Bunking with bodies...EMS station/Morgue

[iMac]

Yep, I agree. Definitely immature, you said it first. It is a dead body, you are in EMS. Circle of life and all that, sheesh...these were living beings a few minutes to a few hours before they got placed in your freezer. I think you are missing the mindset of RESPECT post mortem. The way you describe your feelings, it seems to be you have none for them.

Do you think they are experiencing closure...other than the freezer door?

Not being able to sleep and not being able to separate your self from calls and victims is very disturbing to me...if you were my partner, I may have already notified the supervisor or EAP or something.

As they should be, but why are you?

Way out of proportion!! Pysch eval, maybe not yet...but soon.

Seriously, maybe you need to dig a little deeper and learn to cope with this.

I don't know if its the fact I'm at work bored while reading this, or if it's because I'm tired but I find this post hilarious.

The one hospital I worked out had us living in the old O.R. and morgue back 100+ years ago when it was the new hospital. Tho it was a bit of a strange feeling at first and we always questioned what the heck happened in that place at night or during the day while we were gone, it all has to do with how you view things. Your attitude is what will make the difference in this situation. All they are is bodies, not really sure what it is that is bothering you.

[Dustdevil]

Throwing a hissy fit and say that I am not going to deal with this is simply not an option for me, personally or professionally.

This is not your personal failure. This is the epic FAILURE of your EMS director who agreed to take this job on in the first place. Timmy is correct, in that this has NOTHING to do with EMS, and should never have been accepted as a duty. Never! But the fact that s/he didn't fight city hall to stop it is a pretty clear sign that you aren't going to get anywhere trying to fight it either.

You will only go so many nights without sleep before you let go of this. Just wait it out. But do not fail to recognise that your EMS administration sucks, and be on the lookout for a real job with a good employer.

[Kaisu]

EMS has absolutely no relationship with any form of funeral home

While not having a quibble with the general gist of your posting, I must correct this statement. In fact, the early history of EMS is directly associated with funeral homes. Often, the only "ambulances" were those that belonged to funeral homes. They responded to scenes to take the "patient" to either the hospital of the funereal home. The first ambulances (the infamous "Caddies") were often converted hearses.

I realize from your perspective that the late 60s/early 70s are in the dim mists of time, but for some of us oldsters, perhaps the EMS director him/herself, EMS will always be associated with the funeral homes. :wink:

[scubanurse]

This seems like either a sink or swim situation... you either just learn to deal with it and get over it, or you let it control you and you switch jobs. Either way I hope you find some peace soon in whatever you decide.

[mobey]

While not having a quibble with the general gist of your posting, I must correct this statement. In fact, the early history of EMS is directly associated with funeral homes. Often, the only "ambulances" were those that belonged to funeral homes. They responded to scenes to take the "patient" to either the hospital of the funereal home. The first ambulances (the infamous "Caddies") were often converted hearses.

I realize from your perspective that the late 60s/early 70s are in the dim mists of time, but for some of us oldsters, perhaps the EMS director him/herself, EMS will always be associated with the funeral homes. :wink:

I don't really understand what you are getting at. I see no reason to correct the statement by Timmy. I believe he is speaking of EMS in Australia.

However, as a general statement, I do agree, EMS deals with patients not corpses. If we come upon a corpse, we call the agency that deals with that, we have no buisness doing anything else with them. Although some EMS agencies may have originated out of funeral homes, that is not to say "EMS has a relationship with funeral homes" (today) We truly are 2 different entities no different than with police.

I would agree EMS has a history with funeral homes, but as a rule I would not say there is a relationship with them now.

[Eydawn]

I completely sympathize with your plight. And I would severely disagree with whoever says you are not respecting the individuals who have passed on by being creeped out by this. Some of us are more sensitive to certain things than others, and that's not a failing, it's just who you are. I think that what you need to do is learn to associate that room in your station with your closure. It's no different than the morgue in the hospital... in the hospital, you probably have a crew room where you can sit and rest for a minute and catch up on paperwork, and the morgue is somewhere in that same building... so learn to associate your holding room with that same kind of separation.

