Controlling the Scene

[HERBIE1]

Bieber-

Fiz makes a great point, which I probably should have emphasized. Stepping up and taking control not only comes with confidence, but it takes time. The people around you- coworkers, LEO's, etc will get to know you, they will determine if they think you are competent and will eventually cede to your judgment and authority. You definitely have to earn your stripes, and it takes time. Believe me- if you stay in the area for any length of time, you WILL develop a reputation- good or bad. All you can do is your best, and let the rest take care of itself. Again- you cannot control what others think, but you can control how you act. It's a tough balancing act at first. Yes, you are in charge medically, but you will also be working with people with vast amounts of experience- albeit less medical knowledge. USE their expertise when appropriate, and you will definitely earn their respect and confidence. It's also a sign of a good leader- utilizing all the resources you have on hand- whether they be people or equipment.

With each call, each scenario, you will gain valuable experience- and confidence. In fact, the times you learn the most is when everything is a major cluster f_, and it all goes to hell in a handbasket, not when everything goes smoothly.

[mobey]

I'll chime in too.

Here is a different perspective.

At many scenes, the co-responders do not even realize that I am in charge untill I see something I need to intervene on. A good example is breaking glass, right before a FF breaks glass, I will find the one guy with his visor still up and remind him to lower it.

If everything is going smoothly, and everyone is doing the right things.... there is no need to micro-manage. If everyone is trained properly and follows predetermined orders, then the scene commander should not really have to "show authority".

A great passive way to show authority, is to be the one too do a good primary assessment of the pt and report back to FF command. When you turn to the fire Cpt and tell him the pt is stable, but you are worried about a spinal injury, so extrication should be slow and careful, you have established ultimate command. How they extricate is thier deal.... as long as it is safe and continuous, you don't need to dictate all aspects of the procedure.

As to stopping on scene.... I am that a**hole Paramedic everyone hates, when I pull up and am met by a "nurse" or "Paramedic", or even "Dr." all I really want to know from them is if they witnessed the crash, if so, the speed involved.

No offence but "Nurse" means nothing.... Home care nurse? Nurse at a hair transplant clinic? LPN? RN? I have no way of knowing the quality of provider, so I only want to know the results of MY assessment, not yours.

Even a Dr, is that Dr. of dentistry? Podiatrist? ER? retired GP? Ahh... nevermind, I will just assess the pt's myself.

An old boss unrelated to EMS once said to me "A good manager will train his staff so well, his job will become obsolete"