BEATING MYSELF UP, MY FIRST EMERGENCY

[chappy]

If you can't come to work without the 5 hour energy drinks, stay home.

The last thing we need is someone amped up on caffeine & sugar trying to act calmly and responsibly.

Step back and take a deeeeeeep breath before leaping into action, it's not your emergency!

Amen.

If you're on an eight hour shift, you shouldn't need a recharge.

Otherwise, I would agree that the assessment was right on.

As a responder, you MUST be calm when everyone else is falling apart around you. When you get excited (or even, dare I say, a little panicked) the excitement (and panic) of the bystanders goes up a hundred fold.

After all the comments and critiques, remember this: it was your first emergent call. Experience will help.

I am certainly no pharmacologist, but I wonder what the effect of the caffeine and other stimulants in energy drinks is when combined with the adrenaline rush of a rookie on his first (or tenth) emergent call.... I feel a new thread coming on.

Anyway, don't beat yourself up over anything but the energy drink.

[cosgrojo]

I remember my first emergency call like a nightmare. I felt like I was standing still lodged in mud with everything moving about me. My partner and EMS mentor appeared to me to be picking me up by my boot straps and sigle handedly managing a difficult patient. I honestly cannot remember a single thing that I did to help during the call.

Afterwards, in discussion of the call... partner tells me I did fine, that's the way you feel after the first one... you'll get over it. He was right, I got over it... but I never wanted to feel that useless again. I began to really dial it up from that point forward. (Good times... eh admin?)

So what I'm saying is... get over it... get better from it. I have the feeling that a light bulb popped on over your head during this discussion (yes ABC's can be assessed from the hallway before you even see the patient... weird huh?). Good luck. The City can be supportive if you let it.

[ambodriver]

Here we go, the forum regulars crucifying a new person who comes to post here. Don't let a lot of these people get you down. It is a cult.

To the OP:

Stay clam, remember you aren't the one dying. You are an EMT, and realistically there isn't much you are going to do to hurt this person. Board/Collar 'em up and get 'em on the way to the ER. Your assessment can be done in route. You'll be fine kid, just take a deep breather and stay level headed. It will fall into place soon enough.

[Eydawn]

Nobody's being crucified. Rather, people are intimating that professional communication lends one more credibility in this particular setting (what setting *doesn't* that apply to, however...) and providing good reassurance that more experience will help one become smoother and more proficient at handling emergency calls.

Nobody jumped on this n00b and said dude, get out now, you done screwed up your entire career from this call and ya ain't got what it takes... that would be crucifying the n00b.

Wendy

CO EMT-B

[Dustdevil]

Here we go, the forum regulars crucifying a new person who comes to post here. Don't let a lot of these people get you down. It is a cult.

Are you retarded? To the very last person, everyone who gave an opinion here said they thought he did fine. Do you complain about blowjobs too?

[cosgrojo]

Are you retarded? To the very last person, everyone who gave an opinion here said they thought he did fine. Do you complain about blowjobs too?

HA! Not even bad ones... it's the thought that counts.

[HERBIE1]

Are you retarded? To the very last person, everyone who gave an opinion here said they thought he did fine. Do you complain about blowjobs too?

Dammit, Dust!

...Cleans coffee off screen.

HA! Not even bad ones... it's the thought that counts.

True, and like any skill, practice makes perfect...

[Lone Star]

Here we go, the forum regulars crucifying a new person who comes to post here. Don't let a lot of these people get you down. It is a cult.

To the OP:

Stay clam, remember you aren't the one dying. You are an EMT, and realistically there isn't much you are going to do to hurt this person. Board/Collar 'em up and get 'em on the way to the ER. Your assessment can be done in route. You'll be fine kid, just take a deep breather and stay level headed. It will fall into place soon enough.

If telling the OP to lay off the 'energy drinks' is a crucifixion, then I guess we're all guilty. Considering that we've only been supportive of him; I don't see how that's even remotely considered 'crucifying' him.

We've all explained that the feelings he went through were understandable and expected for that first 'hot call'....and we found no fault with his treatments. However, judging from the number of negatives you've gotten on that one post, it looks like YOU might be in line for the next available cross.....would you prefer nails or simple rope?