Leaderboard

Remember pal, I'm the monster you helped create! So in your own wise words, "Suck it up, cupcake!" In all seriousness though...back to post #5: Granted the guy's girlfriend called us, and she was pretty intoxicated herself, I'm not comfortable with the idea of just giving the guy that many chances to guess the right answer (or make the questions easier) in order to be able to say "Yep, he was alert and oriented enough to leave him here!"; but by the same token, I realize that there was a bare minimum that we could actually do for the drunk in the field. He wasn't in distress, he wasn't complaining of chest pain or shortness of breath; in fact he wasn't really complaining of anything except the fact that she called us and we obviously woke him up! I don't know what benefit he would have had by being transported to the E.R. either... Would he have benefitted from being arrested so that we could cart him to the hospital simply because he was the only call we had that shift? Again, probably not... Ultimately, I wasn't in the position to have to make that call, and I'm really not educated enough to try to sit back and 'armchair quarterback' my preceptor's thought process or mentality concerning that call. I'm not trying to be 'intentionally obtuse', nor am I out to bust someone's chops because they don't agree with me; I'm simply trying to learn where certain lines are drawn so that I can define the box I have to play in....

Are you retarded? To the very last person, everyone who gave an opinion here said they thought he did fine. Do you complain about blowjobs too?

I don't think that I can add much more to what has already been said. I agree that, without knowing it, you did take care of the ABCs and were on your way to spinal immobilization. You may just have been going faster than your partner comprehended. That is when communication is paramount. As you yourself has stated...you are a rookie. It will take time. I do, however, have a question for you. This being your first emergency call, why the 5-hour energy drink? I believe you said this was an 8-hour shift? Was this a last call in the middle of the night and you were just dragging? Did you consume the drink before the tones dropped or was this something you decided on as you were heading out the door? My two cents. Save the energy drinks for long transfers when adrenaline won't be on board which should be enough for your 911 calls. Then, work on a healthy diet and exercise as you start your new career else you will find yourself dependent on caffeine (or other) to get you through your shift. You don't want to increase the speed of potential/probable burn out.

This is not meant to put you down in any way, but it is something that comes up a lot on this forum. People here are very aggressive with making EMS more professional and getting it the respect it deserves. One way to do that is to be able to properly express yourself in spoken and written communications. This may just be an internet forum to some but it is a representation of the profession to the public so people are very adamant about proper writting (spelling, grammar, punctutation, caps, etc). As a newbie, you will take your ribbing for it but trust me, the people here are phenomenal and have as much knowledge as you could want. Take your newbie hazing with a smile, fix the presentation of your posts and you will be welcome. The fact that you apologized and accepted responsibility for the miscommunication in your post speaks volumes and will gain you respect. Welcome to the city. EDIT: Wow, I just made this place sound like a serious cult. Lamb sacrifice at noon.

Here we go, the forum regulars crucifying a new person who comes to post here. Don't let a lot of these people get you down. It is a cult. To the OP: Stay clam, remember you aren't the one dying. You are an EMT, and realistically there isn't much you are going to do to hurt this person. Board/Collar 'em up and get 'em on the way to the ER. Your assessment can be done in route. You'll be fine kid, just take a deep breather and stay level headed. It will fall into place soon enough.