What to Do With An "Off" Crew Member

[Lone Star]

As I type this it sounds as though I am a crew chief when I am a newbie EMT. Not new to the squad, was a driver for over a year, just new to the patient side. Guess that is why I am trying to help her so much. LOL

As you can see Ruffles, the OP isn't a 'crew chief' or in a position for them to 'get their hands dirty'. I also saw that the Captain is the crew chief. Either she addresses the problem, or go to the Station Chief.

There's no room in this field for the 'bystander EMT' mentality. That was fine during your initial days of clinicals. By the time you get your license, you're supposed to be able to function in the field without having to be told every move to make. If you want the 'prestige' and respect that goes with the title,then you have to get in there and do the job. If you can't do the job, it's time to hit the door....

[uglyEMT]

Thanks everyone for the advise! I do appreciate it. I have to add an update since last night's shift. Apparantly I didnt get the memo (hehehe) and she was covering for one of my regulars last night. Diffrent shift with diffrent members, excluding me. Well I must say this, she was totally diffrent. We had a stroke call and from the moment we hit the door she was like a totally diffrent person. She dove right into vitals while I grabbed a quick history from the family members and got the meds written down. When deciding how to move the patient she came up with the best suggestion out of the 3 of us (the reeves). I must say it was a breath of fresh air to see her work this way.

I did ask what was diffrent and she said it was the crew. She feels intimidated working with the Captn and is afraid to "make a mistake" or speak up. Also she feels the dynamic of that crew doesn't fit her in. I do understand that, like I said the 3 of us on that shift work pretty much without verbalizing and just have our "assigned" things. Knowing each others moves before hand can seem intimidating, I can understand and respect that.

I was glad we had a chance to speak last night on the ride back from the ED. I got a better feel of whats going on.

I am still going to take all your advice and suggestions and still talk with her more but instead of just her I will try and get the whole crew involved in the discussion. I know it might be hard being the Captn is on the crew but if we really are a crew or team then I think it should be welcomed and also will only benifit us and especially the patient if we are coheasive and all on the same page.

Time will only tell if she really is cut out for all this but at least last night I got to see a diffrent side of her and her actions were commendable.

Edited April 7, 2010 by UGLyEMT

[ERDoc]

Just a few thoughts, this is a volly situation so there is no firing. Is this person an EMT? How long have they been a member of your corps? She is going to have to get over the insecure feeling. We all have come in contact with other providers/patients/family members that make us feel uncomfortable, that is just part of life. She may never be a crew chief but you can use her to your advantage (I don't mean that to be as bad as it sounds). It's all about resource utilization. You say that if she is directed to do something, she knows what to do. Give her specific tasks. Just flat out tell her, "Get a blood pressure and pulse." She'll have something to do and the rest of you can focus on something else. Talk to your captain about having her run a few non-critical calls. Make her be the crew chief. The best way to learn is to be thrown into the fire (assuming she has the proper training to do it at this point).

[BoCat9]

Try some scenarios, esp. the things that you encounter most in your area. It may be that she freezes when she gets on scene and she just needs the practice in verbalizing what she is going to do. If you can go this far, maybe have someone play the part of a pt on a easy day. Actually have her do some things. Let her take the lead, some people just need that push. During my ride time, the medic on the truck said, on a stable pt, that both he and his partner were going to stand back and let me question the pt and do my assessment. Then the medic would ask me what I want to do, and as long as my treatment wouldn't be detrimental to the pt or totally off the wall, that is what the treatment would be. Then after the call he would ask me how I felt it went and then he would give me his feelings about it. Some people are just shy and need the push in order to get them jump started.

Also talk to your superior and see if she could ride third some in order to get her used to being on scene. If so, have the crew chief sit down with her and tell her his/her expectations. That way she knows, "OK, I will be doing this on the calls unless told otherwise." Hope this helps.