From October 2015 until this month (September 2016), I rode the medic at my volunteer station as a EMT-B secondary provider also known as a "3rd rider". This was my first EMS experience outside of EMT class. I usually do 4 shifts per month as this is a volunteer pursuit and I already work full time as an RN. I rode with two primary providers, either 2 EMT-B's or one EMT-B and one EMT-P. It was an awesome experience. While I'm already a nurse, I got to hone my skills for taking blood pressures, assessing lung sounds, mental status, providing O2, etc. I felt very comfortable and didn't have any issue as I had help whenever I needed it. Last month I did a shift with EMS Lieutenant and at each call, she just stepped back and let me do everything. She was very pleased with my performance as a 3rd rider, so they decided to clear me as a primary or "2nd rider". And while I was reluctant at first because I wasn't sure I had enough experience, I accepted the offer.
The calls I'm used to include patients who have some type of medical problem or are in a nursing home or urgent care clinic.
The very first call i had as a 2nd went awful. It was a trauma call (those calls have been rare in my experience in my jurisdiction) where a patient had fallen and had a contusion on their back. When we arrived on scene, the location's private EMS staff had already backboarded the patient. However, the 1st rider told me to get the spider straps so we can secure the patient onto the backboard and place them on the stretcher. I struggled to find the spider straps in the trauma compartment of the medic, but after that call I now know exactly where they are. My The EMS supervisor was there and noticed how flustered and nervous I was and I think was joking when he said "I'm going to call your instructor" (he actually was one of two of my instructors!). My first rider was super awesome to let everyone at the scene know, "guys it's his very first call, give him a break." I had never consulted with medical direction before, but in this trauma case we needed to. I had no idea how to do it, so the supervisor was nice enough to do it. However, I now carry instructions on how to consult with a script I wrote on what to say.
In the end, I'm just so upset with myself that I got so nervous. We had two more calls that shift after that... one for a medication-error in a nursing home where a patient got too much opiates (no narcan was necessary) and then a fall in a nursing home where a patient had a laceration on their head. Both of those I sailed through and did everything correctly in those calls with no anxiety.
I know from experience when I first became a nurse a little over a year ago, that when I first started working that job off orientation, I was super nervous all the time because I was still somewhat unfamiliar with the job and didn't know what to expect. However, after some time, I actually became the complete opposite of nervous because I gained the confidence that came with work experience. Even when I couldn't anticipate things happening (you can't always do that in healthcare), I could anticipate how I would respond to help the patient.
So, my question is that given what happened to me as a nurse at first and my later success, should I anticipate the same thing happening in EMS? I'm really leaning towards saying yes. The only other question is how do calm my rookie anxiety in the meantime? In my opinion, the answer is not to keep going to EMT skills review courses (I went to 2 this past year). The only way to learn this stuff, is to just be out in the field and to JUST DO IT! Agreed?
The calls I'm used to include patients who have some type of medical problem or are in a nursing home or urgent care clinic.
The very first call i had as a 2nd went awful. It was a trauma call (those calls have been rare in my experience in my jurisdiction) where a patient had fallen and had a contusion on their back. When we arrived on scene, the location's private EMS staff had already backboarded the patient. However, the 1st rider told me to get the spider straps so we can secure the patient onto the backboard and place them on the stretcher. I struggled to find the spider straps in the trauma compartment of the medic, but after that call I now know exactly where they are. My The EMS supervisor was there and noticed how flustered and nervous I was and I think was joking when he said "I'm going to call your instructor" (he actually was one of two of my instructors!). My first rider was super awesome to let everyone at the scene know, "guys it's his very first call, give him a break." I had never consulted with medical direction before, but in this trauma case we needed to. I had no idea how to do it, so the supervisor was nice enough to do it. However, I now carry instructions on how to consult with a script I wrote on what to say.
In the end, I'm just so upset with myself that I got so nervous. We had two more calls that shift after that... one for a medication-error in a nursing home where a patient got too much opiates (no narcan was necessary) and then a fall in a nursing home where a patient had a laceration on their head. Both of those I sailed through and did everything correctly in those calls with no anxiety.
I know from experience when I first became a nurse a little over a year ago, that when I first started working that job off orientation, I was super nervous all the time because I was still somewhat unfamiliar with the job and didn't know what to expect. However, after some time, I actually became the complete opposite of nervous because I gained the confidence that came with work experience. Even when I couldn't anticipate things happening (you can't always do that in healthcare), I could anticipate how I would respond to help the patient.
So, my question is that given what happened to me as a nurse at first and my later success, should I anticipate the same thing happening in EMS? I'm really leaning towards saying yes. The only other question is how do calm my rookie anxiety in the meantime? In my opinion, the answer is not to keep going to EMT skills review courses (I went to 2 this past year). The only way to learn this stuff, is to just be out in the field and to JUST DO IT! Agreed?
