# I work with slobs



## 350chevy (Feb 25, 2011)

Ok, not a clean freak here, but need to vent about the poor hygiene of my coworkers. Besides them looking unkempt and excuse the term trashy, our rigs and quarters look like crap. Plus they left a mess of code trash in the house last night after the first rig (mine) left the scene. They were supposed to clean up and make sure everything was good. I had another call to respond to with my crew. Needless to say we got *****ed out this morning because the family called our supervisor concerning the hog sty they left. We went over there and removed 2 red bags full of crap and cleaned the area. Real proffessional. Dont know how people can be such pigs.


----------



## Veneficus (Feb 25, 2011)

*how to compliment a cardiac surgeon*

Perhaps one of the most important lessons I have learned in school is how to properly compliment somebody. 

C/T surgeons, by their nature are supposed to do a "good job." Look what a good job is:

Patient doesn't die on the table.

Patient has a speedy recovery from the operation.

Patient returns to a near equal or even improved quality of life. 

Now if any one of these things go wrong, it is not always in control of the surgeon. Does that make it a bad job? Some of the people I have seen operated on would need to get better to die.

C/T doesn't have a whole lot of procedures. In 4 weeks the only thing I saw were valve repair/replace, thoracic aortic aneurysm repair, and dozens and dozens of CABGs.

Of course this whole story has a point to the op. 

The best compliment a C/T surgeon can seem to get is to be called "elegant." 

They make it look so easy anyone can do it. They never have loose tissue, blood never hits the floor or anything else outside a very small area, They don't have to change gloves, the incisions are clean and straight, no extra supplies are needed, no resuscitation is needed, only 5 strands of suture are required, sometimes 4 on a smaller person. 

Not one piece of equipment that isn't absolutely the bare minimum is used.

The technique is seamless, with no wasted movements, and from table to PACU no more than 3 hours.

It is, in a word, elegance.

Today while fulfilling my duties in ortho. (splinting dozens of people with plaster) I tried to replicate that. No plaster on the floor, on anyone's cloths. No redo's. No wasted moves, or excess materials. 

How is providing professional EMS any different at all?

It is not that you work with slobs. It is you don't work with professionals. 

For people who are truly good at something make it look easy. They have minimal waste. No mess. 

They are elegant.

A compliment that should not only be used in C/T surgery, but for the rest of us mere mortals as well.


----------



## ZombieEMT (Feb 25, 2011)

*Oh well.*

What I have to say to that rant is oh well. You know what, some people are slobs. Leaving quarters messy, leaving a rig messy is laziness. They just do not want to clean. To leave a mess in a house after a call, well sometimes it happens. You said the code mess, I am assuming a cardiac arrest? We respond to cardiac arrests with medics and sometimes a mess is what happens, and its a matter of life and death. Doing any necessary intervention on a code might make a mess and it would waste time to make an effort to make everything nice and spotless. A code is more important than splinting, oh and again, life and death. 

So to Veneficus, I would not say that it is unprofessional to leave a mess, especially after a code. It is possible laziness around the station, but I know I am not going to stop compression or ventilations during a code to clean up.

As for the family left with the mess, oh well. If pulses were regained, they should be grateful that you responded and by all means should shove it, you know where. If not, I apologize and would be more than willing to come back afterward and clean my mess.

Even in situations where its not life and death, do you leave the patient to clean up? Maybe, maybe not. Again, not something I would call unprofessional. However I would say its unprofessional to stop and clean on any call if it could in any way set back care.

Just my opinon.


----------



## JPINFV (Feb 25, 2011)

Hale, it really depends on the situation. If, as the OP said, there were multiple crews on scene, who ever is left on scene when transport begins should, you know, clean up after the crew. That should be expected without even asking. Additionally, a lot of the material can be thrown into one of the multiple bags on scene. Is there any reason not to simply throw the trash from the IV kit into a jump bag? Is there any reason not to throw the box from the pre-filled syringes into a jump bag and clean it out later? You wouldn't leave used sharps around would you?

This is simply a situation of one crew not doing their job because it's not 'glamorous' and a little lack of preplanning.


----------



## ZombieEMT (Feb 25, 2011)

I definitely agree with what you are saying, that is a possibility. The thing is, and I am sure that I am not the only one who has the same idea, one of the last things on my mind during a code is making it nice and tidy. If there is any extra crew, then hell yes clean. However, a lot of the time that is not the case. If I have the time and remember to throw the trash in a bag close by, then thats good, but again not the first thing on the mind of everyone to do in a life and death situation. Lets face it, the job is not glamorous like you said. However, like I said, I am more than willing to come back and clean my mess up. Its not that I do not want to or do not think its glamorous, its just not a priority on a code.


