"Taking care of our own"

[mrsmall]

I'm curious, when you get a call, for someone involved in public safety.. (fire, ems, highway patrol, police, etc.) Do you tend to get a little more aggressive? From what I can tell, everyone's attitude changes whenever we find out someone from public safety is in trouble.

When someone calls "officer down" on the radio, every cop in the county will show up...

Do we tend to think the same? I don't know about the rest of you, but I tend to act differently in these situations.

[Timmy]

What do you mean by public safety? Like a danger or threat sort of thing?

[mrsmall]

What do you mean by public safety? Like a danger or threat sort of thing?

Someone who works in a career that is for: public safety

Police officers, EMS, fire....

[Dustdevil]

No. I am a professional.

And part of being a professional is exercising the maturity and self-control to function optimally under all circumstances. Everybody gets the same response from me. If they're not getting the same from you, it's time to grow up or get out.

[Michael]

No. I am a professional.

And part of being a professional is exercising the maturity and self-control to function optimally under all circumstances. Everybody gets the same response from me. If they're not getting the same from you, it's time to grow up or get out.

It's posts like this that have me biting my cuticles whenever I think of disagreeing with The Duster about anything. If I believed in democracy, I'd say Dust for President!

Well roared, Lion.

[triemal04]

Unfortunately I am a pretty bad black cloud when it comes to this type of thing...and it's still one of my least favorite type of calls.

It doesn't change the medical care that I give though, not that I've noticed anyway. What it does make me do is go a little further for the patient on the non-medical side...asking about and contacting any family or friends, staying with them when neccasary...that type of thing. Once they're out of harm's way at least.

That sort of call isn't fun and it's easy to let it get to you, but you can't do that or you'll start making mistakes and doing things differently and wrong. Treat them like any other patient, and, (what has worked for me anyway) until it's over and done become the most emotionless, detached cold bastard you can be. If it's someone you know ignore that and focus only on what needs to be done, not that it's a friend. If it's another cop, firefighter, paramedic, etc do the same.

Makes it much easier.

[Dustdevil]

If I believed in democracy...

LMAO!

[Eydawn]

At the Scout Ranch, it is much more emotionally draining for me to take care of staff members I know and care about. These guys and gals are my good friends... which makes the stakes different on a personal level- not a professional level. I've done it a few times.

I give them the same quality care I would anyone else, and stick it out until I've handed them off or they are out of danger. Then I go up into the hills and cry for a good long while. Then I make sure to connect back with them and tell them exactly how much they mean to me and do good followup care to make sure they don't end back up in the state they were in when they came into my lodge.

Wendy

CO EMT-B

[Dustdevil]

You raise a good point, Wendy. Who is "our own"? I don't consider cops and firemonkeys to be my "own". I am not them. They are not me. They are deserving of my best efforts, but then so is every other patient I encounter. But, like the Scout ranch, there are certainly assignments that tax your emotional detachment. Military medicine is probably the most trying of those. Every patient I see is "one of us", and not just some slob from the other side of town. Whether I know him or her personally or not, I cannot help but feel a bond with them that occasionally makes emotional detachment difficult.

But seriously, any provider who categorises which of his patients are deserving of varying levels of commitment needs to spend a couple of semesters studying professional ethics to get their head straight. There is no room for this kind of attitude in the medical professions. Sooner or later it will get somebody hurt or fired.

[AnthonyM83]

I do tend to be a little more aggressive. Ideally, you're as aggressive as you can on every call, but in a busy area, this will wear you out very quickly. One must understand that if we're on a "regular" call, we're not providing a substandard level of car, though.

Realistically, there is an emotional component to it, though...I imagine a doctor working on another doctor might sometimes be more aggressive (?)