Saturday, December 27, 2008
Thursday, December 25, 2008
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
Friday, December 5, 2008
A written post.
While working it important to me to be nice as I can to patients. This also applies to victims of a fire; car, house, grass, whatever. My theory is that while on these scenes the people who called us are probably not having a very good time in their life at that time. Going the extra mile sometimes can make a world of difference in their time of need. Small things like locking a door, getting a persons wallet, glasses, or cell phone may not seem like much but they are nice to have if one does have to stay in the hospital. Having the piece of mind that your door is locked can also let a person worry just a little less.
You may be wondering why am I writing this dribble? Well the other night we had a call in a not so nice trailer park. Our patient was a very heavy set man who was hurting pretty bad and not breathing so well. He was also sitting on the couch/bed in his tighty whities. (Really sexy by the way. Just joking, lol.) I walked in first while my partner, aka Wing Nut or WN, got our medical bag. The ambulance crew would be coming in after they got their equipment.
When I walked in I noticed that our patient's, aka Fat Man or FM, stove was on. I asked him if he wanted me to turn it off. He said OK and I did. Anyway the trailer was very small, not very clean, and probably didn't smell too good. I didn't really notice the smell. (Maybe I'm just good or most likely my nose does not work properly.) The patient started apologizing about the mess. I told him that it was no big deal, everyone has crappy days and has to live somewhere they didn't want to. As far as I knew this man had all the money in the world but was down on his luck after the most recent hurricanes. To me, whether or not a person is rich or poor, clean or dirty, or anything else that comes to mind really shouldn't affect the treatment I can give or the attitude I have.
As I started asking FM questions about what was going on tonight the first EMT, disgusted one or DO, walked in. I could tell by the look on his face he was disgusted. He would be the kind of poker player I could win against probably. Well anyway DO applied oxygen and started asking his questions, he was not happy while he did it either. Also he asked what kind of time frame we were looking at from when the pain started to now. He told us he had waited a few days to call. DO was really not happy about that. Well lets give FM the benefit of the doubt, he was may have been embarrassed of his living situation, doesn't like hospitals, who knows. Doesn't matter, he has us here now so treat him accordingly.
Well getting ready to go we needed to get FM some shorts on. DO is really disgusted now. After we got some shorts on this poor fellow he helped us get him on the stretcher and into the ambulance. After doing this I went back inside and found FM's keys, cell phone, wallet, glasses, and a shirt. After locking the door I brought these items to FM, talk about bring some relive to him. Little things sometimes have a pretty big effect to calm someone. Also just by talking to FM like a human being made a big difference.
Anyway on the way back to the station, WN asked me how I could go inside and not vomit. He said he couldn't go inside due to the sudden urge to upchuck his Micky D's I told him I didn't even notice anything that could cause me to puke. Providing effective patient care was all I was worried about. Another key to EMS I have learned is that by bull shi*tting, (excuse my French), someone you can take their mind off of their problem. This is a very effective technique especially when you don't know what to do. (Don't tell all of my secrets.) I told WM if he didn't learn anything else from me, learn this: Anytime you have a patient or victim be as nice as you can to them. This will go farther that you will ever know to make someone's day and to promote good public relations.
Well having said all of that I do have to make a confession. Usually anytime my family wants me to be an EMT I suck at. Maybe not so much in the treatment but defiantly in the attitude part. I am a douche bag to most of my family. Why? I don't know. I guess I really can't sorry either because I probably won't change. Maybe I will, maybe I won't. Only time will tell.
Well hopefully I haven't bored you to tears yet and I have let you peek into my job a little bit. I probably wouldn't expect much more writing for awhile. Just look at my previous posts for that history.
You may be wondering why am I writing this dribble? Well the other night we had a call in a not so nice trailer park. Our patient was a very heavy set man who was hurting pretty bad and not breathing so well. He was also sitting on the couch/bed in his tighty whities. (Really sexy by the way. Just joking, lol.) I walked in first while my partner, aka Wing Nut or WN, got our medical bag. The ambulance crew would be coming in after they got their equipment.
When I walked in I noticed that our patient's, aka Fat Man or FM, stove was on. I asked him if he wanted me to turn it off. He said OK and I did. Anyway the trailer was very small, not very clean, and probably didn't smell too good. I didn't really notice the smell. (Maybe I'm just good or most likely my nose does not work properly.) The patient started apologizing about the mess. I told him that it was no big deal, everyone has crappy days and has to live somewhere they didn't want to. As far as I knew this man had all the money in the world but was down on his luck after the most recent hurricanes. To me, whether or not a person is rich or poor, clean or dirty, or anything else that comes to mind really shouldn't affect the treatment I can give or the attitude I have.
As I started asking FM questions about what was going on tonight the first EMT, disgusted one or DO, walked in. I could tell by the look on his face he was disgusted. He would be the kind of poker player I could win against probably. Well anyway DO applied oxygen and started asking his questions, he was not happy while he did it either. Also he asked what kind of time frame we were looking at from when the pain started to now. He told us he had waited a few days to call. DO was really not happy about that. Well lets give FM the benefit of the doubt, he was may have been embarrassed of his living situation, doesn't like hospitals, who knows. Doesn't matter, he has us here now so treat him accordingly.
Well getting ready to go we needed to get FM some shorts on. DO is really disgusted now. After we got some shorts on this poor fellow he helped us get him on the stretcher and into the ambulance. After doing this I went back inside and found FM's keys, cell phone, wallet, glasses, and a shirt. After locking the door I brought these items to FM, talk about bring some relive to him. Little things sometimes have a pretty big effect to calm someone. Also just by talking to FM like a human being made a big difference.
Anyway on the way back to the station, WN asked me how I could go inside and not vomit. He said he couldn't go inside due to the sudden urge to upchuck his Micky D's I told him I didn't even notice anything that could cause me to puke. Providing effective patient care was all I was worried about. Another key to EMS I have learned is that by bull shi*tting, (excuse my French), someone you can take their mind off of their problem. This is a very effective technique especially when you don't know what to do. (Don't tell all of my secrets.) I told WM if he didn't learn anything else from me, learn this: Anytime you have a patient or victim be as nice as you can to them. This will go farther that you will ever know to make someone's day and to promote good public relations.
Well having said all of that I do have to make a confession. Usually anytime my family wants me to be an EMT I suck at. Maybe not so much in the treatment but defiantly in the attitude part. I am a douche bag to most of my family. Why? I don't know. I guess I really can't sorry either because I probably won't change. Maybe I will, maybe I won't. Only time will tell.
Well hopefully I haven't bored you to tears yet and I have let you peek into my job a little bit. I probably wouldn't expect much more writing for awhile. Just look at my previous posts for that history.
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
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