----------



## Veneficus (Feb 25, 2011)

*Life and death*

Hale,

I guess you sure told me... 

But I am going to wager you are not very good or experienced at codes.

Not making a mess doesn't interfere with patient care. 

A code is not some chaotic event. If it is, something is being done very wrong and no doubt success rates will demonstrate that.

It is the difference between finesse and just being a hack.


----------



## Bieber (Feb 25, 2011)

I agree with Veneficus.  I'm not all that experienced, but I've run more than a couple codes and every time we were able to clean up the scene before we left.

By the way, Veneficus, I really enjoyed that post of yours.  It's inspired me, if you will, to try and be elegant during my own practice.


----------



## CAOX3 (Feb 25, 2011)

I agree no clean up is usually neccesary.

It does come with experience, everything goes from hand to bag.


----------



## the_negro_puppy (Feb 25, 2011)

I try to clean up as much as possible. Here most of our codes end up at the persons home due to our ability to cease resus and we do not transport generally unless we get a ROSC. Hence now that the family has just had someone die, we do our best to remove all mess and even clean up the pt so the family can have a more peaceful tins before the undertaker comes.


----------



## WolfmanHarris (Feb 25, 2011)

The bag the BVM comes in usually has plenty of space for all the various wrappers and detritus. On even routine calls as the various (non-contaminated) bits of trash always go into my left cargo pocket. 

As for the truck and the base, there's not much you can do in the end. Just be accountable for yourself, your vehicle and the base while you're on and set an example. I find that while lots of people are lazy when left to their own devices, far fewer will still sit and do nothing once someone else shows the initiative.

For example I wash my truck every shift and often rinse it between calls during the winter. While lots of partners may not wash the truck, I've almost never had someone still sit in the crew room once I pick up the hose. And if they do, don't sweat it too much, you won't change their behaviour, but if you get too bitter they may end up changing yours.


----------



## MEDIC802 (Feb 25, 2011)

I've got to agree with ven and others, little or no clean up should be needed, when you open it,or discard something simply place it in the plastic container the "Ambu bag " came in, when you move the pt pick up the bag, it will come with practice, we carry a small sharps contaier in or "jump"bag so no sharps are left behind.
 for your problems at the station, well as some one said start cleaning trucks,station,whatever and usually everyone will get up and help, unless they have no pride in themselvs or their job, thats when management needs to step in, unless yall have the good ol'e boy system then your screwed.



I swear I broke this into sentences and paragraphs,it didn't post that way


----------



## abckidsmom (Feb 25, 2011)

I completely agree with the "elegant" descriptor.  I love to watch a skilled medic go after a completely invisible vein and get the IV, hook it up to the tubing, secure it, and clean up all the mess into the glove they were wearing in just a few seconds, while directing the next task for patient care and considering what's going on with the patient and making a plan for the next thing.

Doing a nice, clean job is a sign of a competent worker, whether it's a construction worker, an accountant, or a nurse.  Neat and tidy looks good.

I came behind my partner the other day on a call where our medical director had been on scene and diagnosed an incarcerated inguinal hernia on the patient.  On the 30 minute ride to the hospital, my (newly released) partner started an IV, gave the patient some fluid, some morphine, and completely trashed the truck.  Blood on the floor, needle loose on the bench, wires all over the place, and documentation not done.  

No excuse for that, and I told him so.  

In any situation, it's important, and possible, to maintain high levels of order and neatness in every single job out there.  Not being able to stay on top of that stuff just shows me that you're not comfortable enough in your role to notice and handle the details.


----------



## shfd739 (Feb 26, 2011)

I like the idea of calling it elegant. Thats the same thing Ive been doing for years and try to get my medics to do as well. Accomplish whatever needs to be done efficently and quickly with no mess. Its all in the details. I still cant get the crew I relieve to make one trip in at crew change. It takes them about 5 trips in and out to swap LP batts, get supplies and swap our induced hypothermia fluids. Bring it all in at once and take it all out at once.

One thing I keep seeing is medics always rushing. They rush into a room and bounce the cot off a wall or door, rush out of the unit and forget to disconnect something, rush to clear and leave a piece of equipment behind. I keep trying to push that slow is smooth and in the end smooth is faster and now Ill call it "elegant."

Slobs also is how some of the other services around look and it just looks bad. We have pretty strict grooming standards: must be clean shaven except for a mustache that cant go past the mouth corners, hair off the collar for males, no crazy hair colors or styles,no visible nonnormal piercings etc.  I saw a crew last night from another service with shirt tails out, beards and goatees and hair past the collar. Initial impression was poor.

