaxillary line, level with V4

For patients with breast tissue, precordial electrodes should generally be placed under the breast when necessary to maintain the correct anatomical position, rather than moving them inferiorly or laterally for convenience.

Incorrect placement can alter the tracing and potentially affect interpretation.

Take the extra few seconds. Find the landmarks. Get the best 12-lead you can.

And yes… sometimes finding V1 feels like a group project. 😂

#Paramedic #EMS #ECG #12LeadECG by @precision_with_purpose

315

1

15 hours ago

When you’re moving a patient with another rescuer, positioning matters—but understanding why matters more than simply memorizing where everyone stands.

The rescuer at the head/upper torso isn’t just there for C-spine. They’re in a position to control the upper body, monitor the patient, communicate, and coordinate the movement.

Control. Communicate. Coordinate.

Did you get this one right? 👇

Check out the Pocket Prep link in my highlights for more questions like this.

#Paramedic #EMS #EMT #Firefighter #EMSeducation by @precision_with_purpose

55

3

16 hours ago

REPOST FOR THE “Ta Ta’s” It’s BREAST CANCER AWARENESS MONTH. SPREAD THIS MESSAGE! Let’s spread the color pink to show we are here and here for those affected! 🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷 by @precision_with_purpose

859

91

a day ago

The monitor gives you numbers.
The stethoscope gives you information.

Lung sounds. Heart sounds. Manual blood pressures. Reassessment.

Technology is an incredible tool, but don’t let it replace the fundamentals.

Sometimes the best piece of diagnostic equipment you have is already hanging around your neck.

Assess your patient. Treat your patient. Reassess your patient.

#Paramedic #EMS #Firefighter #PrehospitalMedicine #EMSeducation by @precision_with_purpose

322

19

2 days ago

QUESTION OF THE DAY 🚑🫁

Penetrating chest trauma. Air moving through the wound. Respiratory distress.

What’s your initial intervention?

This one is less about memorizing an answer and more about recognizing the injury, understanding the physiology, and knowing how current treatment differs from some of the older teaching many of us learned.

Difficulty: 6/10 🧠

The presentation is pretty straightforward, but the distractors can get you especially if you immediately jump to needle decompression or remember the old three-sided dressing.

Swipe through for the breakdown ➡️

Want more practice questions? I use Pocket Prep for Question of the Day. Check out the Pocket Prep link in my highlights.

Don’t just memorize the answer. Understand why it’s the answer.

#Paramedic #EMS #Trauma #TCCC #FOAMed by @precision_with_purpose

347

19

2 days ago

Someone has to answer the call.

Someone has to step forward when everyone else is stepping back.

You don’t have to be the strongest.
You don’t have to know everything.
You don’t have to feel ready.

You just have to be willing to step up.

If not you, then who?

#FirstResponders #Firefighter #Paramedic #USAR #SearchAndRescue by @precision_with_purpose

2k

23

3 days ago

10 years with the same knife.

This is my Kershaw Leek 1660, and I’ve had it for roughly a decade.

It isn’t a safe queen. It’s scratched, worn, has a little corrosion, and plenty of evidence that it’s actually been carried and used.

And after all that time?

The blade is still sharp.
It still opens.
It still cuts.

The thing that finally gave up was the Tip-Lock safety.

Could I replace it and keep carrying it? Probably.

But part of me wants to leave every scratch exactly where it is and retire it as-is.

Because 10 years of wear tells a better story than 10 years sitting in a box.

Gear is meant to be used.

What’s the longest you’ve carried the same piece of gear?

#Kershaw #EDC #EverydayCarry #Knife #GearReview by @precision_with_purpose

413

31

3 days ago

Not every search ends in 90 minutes.
Yesterday, we found our subject fast. But the field never promises that. Weather turns. Terrain fights back. A search stretches into the dark — or you reach a patient who can’t move, and now you’re both spending the night.
That’s what Line Two is for.

▪️ LINE ONE — what’s on your body. (yesterday’s post)
▪️ LINE TWO — sustainment in the pack.

This is Line Two: my Eberlestock Bandit — 16 lbs, built to keep me and whoever I find alive and effective long past the point Line One covers. Shelter, water purification, fire, an extended IFAK, comms redundancy, and food. If the mission goes long, this is what keeps me in the game.

Line One keeps me working. Line Two keeps me going.
Every item has a place, and every place has a reason — packed so I can find what I need in the dark, by feel, when it matters most.

📌 Full Line Two gear list in the pinned comment.

That’s the system: two lines, layered so losing one never leaves me empty-handed. 👊

#SearchAndRescue #SAR #LineTwo #Sustainment #Bushcraft

Main compartment
Shelter:
• USGI woodland poncho (sleep under) · 4’×8’ Tyvek (ground cover) · XL contractor bag (stuff w/ duff to insulate) · SOL survival bivy · Mystery Ranch pouch → 6 MSR stakes, 28’ paracord ridgeline, 4–6’ tie-downs, 50’ #36 bankline
IFAK:
• NAR CAT tourniquet · 2 nitrile gloves · triangular bandage · TMS OLAES pressure bandage · Rescue Essentials AirBase pad (sleep/splint) · NAR rolled + flat-folded gauze · HyFin chest seals (2) · Combat Gauze · 28F NPA · mini tweezers · bandaids · eye drops
Water:
• Silcock key · HydraPak 2L + filter · 4 Aquatabs
Food (qt bag):
• 3 almond butter · 3 Frog Fuel protein · 3 DripDrop · 3 instant coffee · 3 Larabars
Fire (Pelican 1040):
• Überleben 1/2”×6” ferro rod + striker · Best Glide magnifier · Gorilla-taped Bic · 3 fire-tab tinder · 12 stormproof matches · steel wool · 3 beeswax candles · 2 citronella tins · fatwood · Vaseline-cottonball tin · sail needle
Also: XL shemagh · road flare · XL biodegradable body wipes
Line One keeps me working. Line Two keeps me going. What’s in your sustainment layer? 👇

Eberlestock Bandit · 16 lbs (Grayl no water)
Top pouch:
• Murphy’s Natural taken in Tampa, Florida by @precision_with_purpose

546

23

3 days ago

QUESTION OF THE DAY

What’s the primary goal of using a splint?

Seems simple but the basics matter.

Pick your answer before you swipe. 👀

Wrong answers only: to make the patient significantly less comfortable while you figure out where you put the damn tape. 😂

Alright, medics… don’t overthink this one, big dawg.

Did you get it right? 👇

📚 Studying for your next certification? Check out the Pocket Prep link in my highlights and put those reps in.

#Paramedic #EMS #EMSHumor #EMSEducation #PrecisionWithPurpose by @precision_with_purpose

455

25

3 days ago