Job pride vs. Hero complex?

[tcripp]

I hope I'm not hijacking this thread, but I have a story of a thank you. At the end of a call (refusal at that), I asked the patient if there was anything else I could do before I left. The elderly lady looked at me and asked if she could give me a hug. Her daughter (whom I believe had some slight retardation) looked at me and wanted to know if she could get a hug too.

ABSOLUTELY! What a way to end a late night call for an elderly woman with hugs all around. (FYI, there is zero sarcasm in that.) To me, that was the best kind of thanks.

Edited November 4, 2011 by tcripp

[HERBIE1]

I hope I'm not hijacking this thread, but I have a story of a thank you. At the end of a call (refusal at that), I asked the patient if there was anything else I could do before I left. The elderly lady looked at me and asked if she could give me a hug. Her daughter (whom I believe had some slight retardation) looked at me and wanted to know if she could get a hug too.

ABSOLUTELY! What a way to end a late night call for an elderly woman with hugs all around. (FYI, there is zero sarcasm in that.) To me, that was the best kind of thanks.

Awesome story,

That makes it all worthwhile, doesn't it? All the sleepless nights, the horrible calls, the wear and tear on your body. Those type of calls often seem to come when you really need them, don't they?

[tcripp]

^^ Yes, they do!

[DwayneEMTP]

You may think that I'm sniping, but I'm truly not...at least not only...

But the hero complex often seems to be issues with turnout gear. And you know what? From a behavioral science point of view I've kind of come to forgive that. If every time I looked at a newspaper, or turned on the television I saw images and actions of paramedics doing bullshit heroic stuff. If every time there was a fender bender there was some one from the President on down congratulating me for my heroism..how long would it be before I'd watch one of those shows and think? "Holy shit! I've not turned a wheel in weeks, I'm over weight, out of shape, can't take a B/P...but you know what? I fuckin' rock!! The president just said so for the 12th time this week! I love being a hero....."

Doesn't mean that I will ever accept it, but when you consider the mentality of many firemen (Just a note to restate the fact that some of my most inspirtational education as a student medic came from the fire services in the Springs. And I've known some tried and true dedicated smoke eaters that I am in awe of. But the other 99% just piss me off.) and the reasons that their 'dream' is to be a fireman, how much of this shit can they be bombarded with without it beginning to warp their psyche. How many times can you hear 'thank you' from the Denny's waitress before you begin to believe that you deserve it, even if you don't?

As has been stated before. I've heard 'thank you' a gazillion times. Though I've never been surprised when it didn't happen, of course I'm grateful when it does. Well, one time when it just makes me crazy? When the drunk is saying over and over, "Thank you! Oh God, thank you...God loves you, no one understands me...Thank you.." Shut the F' up...

Did I get anywhere near answering the question?

Dwayne

Edited for a small format change. Not significant changes made.

[RockDoc]

Look in their eyes. That is where true thanks comes from (or F-bombs, said or unsaid). With old people especially, they will reach out to your hand with theirs. Not much needs to be said to be understood.

[Bieber]

I didn't get into this job to be thanked, or thinking that I would be thanked very frequently, and while I appreciate it when it comes, I don't expect it. The thanks I get comes in the form of a paycheck, and from being able to make a difference. Oftentimes, the difference I make is something that the patient may not even realize has changed their condition or their outcome (giving aspirin or calling a STEMI/stroke alert so the hospital can be ready to get the patient to the right care as soon as they get there; getting an IV so the hospital can draw blood or have immediate access for fluids or medications in the future even if they don't need them right this minute; etc). It's enough that I know that I've made a difference in their outcome, even if they don't.

I'll contend what one person said about police, fire and EMS being thankless jobs. I think that there are two thankless jobs there, not three. Sorry to all the firefighters out there, because I know there's times when you're not appreciated the way you should be, but compared to police and EMS, you're way ahead of the curve. Firefighters ARE "America's Heroes", plain and simple. And while EMS and police are appreciated by some, I don't think that it's anywhere near the same degree and--at least in EMS--it's really all our own fault. We eat our own, fight amongst ourselves when we should be banding together against EMS's common enemy and biggest threat: pro-fire, anti-progressive EMS fire departments and fire organizations. We don't market ourselves and we pay the price for it when we show up on medical calls with fire first response and our patients thank the fire department and ignore us or when the fire department gets additional funding and EMS is asked to "make due" with what we've got, regardless of the actual needs of the departments.

Anyway, sorry to get off on that anti-fire tangent. I love the fire department for what they do (fight fires), but I disagree with how the majority of them view and run EMS. All the same, they've managed to turn themselves into America's Heroes and become THE folks people want to love and thank. If we in EMS want to be appreciated, it's not going to come from continuing with "business as usual", but from marketing ourselves (because EMS IS a business, like it or not), and from making ourselves known and visible to the public. It IS important that we are appreciated, because as we can see with the fire service, the monetary and political benefits of being appreciated and liked by the public are tremendous and those are benefits that I think most EMS agencies could benefit from. But it's gonna take a lot of work for us to reach that level of appreciation, and even longer if we don't start taking a proactive approach to it.

[Bernhard]

To add an other angle of view: yes, I expect a "Thank you". I even expect respect for what I do and for me. But I'm old enough to be not surprised, when it doesn't come. I would expect the same, when I am a bank clerk or a fruit seller, and I myself spend a simple thank you more often than not. For me, a "thank you" and respecting others is an important part of social life. Even trying to teach this my kid. A little "thank you" doesn't hurt.

Again: it's no way to be surprised, when there comes nothing back.

In my career EMS department I really expect to be paid, this comes more or less from public sources. I even would expect to be better paid, so the real people who have to take a certain impression of us is the public in general. There i would consider all weapons are allowed. If they thank us with better wages (and in my volly service with better equipment, better funding for education and clothes), then I even would bear the burden of an hero image.

But since there always is some kind of whining attached to getting a hero image ("please please consider me a hero, look how cool I am!"), I preferably leave this to the (then mostly volunteer) fire service. It would be better - in my eyes - to have the image of a professional provider (even when volunteer!), doing a professional work in the rear end of social risk-management, based on high-level education and certainly deserving a high-level pay (or, as a volunteer: the best equipment available).

BTW, for my personal juvenile male hero ego it's enough to be summoned out, getting in my hero-suit (even if no phone boot available) and run the streets in my bat-car. Hooray!

Thank you for reading!

[Richard B the EMT]

I got a public "Thank You" from a member of my congregation, who thanked me with a donation to our house of worship, and the mention in the congregation's Bullitin. Not bad for handholding, and the "Stare Of Life", for just walking to the corner while off duty from my house.

[Kiwiology]

"Holy shit! I've not turned a wheel in weeks, I'm over weight, out of shape, can't take a B/P...but you know what? I fuckin' rock!! The president just said so for the 12th time this week! I love being a hero....."

Eh don't talk crap mate you're a fat bastard sack of useless manure; me on the other hand, little old Nana's love me to death, I am King Shit LOL

Edited November 5, 2011 by kiwimedic

[Richard B the EMT]

Slight subject hijack:

Who of us are the heroes, and who are the sidekicks?