Disrespect from doctors

[firedoc5]

ERDoc, EMSDoc and I will be happy to hold a seminar on this if you keep it up. :?

'zilla

I guess I should have mentioned that I was quoting a doc friend of mine that had a great sense of humor. I've been treated very well by most, and very badly treated by a few.

Peace, 'zilla.

[Amytxn4]

I normally sit aside and read the forums...

Well, I'll say something about the past experiences. I did a call from a nursing home to the ER, emergency call which was just a minor one. My partner banged out so it was replaced with a paramedic with a flight medic certified. I've never worked with a flight medic before but he sure did know his stuff. I am the EMT. Well, we walked into this hospital (almost outside of Dallas) and the nurses were treating him like nothing because of the "paramedic" patch as well as the blue uniform that we wear. I didn't know what was going on as I was cleaning up the truck while he was trying to give his report...they won't listen to him until he asked if they remember that he brought in a patient in the morning from the helicopter. Boy, that did made them listen. He got pissed off because of the way the nurses as well as the doctors were treating the paramedics AND the EMTs because of their patches and uniforms. When the flight medics are around with those jumpsuits, they listen as if they bow to them.

In religious aspect: doctors are servants of God. If they are just doing it "their way" and being like God to save everybody, something is wrong with the picture...why did they become doctors in the first place? Money OR patient care OR trying to be heroes with pride? Same goes with nurses.

What would our world be without EMTs and medics? Who would clean up the dirty work on the streets? Maybe the orderly attendants (I think that's what they were called in the past of 1950's and 1960's) just pick up injured and dump them in the ER with no treatment...that would give nurses and doctors a lot more work load. They should be GLAD that they have EMTs and medics to do the "pre-hospital care" that takes some of the load off their backs and not bring the dead or near dead to their ER...where is the respect in that? Doctors and nurses need to spend more time in our field.

[JakeEMTP]

This phenomena seems foreign to me. :?

I have rarely had this happen to me or even witnessed it. 9 times out of 10 the nurses in the ED take my report and are pleased with some of the treatment we have started. Same thing for the MD's. Perhaps it has something to do with the fact the facility is a Level 1 Trauma Centre with a School of Medicine attached. Usually we are dealing with Residents and they seem to want to listen to what we have to say. All input as to how the patient presented to us before we began treatment seems to be of value.

The Attending ED Physcians listen to us also for the most part. Perhaps it has something to do with our Medical Director also being a NREMT-P. I don't know. But I refuse to let someone yell trying to degrade me in front of others. It serves no purpose and creates a hostile work environment. I have had Doctors take me aside and ask me why or why not I did a particular intervention. This is the way it should be handled.

Don't get me wrong. I wear my big boy pants and it takes a lot to piss me off. I'm always open to an educational opportunity. Berating someone in the ED isn't the way to do it. It doesn't help you/me. I realise they don't always have time to teach and can appreciate it, some just don't play well with others. Either way, I think the way you/I handle yourself/myself makes a huge difference in the way you are treated.

Do unto others as you would have others do unto to you, comes to mind.

As for the Flight Medic hero worship you witnessed Amy, The ED staff does realise most of the interventions were done by the ground crew right? :wink:

[Laura Anne]

"What would our world be without EMTs and medics? Who would clean up the dirty work on the streets?"~Amytxn4

I think they called it 'house calls' when the Docs back in the good ol' days had to go to the persons home and take care of em. Naturally, with the gas prices the way they are now...WELL!! Thats not gonna happen!! $80/gal?????? whew... :wink:

[Richard B the EMT]

Responding to Laura Anne and Amytxn4 :

When doctors still made house calls, in the days before the Woman's Liberation Movement, and financial needs of "2 Income Families", it would be the stay-at-home spouse, mother, or other family member, who would take care of a sick person. They would keep the sick or injured person at their own home, and follow the orders of the doctor.

I hope that is sufficient for you, answering your question of "Who would clean up the dirty work on the streets?"

It must be something in our mentality, even shown in movies. In movies taking place in "da 'hood", shot persons with some mobility, or friends to carry them, go home, and die in the parent's, or significant other's, arms, with sobbing going on loudly, both on the screen, and in the audience. Rarely do you see them placed into the ambulances, unless the focus of the movie is the LEOs, the Fire Fighters, the local EMS, or the lawyers.

Now, a quick question for JakeEMT (and I don't recall if I have asked this one before: You show location as NC, which I think is North Carolina, but with a Canadian flag. If you are from Canada, the mind set is quite different than us in the "lower 48". I refer to the famous, if stereotyped, "Polite Canadians", who would never speak to anyone working in some profession, even one of some lower station in life, like a Doctor speaking with (not talking to) an EMS professional.

So...are you Canadian?

[JakeEMTP]

.

Now, a quick question for JakeEMT (and I don't recall if I have asked this one before: You show location as NC, which I think is North Carolina, but with a Canadian flag. If you are from Canada, the mind set is quite different than us in the "lower 48". I refer to the famous, if stereotyped, "Polite Canadians", who would never speak to anyone working in some profession, even one of some lower station in life, like a Doctor speaking with (not talking to) an EMS professional.

So...are you Canadian?

I am a Canuck. I've been living in NC for 3 1/2 years now so I'm still not eligible to become an American, thus I fly the CDN flag eh.

Richard, regardless of where a person is from, people should treat others with respect. Now I am aware respect is earned and not just granted, I give people the benefit of the doubt until the inevitably prove me wrong.

Perhaps I do have a different mindset. However, If a MD went off on me in front of everyone in the ED, I'd just turn and walk away leaving them to think they were victorious :jerk:, oblivious to the fact they look ridiculous. I don't need or want it. :wink:

[firedoc5]

Perhaps I do have a different mindset. However, If a MD went off on me in front of everyone in the ED, I'd just turn and walk away leaving them to think they were victorious :jerk:, oblivious to the fact they look ridiculous. I don't need or want it. :wink:

I use to do that with the "boss"/son of the owner of a private service I worked for. We'd go toe-to-toe then I would just say "Denny, you're right" and walk away leaving him standing there like an idiot, which he was.

[NickD]

I've found one benefit of coming to EMS late, or more specifically when older, and after having done other stuff, is when a Doctor or Nurse reams me, when I deserve it I can smile and say thanks for the lesson, and when I don't, I can smile and say thanks for the lesson too . . .

Setting an age limit for entering EMS at 35 years or older would mostly solve 99% of our problems . . . except for carrying fat people down the stairs . . . and of course, therein lies the rub . . .

Here's what I do when I'm not doing EMS . . . I'm a skydiving instructor . . .

NickD

EMT-B

Phlebotomist 1

[Richard B the EMT]

In an open personal to NickD:

While those in the military do it of necessity, and others do it for sport, I can never understand why anyone would leave a perfectly airworthy aircraft in mid flight.

Take a friend of mine, took skydiving lessons, and went up for a jump. The instructor told him he'd be on a "static line" which would open his parachute automatically. If it didn't, he was to count to 5, and pull the silver "D" ring to open his parachute. If that failed, he was to count to 5 again, and pull the blue "D" ring, which would open his reserve parachute. There'd be a red pickup truck waiting for him on the ground.

He jumped from the plane, and the Static Line failed. He counted to 5, pulled the silver ring, and nothing happened. He counted to 5 again, pulled the blue ring, and again nothing happened.

Damn! With my luck, that red pickup truck won't be there either!

[NickD]

Yuck, Yuck, that's as funny as EMS joke from someone who's not in EMS . .

NickD