Im suprised some see leaving trash behind as acceptable. It's not, it's disrespectful to our patient and their family. Even more so if the family member didnt make it and is left behind for the coroner.It takes 5 mins at most to tidy up but leaves a great impression on the family.


----------



## slb862 (Feb 26, 2011)

I agree, experience and "common courtesy" when "Making a mess" on scene.  Clean it up!!!  Look at it this way, would you like it if someone came into a house of a loved one, and left trash all over? 

YOU look more "professional" when you act professional. You want to be respected, be respectful. We, in EMS have a tough enough time being looked at as PROFESSIONALS, it is attitudes like this that proves it.     

I have plenty of time, or should I say I use my time wisely and I think ahead, all my scenes are cleaned up.   

Be responsible and do the right thing.  Kindness goes a long way.


----------



## DFW333 (Feb 26, 2011)

Elegance is easy when its a way of life.


----------



## 350chevy (Feb 26, 2011)

Well I see all sides brought up here but the thing of it is the pt was pronounced dead on scene. Crew that was sposed to stay behind and clean up stood around shootin the :censored::censored::censored::censored: with the LEO and not doin nothin. If they got time for a smoke then they got time to pickup the bloody rags layin in the floor an drop the sharps in the sharps box. Real nice considerin the pt. had HIV + marked in their history. And the laziness is bad enough in the rigs u have to look for everything and it wastes time. It also goes so far as rigs running out of oxygen due to lack of pre-shift inspection and maintenance. Laziness and disorganization are a common ailment with sometimes dangerous side effects.


----------



## tao (Mar 1, 2011)

Messes after codes are inexcusable.  

If my loved one had just been resuscitated and hauled to the ER, the last thing I want to do is clean up trash that may or may not be covered in bodily fluids.

In the unlikely event that you can't clean up your own code mess, the least you could do is contact another unit to swing by and take care of it.  Seriously.


----------



## NomadicMedic (Mar 1, 2011)

There is no excuse to not pick up your trash. None. 

The same thing goes when working in the back of the rig. Unless I'm 5 minutes from the hospital or if I've got a critical patient, I've got the back of the truck neat and clean, the monitor squared away, the IV set up rebuilt with caths, tegaderms, 2x2s and whatever else I used, and the patient is ready to be rolled out of the back and into the ED. I hate leaving a mess for my partner to clean up.

I've seen other medics leave the back of the rig destroyed, even if it was a simple chest pain call. No excuse.

I strive for elegance.


----------



## Number1Monkey (Mar 4, 2011)

n7lxi said:


> There is no excuse to not pick up your trash. None.
> 
> The same thing goes when working in the back of the rig. Unless I'm 5 minutes from the hospital or if I've got a critical patient, I've got the back of the truck neat and clean, the monitor squared away, the IV set up rebuilt with caths, tegaderms, 2x2s and whatever else I used, and the patient is ready to be rolled out of the back and into the ED. I hate leaving a mess for my partner to clean up.
> 
> ...



DUDE... I wanna roll with you. I have had partners who's attitude is, "I'm the medic so I do the thinking, you do everything else." You can't wrap the monitor up or clean up your IV mess on a 15 min. transport?! Oh, and re-stock of the entire unit is my job too, even the ALS stuff n drugs? Now that I'm in medic school, I decided to never treat an EMT like they are my secretary. Sorry I turned this into my own rant. But to agree with the original post, c'mon... there's no reason to not pick up after yourself. Slobs (or non-professionals) are perpetuating any negative opinions of EMS that might exist out there, ESPECIALLY the bad raps that the privates get from fire. Thank you fat, sloppy, donut EMT for making fire, ER staff and pt. families think we are half-assed meat wagon drivers.


----------



## abckidsmom (Mar 4, 2011)

If I put the patient on the monitor, I want them on the monitor all the way to the hospital.  I don't typically wrap up the cables before we go in.  I clean up my messes, but I usually leave the cords hanging, so they can be wiped and put away when the stretcher is reloaded.


----------



## JPINFV (Mar 4, 2011)

I always find these threads funny because of the egos on both sides. Is it wrong for the attendant (regardless of paramedic or basic) to needlessly trash the back of the ambulance? Yes. Is it wrong for the attendant to not help restock and clean up the back? Yes.

However, while the attendant is finishing off giving report and writting the PCR, the driver should be reseting the ambulance, not sitting around with his thumb up his butt. In general, when I was driving, I've always tried to get the ambulance reset and ready to go before my partner was done with the PCR. Back cleaned up, gurney remade and loaded, ready to go. As a team, we have a responsibility to be ready to go. Now if we want to go get a quick snack from the cafeteria, than sure, but everything is still ready to go.

