bled12345
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How many smokers are out there in EMS?
i disagree with the theory that a person shouldn't be allowed to smoke while at work. during patient care, absolutely not. even in the bus isn't right. but i wouldn't allow anybody to tell me i cant smoke in between calls. anybody you encounter in your day could be a smoker. the person who serves your food at a restaurant, the cashier at the video store, anybody. would you tell them they cant smoke?
if the biggest concern my patient has is the smell of cigarettes, then they're not really sick.
Well I have a few opinions on the subject. I myself do not smoke first of all. I see wonderful points from everyone here. However, What you do during your free time while not running a call is your business as long as it does not effect your judgment of anything. Cigarettes do not do that. People smoking is a part of life, I don't agree with new laws that ban people from certain areas either. This is supposed to be a country of freedom of choice. If your company bans it, Fine. At least there is a choice. Freedom of choice is the matter at hand. But you should not have to just cause someone don't like the smell. Just because you smoke does not make you a bad person. If you don't like it, You have the freedom of choice to leave, Simply put.
Has anyone ever had a pt. who either wanted to stop to smoke, smoke before getting in the back or try to light up inside while transporting?
Smoking used to be allowed everywhere inside the hospitals including the patients' rooms and nursing stations. It was not uncommon for patients to be smoking while awaiting the ambulance for a routine transfer at the hospital entrance. Smoking was permitted up front for the crew but not in the back with the O2. For long transports like some of the long VA "shuttles" I used to do, we would pull over for a break and unload the patient to have a smoke. That included the tracheostomy and laryngostomy patients.
I remember hanging out in the hospital smokers lounge doing the NY times crossword puzzle with the hospital administrator, every morning at 9am break.
That included the tracheostomy and laryngostomy patients.