Waddya hate?

[NREMT-Basic]

Well Connie'....

A true psych' patient is just as much a patient as any other patient. While we are not psychiatrists, myself and my EMS students receive an adequate amount of class room content and clinical time with psychiatric emergencies. This prepares them for what they will encounter in the EMS field. If you can not handle a psych' patient for the short period of time associated with an ambulance call, then perhaps you should take some CEU's or an extra class pertaining to psych' patients.

"We might get a call for someone who's depressed, show up on-scene, and they're aiming a shotgun at us"

Ah! Yes, the common EMT gripe about how "Dangerous" our job is. This must come from all those incidents where EMS personnel have had shot guns pointed at our face. Sure it could happen, but this comment is way over used by some EMTs. You are probably not going to get any empathy out of any of the seasoned EMT/Paramedic's in here with that comment.

"Personally, I like being able to help someone with a physical injury or illness that I can put my hands on and treat. Can't do that with psych patients."

Whoa! Careful there my friend. Statements like that somewhat sell our profession short of its capabilities. I have helped many psych' patients, so have my co-workers, and so have the thousands of visitors here at the city. Maybe it didn't require me "putting my hands on them". But then again, that may be the difference between you and I. You like to work with your hands, and as for myself... I like to work with my hands and my brain!

Sorry for being bold, but I'm not about to let you sell this profession short! [-X

I personally hate so called professional colleagues in our field who belittle the concerns of our fellow professionals. She said he finds it difficult to work with psych patients, someone else said they hate going into nursing homes. I personally dont mind working with psych patients and thought its not my favorite thing I dont mind nursing homes except those completely staffed by utter incompetents.

By saying you work with your hands AND your brain, you werent being bold, you were being insulting. Theres a difference.

[Capman]

"By saying you work with your hands AND your brain, you werent being bold, you were being insulting. Theres a difference."

Duly noted!

But...

It was already pointed out and hindsight makes me wish I hadn't worded it like that, as going back and reading it I accepted that as an arrogant statement and apologized.

So let's not beat a dead horse and harp on a poor post. It does not contribute to this topic.

Thanks

[Eydawn]

I hate miscommunication or lack of communication between supervisors and the folks out on the ground. In any job.

I hate people who think that it's a "waste of time" to document appropriately and thoroughly. Or that it really shouldn't be their job to clean up the work area in periods of downtime.

I hate seeing children get hurt. For any reason, be it neglect, abuse, or just being kids... kiddos in pain or who are scared break my heart. This goes for vulnerable adults as well, be they DD, elderly, senile, medically fragile... it sucks.

Wendy

CO EMT-B

[Richard B the EMT]

I hate supervisors. The never go out on the street (even though they are assigned a truck and equipment) but always think they can tell you what you did wrong with your last patient!

Kat, it kind of sounds like you suffer from CHAOS...Chief Has Arrived On Scene!

My main problem with supervisors is, they don't use fuzzy logic.

Policy is the defib unit comes with us on all calls. I know we aren't going to need the defib on a call where the patient meets us at the curbside and flags us down, on a normal maternity run, but to write me up for not having the defib out while doing the initial patient workup in the ambulance before transport?

[Asysin2leads]

"Personally, I like being able to help someone with a physical injury or illness that I can put my hands on and treat. Can't do that with psych patients."

You know, an interesting statistic is that something like 65% of physical complaints referred to a physician have no physical cause? So, like it or not, if you want to work in medicine in any aspect, you had better get reeeeal comfortable with psychiatric work.

[katgrl2003]

My main problem with supervisors is, they don't use fuzzy logic.

Just fuzzy logic? My supervisors don't use any kind of logic. Can anyone explain to me how a BLS supervisor can tell a medic how to treat patients?

Note: She pulled that stunt 3 times with the same medic, now my partner, once while I was the patient. She nearly got arrested all three times, and shoved out of a truck at least once.

-Kat

[Capman]

Kat', Do you at least have a clinical coordinator to handle ALS incidents? Or is it just a basic to handle all of the aspects pertaining to the service?

[JPINFV]

Just fuzzy logic? My supervisors don't use any kind of logic. Can anyone explain to me how a BLS supervisor can tell a medic how to treat patients?

Note: She pulled that stunt 3 times with the same medic, now my partner, once while I was the patient. She nearly got arrested all three times, and shoved out of a truck at least once.

-Kat

Bad management

[katgrl2003]

Kat', Do you at least have a clinical coordinator to handle ALS incidents? Or is it just a basic to handle all of the aspects pertaining to the service?

The way our company is set up, we have three members of management. They handle the big stuff with the company, including scheduling. Then we have 4 supervisors (we should have 5). One in dispatch, and 3 on the streets. One on night shift, and two on days. They work 3 days one week, 4 the next so someone is there 24 hours (except some nights). Dispatch supervisor is there 8-4 five days a week.

The top member of management and one of the day shift supervisors are medics. All the rest are BLS. Most people in the company don't have a problem with this because they are just supposed to handle problems, paperwork, supplies, etc. They are NOT to criticize how someone handled a run. That is our medical director's job.

However, once they become supervisors, they seem to become power hungary, especially the night shift supervisor and the day shift one that got booted from her position on nights because management admitted she can't supervise.

Sorry for the rant, Capman. To answer your question, the only person that can critique ALS calls is our medical director, although everyone else tries.

-Kat

[paraloco]

I don;t mind patients or calls. Thats what we are here for. I have frustrations about many things. Mechanics, broken/missing equipment, dispatchers who don't know their butt from a hole in the ground. Posting, hate that, though I admit I don't hafta do it as often as before. Swapping into another truck. I really hate that. I dislike working MVA's in the rain. It would be nice if I did not have to work a 2nd job or work all the OT (a kid with psych problems is expensive, just PM me if ya wanna know how expensive), but I can't blame that on my job. I resent co-workers with more seniority, who glom up all the holidays for vacation time, then trade them off for days they really want. (just put in for the days you want!) I could go on. supper time. later folks