Sometimes being a part of a team means playing a support role. There's what, 6-7 soldiers playing support to every front line soldier in the US military? Is the person on the aircraft carrier who loads the munitions or fuels the plane, or cooks the meals any more or less critial to completing the mission than the pilot or the ship's captain? That plane isn't taking off without fuel. That plane isn't dropping bombs that aren't loaded. No one is going to eat unless someone cooks. Similarly, that ambulance won't be effective if someone on the team doesn't reset it.


----------



## STXmedic (Mar 5, 2011)

JPINFV said:


> I always find these threads funny because of the egos on both sides. Is it wrong for the attendant (regardless of paramedic or basic) to needlessly trash the back of the ambulance? Yes. Is it wrong for the attendant to not help restock and clean up the back? Yes.
> 
> However, while the attendant is finishing off giving report and writting the PCR, the driver should be reseting the ambulance, not sitting around with his thumb up his butt. In general, when I was driving, I've always tried to get the ambulance reset and ready to go before my partner was done with the PCR. Back cleaned up, gurney remade and loaded, ready to go. As a team, we have a responsibility to be ready to go. Now if we want to go get a quick snack from the cafeteria, than sure, but everything is still ready to go.
> 
> Sometimes being a part of a team means playing a support role. There's what, 6-7 soldiers playing support to every front line soldier in the US military? Is the person on the aircraft carrier who loads the munitions or fuels the plane, or cooks the meals any more or less critial to completing the mission than the pilot or the ship's captain? That plane isn't taking off without fuel. That plane isn't dropping bombs that aren't loaded. No one is going to eat unless someone cooks. Similarly, that ambulance won't be effective if someone on the team doesn't reset it.



This! Well put. I kind of assumed that was standard practice... I guess I've just had good luck with partners and us being on the same page. I help reset them, they do the same for me.

Of course, I guess they could be coming to online forums and trashing me behind my back........


----------



## AndyK (Mar 5, 2011)

JPINFV said:


> I always find these threads funny because of the egos on both sides. Is it wrong for the attendant (regardless of paramedic or basic) to needlessly trash the back of the ambulance? Yes. Is it wrong for the attendant to not help restock and clean up the back? Yes.
> 
> However, while the attendant is finishing off giving report and writting the PCR, the driver should be reseting the ambulance, not sitting around with his thumb up his butt. In general, when I was driving, I've always tried to get the ambulance reset and ready to go before my partner was done with the PCR. Back cleaned up, gurney remade and loaded, ready to go. As a team, we have a responsibility to be ready to go. Now if we want to go get a quick snack from the cafeteria, than sure, but everything is still ready to go.
> 
> Sometimes being a part of a team means playing a support role. There's what, 6-7 soldiers playing support to every front line soldier in the US military? Is the person on the aircraft carrier who loads the munitions or fuels the plane, or cooks the meals any more or less critial to completing the mission than the pilot or the ship's captain? That plane isn't taking off without fuel. That plane isn't dropping bombs that aren't loaded. No one is going to eat unless someone cooks. Similarly, that ambulance won't be effective if someone on the team doesn't reset it.



:beerchug: well put, Sir!

After I first qualified I was partnered with one of the best paramedics i've ever met. His first words to me were "There are 2 seats in the front of this ambulance. I'm in one, you're in the other.. that means there is no spare seat for either of our ego's to ride along."


----------



## mkthefiregirl (Mar 21, 2011)

One of my main gripes about EMS...people are slobs and don't care about appearance. One of my medic school instructors put it best, I don't want to see you eating anything in the ambulance cause of the germs that are in there, drink your coffee, fine. No eating. 

However, in a transfer setting this is impossible. :-(


----------



## the_negro_puppy (Mar 22, 2011)

We take turns driving and doing patient care. The driver re-makes the stretcher, cleans the ambulance and restocks while the pt care does the report.


If we make a mess on scene we try to clean up as best as practically possible. The responsibility is shared rather than set out for the student/lower person to do


----------



## TransportJockey (Mar 22, 2011)

mkthefiregirl said:


> One of my main gripes about EMS...people are slobs and don't care about appearance. One of my medic school instructors put it best, I don't want to see you eating anything in the ambulance cause of the germs that are in there, drink your coffee, fine. No eating.
> 
> However, in a transfer setting this is impossible. :-(



In a hell of a lot of 911 services it's impossible too due to SSM.


----------

