Comments on: The C Team and Impressions: Medic and Nurse

By: JP

JP — Sun, 06 Jul 2008 14:51:10 +0000

Great post. It’s nice to see that you have an awareness of the different roles each member of the EMS team has, the different levels and types of training, and the different ways each person can have an off day.

In my experience I’ve had many of the same types of interactions when handing off my patients to either a flight crew, another agency, or the ER doc. Sometimes it’s seamless, and other times I either feel like a dumb### or I think the receiver is a total tool for being short with me (amazingly enough even I can’t operate your unfamiliar EKG/suction/stretcher in the dark…so cut me some slack!).

People deal with stress differently, but I have always felt we were all in it for the same reason – patient care – and I always tried not to let personalities or off days interfere with taking good care of the patient.

Keep up the great posts.

By: emily

emily — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 01:19:13 +0000

@akflier—anytime my tripping can help someone else, I am all about it!!!!! congrats btw!

By: akflier

akflier — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 06:46:23 +0000

Thanks for boosting my confidence. I am new to flying. Have dreamed of doing it since being a medic and working through nursing school. Ijust started my dream job and feel like a bumbling idiot. Glad to know it can happen to the best of us too.

By: Rogue Medic

Rogue Medic — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 02:44:46 +0000

Everybody has off days, sometimes this is where you embarrass yourself, sometimes nobody notices, and sometimes they notice, but are very polite. The important thing is that you know that your baseline level of care is better than that. The truly scary ones are the ones who do not realize when things are not going smoothly, or those who blame everyone else for their problems, whether they are medics, nurses, doctors, . . . .

You do present a good picture of the variety of EMS out there.

By: John S

John S — Sun, 29 Jun 2008 16:50:20 +0000

You had to know I was going to comment on this one. I have worked with many flight crews. Both on scene treating a patient waiting for the helicopter, and sitting in an empty ambulance waiting for the helicopter, to transport the flight crew and thier patient to the hospital. Most flight nurses I have had dealings with have been great. For the most part they have an understanding of EMS, hell they are EMS. Most of the time I have ridden in back of the ambulance with the flight crew and offered myself as an extra set of hands. Most of the time I was well received. I don’t pretend to know how to be a nurse, but it is hard for me to respect someone, when they have no respect for what we do. I wish we could all work together. I firmly think the change has to start on the hospital side, don’t get me wrong, EMS providers are not without guilt for this problem. Besides we all have off days. I have forgotten my paperwork more than once. Its ok, we all have those “well duh” days. Anyway I don’t know if I made any point here. But I’m easily distracted. (bright object). Shepp