Once they go in the room, tell yourself that they are no longer in there (because as far as you're concerned they're not, and you shouldn't have to deal with the body again). Realize that that room is not really a part of your station... that it is a resting place for these bodies to go, a place full of respect and proper treatment. Then walk outside your station and take a minute to let your mind relax and let go of the call. Don't go straight from this extra room to your bedroom or your common space... make stepping outside yet another break with what has happened on the shift that resulted in the body ending up in the holding room. Don't even think of it as part of the same space... because it really isn't.

That's how I would deal with it if I had no choice, which it sounds like you don't. It's kind of like how I dealt with the cadaver lab... don't get me wrong, I absolutely loved the lab and the learning experience I got from it... but being in there 2-4 times a week for 8 solid weeks during the summer was very difficult for me, as the room was very cold and the smell very pervasive. How did I survive? What I would do before going in was change in my previous class building into scrubs, walk to the building with the lab, sit outside in the sun (or at least in the hallway if weather sucked) and prepare myself for dealing with the dead. It allowed me to tolerate being in the room full of bodies and students much better... then, afterwards, changing out of the scrubs into my street clothes and walking out of the locker room and straight outside to get warm again. It put the lab in its proper space in my mind.

Nail polish on cadaver hands always makes me start to tear up... and I get a very strange feeling from seeing it. I also hate cadaver smell, and really kind of shudder every time I go back through the notes that went into that room, because the smell has clung to the paper. Does that mean I am weak, or that I disrespect the bodies? Not in the slightest. I actually said a quiet prayer and thank-you to every body I had touched that day in lab, in gratitude for the opportunity to learn.

It's not that you need to "man up"... you just need to figure out your own way of coping. I think my suggestion above might help you get that mental break you're looking for and help you feel at home again in your station. It's all I can really think of at the moment... PM me if you want to talk more about this (with someone who shares your sentiment and would also feel slightly creeped out until she learned to adapt to it).

Wendy

CO EMT-B

[Kaisu]

I don't really understand what you are getting at. I see no reason to correct the statement by Timmy. I believe he is speaking of EMS in Australia.

However, as a general statement, I do agree, EMS deals with patients not corpses. If we come upon a corpse, we call the agency that deals with that, we have no buisness doing anything else with them. Although some EMS agencies may have originated out of funeral homes, that is not to say "EMS has a relationship with funeral homes" (today) We truly are 2 different entities no different than with police.

I would agree EMS has a history with funeral homes, but as a rule I would not say there is a relationship with them now.

I do believe that I stated at the beginning of my post that I had no argument with the general content or the inferred meaning of Timmy's post. The blanket statement as it stands "EMS has absolutely no relationship with any form of funeral home" is in fact, blatantly incorrect. While you may see no reason to correct it, my nit-picking little brain has a problem with it. Saying there is NO relationship with funeral homes and EMS is blatantly incorrect in that same general sense. If we are talking about a very narrow range of relationships, I may grant that this is correct, but in the very short history of EMS, the funeral home connection has connotations that survive to this day - not to mention in the broader context of our societies (and by that I mean those that developed along Judeo-Christian lines,which includes Australia) view of death and dying. These attitudes inform us all, and I believe they have a direct impact on the OP's issue.

just sayin'

[Michael]

EMS has absolutely no relationship with any form of funeral home

If we come upon a corpse, we call the agency that deals with that, we have no buisness doing anything else with them. Although some EMS agencies may have originated out of funeral homes, that is not to say "EMS has a relationship with funeral homes" (today)

Sounds accurate to me, in the same way that the science of medicine has absolutely no relationship with any form of witchcraft, Coca-Cola has absolutely no relationship with any form of cocaine, and pest-control has absolutely no relationship with any form of religion ritual. Prefacing these statements by "Its historical origin notwithstanding" emphasizes rather than modifies them.

[mshow00]

We transport bodies for the coroner, rarely, but we do. Sometimes if it is a suspicious death, the deceased has no funeral plans set (or the funeral home hurst is out already), or they are going to the morgue we will transport the bodies. I consider it an honor, and attempt to give the family a sense of final peace and respect. Just FYI.

[iMac]

We transport bodies for the coroner, rarely, but we do. Sometimes if it is a suspicious death, the deceased has no funeral plans set (or the funeral home hurst is out already), or they are going to the morgue we will transport the bodies. I consider it an honor, and attempt to give the family a sense of final peace and respect. Just FYI.

Good for you. If only more people shared your view. Doesn't happen out here. Never had to transport bodies or at least not the officially dead ones *cough*