REALIZING HOW BURNED OUT I AM BECOMING

[Virginia NPP]

Hi CBEMT,

First of all, I am sure you are not a horrible human being.

I am not sure why you are shocked by this advice but let me say more.

I think it was my reference to "child" that you responded to. Spending time with children you love (your own, friends, relatives) can be a way that helps you see a more innocent , less complicated way of being. The fact that the incident involved a dead baby is not a reason to avoid children (or babies). It is in fact perhaps a reason you shouldn't. (you know like getting back up on the horse that threw you). You certainly "will see them everywhere" after this incident anyway, and better to see and be with them in a loving situation where you can do something for them.

I hope this helps, if not say more, and I will respond.

Best.

Virginia

[Dustdevil]

First of all, I am sure you are not a horrible human being.

Careful. He has an image to maintain here. :wink:

[jouleman]

Thanks for all the kind words. It is very encouraging to know that there are still genuine caring people around. I have since been able to talk with a few people at work, and have had positive outcomes from those conversations. I was also able to go by the responding fire station and talk at length about the call with them. I feel better today, and they all felt better being able to share there feelings as well. My partner and I have also been able to talk and share our feelings about it too. Neither of us had ever had to go through that before. It was very sad. Anyway, I am very appreciative of the replies and advice expressed by you all. I am glad I found this site, and will return often. I am sure with the right attitude one can overcome anything. I was in a rut of more bad than good happening at work, and found an outlet for it here. That call was the icing on the cake at the time. I work in a very high volume system, and it is easy to get passive about a lot of calls and patients encountered. This job has its highs and lows, I just get tired of the lows sometimes. Thanks again for your shoulders. Take care of yourselves as well.

[firedoc5]

Even though I'm not still in the field, I get updates on some things. In my former system they have regular "debriefing" meetings. Everyone can speak up, talk, vent, or just listen to others. If only they had something like that when I was active.

[Asysin2leads]

I feel for you. I know exactly where you are and I've been there too. Dust has some excellent advice. When you need help, go to a professional, and I mean a psychologist or preferably psychiatrist, many of them specialize in fields such as ours. To me, going to a psychiatrist or psychologist is no different than going to my sports medicine doctor when my knee is acting up.

As for BS calls, until it stops being profitable for services to send you out on BS calls, we'll all continue to do them. Usually if its a BS taxi ride to the ER, I have a polite lecture with the patient as to how using the ER in a primary care role not only does a disservice to us, but also to them, as they will not get the most appropriate care for their situation. This once in a great while will actually give someone pause, but more importantly, it puts me back into the role of medical provider and not taxi driver. In other words, you can call 911, and I will have to take you to the hospital. But I can still tell you that you are wrong.

As for drunks, yeah, they're... well, I just wish there were better laws. Sometimes you do have to make a game of it. I used to play quiz bowl in high school so I like to try and slip some trivia questions in when I'm doing demographics. If you haven't seen someone who can barely remember their address try to remember who the only US president to serve two nonconsecutive terms was (Grover Cleveland), you really should. The best is when you have too of them and you keep score.

[Virginia NPP]

When you need help, go to a professional, and I mean a psychologist or preferably psychiatrist,

Hi,

In terms of a mental health therapist my advice is to look at all disciplines, Nurses (Masters in Psych with certification), Psychologist (PhD Licensed), Social Workers (masters in clinical social work with Certification). Counselors, Family and Marriage Counselors, Grief Counselors and pastoral counselors can also be good choices.

In my opinion, the thing that is most important is the individual not the discipline. This is of course not easy to figure out. Don't be afraid to ask people who have seen the person for opinions. You should realize Psychiatrists may not be the best choice. There are very few Psychiatrists who do talk therapy, they are (some exceptions of course) very medically oriented and are good to see if you need medications. They and Psychiatric NP are the only ones in the Mental Health field who can prescribe medications.

This is confusing for many people as we have so many people who do "counseling". Make sure whoever you are considering is Licensed in the state (if license is available for that discipline) and certified by their own discipline.

It is an important decision, check it out before you commit. Remember if you see someone and it doesn't feel right, look elsewhere. Trust your guts.

[Asysin2leads]

Hi,

In terms of a mental health therapist my advice is to look at all disciplines, Nurses (Masters in Psych with certification), Psychologist (PhD Licensed), Social Workers (masters in clinical social work with Certification). Counselors, Family and Marriage Counselors, Grief Counselors and pastoral counselors can also be good choices.

In my opinion, the thing that is most important is the individual not the discipline. This is of course not easy to figure out. Don't be afraid to ask people who have seen the person for opinions. You should realize Psychiatrists may not be the best choice. There are very few Psychiatrists who do talk therapy, they are (some exceptions of course) very medically oriented and are good to see if you need medications. They and Psychiatric NP are the only ones in the Mental Health field who can prescribe medications.

This is confusing for many people as we have so many people who do "counseling". Make sure whoever you are considering is Licensed in the state (if license is available for that discipline) and certified by their own discipline.

Good points but one thing I'm going to have to disagree with, and that is the insinuation that psychiatrists are solely medical oriented. Psychiatrists are medical doctors, so unlike psychologists or counselors, they can take in the entire presentation of the patient. Psychiatric problems, large and small are true medical illnesses, and like all medical illnesses should be evaluated by a doctor. Many psychiatrists do talk therapy, while others find that some patients respond well to medication therapy. The problem with mental health is that, much like EMS, due to a lack of standards, you can run the gauntlet of poor to very good providers. My advice is to start with a licensed psychiatrist, in the same way I prefer that a certified paramedic be on the ambulance.

[Virginia NPP]

Hi Asysil2 leads.

Well I guess we disagree.

I have been in this field for almost 30 years and have worked with more therapists and psychiatrists that can be counted. I have also been involved with training of residents in psychiatry.

Psychiatrist training in the art of talk therapy has historically been very scanty. (unless you were in a special program or pursued psychoanlytic training, which you don't have to be a psychiatrist to do). I also know there are psychiatrist who are good at therapy, but I believe this is the exception rather then the rule.

In terms of standards I have seen many people who graduated from the same program with the same credentials who are worlds apart in their ablility to do psychotherapy. As I said, much of it depends on the individual.

Any one else want to weigh in on this issue?

Virginia

[ccmedoc]

Its been my experience to have counselors (whether nurses, social workers, grief counselors, or psychologist) work with a psychiatrist in order to get more complete coverage. The patient case would be discussed between these parties for an effective plan of care.

I would agree that most psychiatrists are not proficient in the "art" of talk therapy..and it is an art. They are, indeed, very medically oriented as a profession. But this need not be a bad thing.The extent of most of the interviews by psychiatrists I have been associated with are in depth and therapeutic enough to get a better eye on pharmacy. Both prescripton and maintenance.

Just an opinion...Another is to stay away from so called CISD. Not very effective in my experience...IMHO :wink:

[FFMedic1911]

after reading this thread a felt I needed to reply.I too have been feeling some of the same things.I really love my job,but that's just it.It has came to the point where I am not doing that anymore.I really feel that admin. could fix alot of the problems we as providers experience but they have forgot what it is like when you are the real workers.They are always coming up with new forms of old rules.And always looking for a way to make it harder to do what we love.When I started 10yrs ago it was about helping.But that has all changed,because of the way people at the top has made are job.For example just got a new ems charting system at a place a work prn.It took me 2 1/2 hrs to put a simple BS run in.Man I could go on for hrs but i think I'll quit for now because am rambling and need another drink. lol