Deaf EMT on ambulance...

[MariB]

No. This is stupid. Can we not be PC and not overlook the glaring issues?

Would you want to run 911 with this guy...who can't hear your orders....can't hear horns honking? Who can't hear the bum charging while yer picking up his buddy in the alley?

Come on....FD's around here have medical clearance and hearing/vision tests are included.

I got nothing against deaf people but this is just DUMB

(pun intended)

did you read the article? He does non emergent transport.

[Just Plain Ruff]

It sure sounds like he runs emergencies at times. he's the EMS Lietenant and it sounds to me like there are times he's on emergency calls. but the article does say that he does non-emergency but I did read that he did respond to emergencies as well.

[Arctickat]

I remember back when I was doing non-emergent transport services decades ago there were times when our patient unexpectedly deteriorated and we had to call for EMS to assist. I wonder what he would do in this case?

[ambodriver]

did you read the article? He does non emergent transport.

I did read the article. It doesn't matter what hes running. Anything can happen in the ambulance. We all know this.

[DwayneEMTP]

I too think that this is a farce, but a great public relations strategy.

I do believe that most of what we do, and the most important, is touching people's hearts and spirits, and in this he may be superior to many. If so, then that's a really good thing. But there will be times, no matter what kind of EMS service that you provide, that you will need to hear. It's just simply a vital part of providing medical care sometimes.

And to say that it's ok because he only does non emergent transports just isn't right. I've had two non emergent Hospice patients code in the back of my ambulance. A non emergent start doesn't mean a non emergent conclusion.

Of course the flip side of this argument is that I've worked with many paramedics that couldn't be bothered to do a manual BP, listen to bowel sounds, or have any idea what to do with any but the most obvious of lung sounds if they listened...so I guess there's that.

I wouldn't have hired him to attend to patients in a vehicle. Perhaps as part of a crew in the ER, or other facility where his aparent people skills could be utilized would have been better?

[Just Plain Ruff]

^{I am against this big time.} It's a great PR thing and it makes the public feel all warm and fuzzy but that does not make the end result any different. He needs to HEAR PERIOD and if he's in an ambulance by himself in the back and he can't hear then the patient assessment that we all do every day (some better than others) is lacking in one Huge area. The listening phase. You cannot hear breath sounds, you can't hear bowel sounds and you cannot hear a BP(which you need to do a manual BP every time in my opinion).

He also cannot hear his partner yell out "HOLD ON" when he has to hard stop, when another car is about to hit them or Look out for that Car coming when he's walking with the patient.

So I'm all for equal rights for disabled persons but if you cannot hear, you cannot do the job in my opinion. sorry if that ruffles (ha ha) feathers but thats that and I like Dwayne would not hire the guy to work the ambulance.

[Lone Star]

It's been said by the Cap'n and Dwayne, so there's no real reason for me to reiterated. Listening is just far too important in this field, and if he's deficient in this area, then he's providing inferior patient care. When you can't hear the little nuances in things like lung sounds, how can you properly assess the patient?

If you can't hear the subleties in a blood pressure, then how can you properly treat the patients condition and needs?

Not all patients will be able to communicate whats wrong, and in the case of the unconscious patient, you need to be able to hear what the body is trying to tell you.

Yeah, the guy's got a set of 'brass ones', but is it REALLY a good idea to have him in a position of patient assessment and autonomous patient care (within the boundaries of protocols)?

[Just Plain Ruff]

It's been said by the Cap'n and Dwayne, so there's no real reason for me to reiterated. Listening is just far too important in this field, and if he's deficient in this area, then he's providing inferior patient care. When you can't hear the little nuances in things like lung sounds, how can you properly assess the patient?

If you can't hear the subleties in a blood pressure, then how can you properly treat the patients condition and needs?

Not all patients will be able to communicate whats wrong, and in the case of the unconscious patient, you need to be able to hear what the body is trying to tell you.

Yeah, the guy's got a set of 'brass ones', but is it REALLY a good idea to have him in a position of patient assessment and autonomous patient care (within the boundaries of protocols)?

NO!!!!!

Now get him some Cochlear implants and then we got a winner. but until then, I'm not for him working in EMS

Let me ask you this, would you want him taking care of you or your loved one on that one time where you or your loved one had him diverted from a transfer to your emergency call and let's say that your emergency is that you are short of breath or some type of emergency where hearing whats going on is going to be crucial to your outcome??????

