New Partners

[fakingpatience]

Looking for advice anyone here might have.

I'm a new medic, and I just got a brand sparking new EMT partner, just got his EMT-B, has not even worked for a month yet.

He's not stupid, and wants to learn, but I guess I'm just trying to find the right balance between showing/ telling him how things need to be done and being too bossy. And as a new medic I still have a million things running through my head, and tend to get frustrated with myself, and then less patient with my partner when I need to walk him through the simple things.

Also, he is twice my age, which makes it a little more awkward for me to be the one "in charge"/ mentoring him

How do you help your new partners?

What were some things you remember your partner doing when you were new that was great or terrible?

Edited May 5, 2013 by fakingpatience

[HarryM]

I'd suggest the best thing to do is to have a chat with him about he thinks he needs to improve on and what you think he needs to improve on and then use that to work out how you will run jobs and how you will mentor him. If you sit down and get on the right page with each other then when you do mentor him on the job there won't be any surprises for either of you and he won't feel as if you are undermining him or being a bully, as you've already worked out a mentor plan.

I personally find the best strategy is to work out how your partner works (from observation) and if you need to provide advice/guidance/feedback/mentoring you can tailor it to their working style. On the way to a job you can get them to run through with you what their thoughts are based on the known info before you get there and talk over with them what they need to be looking for and thinking of. Then let them run the job (unless you need to provide any advanced care) and unless they are doing anything clinically dangerous, let them do it their way. Afterwards you can provide some feedback on where they went well and what they could improve on. When they get in the same situation again then just watch and see if they have taken onboard your feedback and if not have another talk and reinforce it.

Not sure if that helps, but honestly the best way is just to be straight-up and honest and talk things over with him. Otherwise it's just going to be you getting impatient and snapping, and him feeling as if you think he's incompetent and not helping to further his skills.

Edited May 12, 2013 by HarryM

[mikeymedic1984]

I would have a conversation with your boss first. Rookie Paramedic and Rookie EMTB ????? That is not only stupid, it is dangerous.

[Bieber]

I would have a conversation with your boss first. Rookie Paramedic and Rookie EMTB ????? That is not only stupid, it is dangerous.

Dangerous? That may be a little too much. Depending on the system it could work just fine.

Patience, I think one way of finding the balance between achieving your goal without stepping on any toes is to simply let your partner know what you need done, and then allow them to figure out the best way (for them) to meet that goal. When I'm working with someone new, I just try to ask a lot of questions about their own current experience, what they've done, what they haven't done, how it worked for them and share my own experiences using my own approach to similar problems. Without some more specific examples of where your frustration is, I can't get you much more specific advise.

[island emt]

Look at it as a chance to form your new basic into someone who can excel. With the ink still wet on their license, they won't have had time to develop any bad habits.

Let them know what you expect and let them know you set the bar high. Then help them become a great basic.

The fact that he is older shouldn't be an issue. Let him know that you are in charge and responsible for your safety, his safety & the patients well being.

I have had older & younger partners. They all were assigned to me to learn the street smarts to allow them to stay alive and become better providers.

A lot of them had a higher license level than i did at the time and that could cause issues with some of the newbies until the boss explained why they had been assigned to me to learn outside the classroom. decades of street experience could trump a 6 month classroom course anytime.

When you explain to a young Paramedic that your boots are older than they are, they tend to pay attention, or they do it their way until they run into a problem they don't know how to fix. Then they come to gramps and ask for help.

[MikeEMT]

I would have a conversation with your boss first. Rookie Paramedic and Rookie EMTB ????? That is not only stupid, it is dangerous.

I would say this is an overreaction. While it is true that Faking is a rookie Paramedic, I strongly doubt he is rookie EMT. Most systems require a certain amount of time spent as an EMT before you can enter Medic school. Having read his posts on here he seems to be quite knowledgable. Good BLS is vital and I would think that Faking has more than demonstrated his BLS skills and therefore should be able to teach a thing or two to his new partner.

Since my regular partner has been on special assignment for the past 2 1/2 months, I have been getting a lot of new partners. Mostly fresh out of FTO that need a little more work. I enjoy mentoring rookies. I try to teach them things I have learned the hard way. Keep your eyes and ears open and you may learn something from them too.

[paramedicmike]

Perhaps most systems in your area require time as a basic before moving on to medic. That's not the case everywhere. Time to start thinking more broadly, Mike.

Being new at each level, no matter one's prior experience or knowledge, is stressful. Being a medic, despite the foundation, is different from being an EMT. Starting out as a new medic requires a different level of thinking. Getting used to that level of thinking especially under pressure can be challenging. That pressure does not need to be made worse by having a brand new partner with no experience.

[croaker260]

All good advice and comments, I would add this:

Remember that you also are a new medic. even though your cert is higher, and by policy you are in charge, a collaborative approach may be in order. on the street and in the mud you are both peers. Perhaps a "we are both in this same crap-bilt boat. Lets try not to tip it over while we learn our jobs together" is more warrented.

Especially if I was older, A younge rookie paramedic trying to tell me, even though I am a rookie too, how things are going to roll...is a bit hard to swallow.

Remember: if you have to have a talk on how you are in charge, you probably are not. You get better results wth leadership and collaboration than with managment and dictation.

[Mateo_1387]

I tend to agree with everyone thus far. I do want to add to the overall tone and echo more of what croaker260 has said. In a nutshell, how you decide to treat patient's and treat your coworker is a choice you make. It is okay to have feelings, frustrations, but when you start reacting to the stresses on calls, instead of responding to the situations at hand, you hinder the good qualities you may have a leader.

I don't mean for what I'm about to say seem like taking a horse pill, though, you are going to have to get used to explaining things, especially in stressful situations. Sometimes, you are not paired with the experienced partner. If you are unable to explain things to your partner, who probably looks to you for guidance, then how do you expect patient's, their family, or other medical providers to respect your position when you start losing your cool? Again, the choice is to bully your way through or show patience and understanding.

Anyways, off the soap box, which I hope you take as constructive and not bashing. I offer this because I started out as a young paramedic (guess I still am) working with those old enough to be my parents. I've made my share of mistakes, but have striven to be respectful to others, especially my coworkers.

To answer your question about great or terrible things while being a no0b, I'll tell on myself. In essence, I started out pretty bad. I had no experience, especially life experience, much less seemed to grasp how things were ran in EMS. I guess in essence, I had a hard time picking up on how things were supposed to run on a call. The ebb and flow of things were foreign to me, and I think this happened for a while. I am sure I had to be told to do many things I was expected to do. It didn't help when the situation was stressful and adrenaline was running.

As far as no0b coworkers, I think the greatest thing I see from them is a willingness to learn and more respect to patients. The worst qualities seem to be scene control and a lack of confidence.

I hope this is helpful. Good luck on your paramedic journey, I'm sure it will get better, as you are willing to participate and ask for assistance. Kudos...

Matty

[Richard B the EMT]

While the combo of a new EMT and Paramedic somehow doesn't feel right to me, each combination is a separate and distinct thing. It just might work.

Then, again, some long timers being teamed up is gas and a match.