[aspiringemt]

First off, let me just say that I'm not a paramedic (hence the username) so I might have a different perspective from you guys. I am however, hard of hearing in both ears (severe to profound), but I am COMPLETELY oral and with the help of my cochlear implant (will be getting another one soon! ) I can hear very well, almost close to what you can hear. My point is, being hard of hearing doesn't necessarily mean that you're deaf. It doesn't mean you can't hear the person right next to you. The ability to hear with hearing aids/in general varies from person to person, so I would be careful about making generalizations about people who are considered hearing impaired, as many of them might have cochlear implants which help a lot. Anyways, I just wanted to throw that out there, but I completely understand how you guys might feel about having a hard of hearing partner.

Also, about the hearing breathing sounds, etc, there are stethoscopes for people with hearing losses that work REALLY well from what I've heard. You simply piug them into your hearing aid/cochlear implant and viola

http://www.medicalsupplydepot.com/Diagnostic-Products/Stethoscopes/Littmann-3200-Bluetooth-Electronic-Stethoscope.html?utm_source=googlemerchant&utm_medium=cse&utm_campaign=datafeed&utm_content=10673&zmam=43382607&zmas=1&zmac=28&zmap=10673&gclid=CMzkvPW707cCFRCe4Aod3ksAFg

But now I'm wondering...should I be discouraged about becoming an EMT?

Edited June 8, 2013 by aspiringemt

[DwayneEMTP]

Aspiring, I've been trying to reply to this post since you posted it, but where I work the internet is so terribly slow that I couldn't get this page to load...

First, what a friggin' cool post. In a world where so many are looking for a reason to say, "What?! You're going to discriminate against me?!!" you instead chose to create a really productive, mature post. Thanks for that.

I think that most of the responses come from the title of the post using the world, "deaf", which to most of us means, "without an ability to hear." After reading your post it occurred to me that I may have heard before that there are levels of deaf? I'm not sure, and I can't search from here.

I believe that if there are adjuncts that will allow you to hear as well as another person, that you should not at all be discouraged from entering EMS. In fact, I would love to see someone with your maturity level while still in highschool be part of the family.

But again, most of the replies come from a common idea that "If I can pass the test then I should be allowed to ride in an ambulance." You should be allowed to ride in an ambulance, you just shouldn't be allowed to work in an ambulance if you're unable to do the job, for any reason.

Safety is a huge issue for us. If on a call can you hear if a fight starts to develop? Can you hear someone speaking angrily so that you can watch my back while I'm working? Can you hear other traffic, or sirens?

And actual patient care, instead of just a bunch of 'feel good' stuff. Can you hear a person wheezing, or coughing, or can you hear that they're voice is strangely hoarse despite their saying that they're fine? Know what I mean?

I'm not familiar with the cochlear implants beyond having heard the name in association with really good things. If you won't lose them, or they won't get stolen, and you can hear as well as needed (which is pretty well) then I have not a single issue with a physically hearing impaired person that's no longer impaired when a mechanical/chemical intervention sufficiently mitigates the problem, being part of EMS.

The bottom line is pretty much this. If my wife or son is in need of emergency care, and you show up with any issues that cause you to provide care that is anything less than 100%, then I'm going to fight you on being allowed to participate. Everyone is someone's wife, son, mother, daughter, etc. If you show up to my families emergency for any reason other than to bring every tool in your toolbox to mitigate that emergency and create the best possible outcome, then I'm going to fight you.

Let me give you another example. We had a member here a long time ago that's ultimately been banned (something nearly impossible to make happen here) that was angry that he was discriminated against for being openly, flamboyantly gay. He was very proud of using an exaggerated, what he defined as "gay accent", as well as making every effort to push the companies dress code policies to further his 'cause.'

He got complaints because he made his coworkers as well as patients uncomfortable. Not because he was gay, but because he chose to display his 'gayness' in the most socially uncomfortable ways possible. He chose to be an asshole, and then blamed discrimination for his issues.

I was completely onboard with his being terminated. He is no more, or not by much, able to do the job than someone that's hearing impaired. If you can't get people to be honest with you, if you can't get them to relax and tell you their issues, if you are there to promote your cause instead of help..then you shouldn't be allowed to participate...know what I mean?

Thanks again for such a productive and mature post..I look forward to your thoughts...