# New/paramedic to be biggest fears :s



## Ana (Jan 23, 2012)

Mine is peds...


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## epipusher (Jan 23, 2012)

Cops, due to the fact the scene is always a cluster :censored::censored::censored::censored:. 

RIP Officer Moore


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## wyoskibum (Jan 23, 2012)

Dogs.  Not all dogs, just the little yap yap ankle biting ones!!!  ;-D


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## Veneficus (Jan 23, 2012)

Ana said:


> Mine is peds...



Look at the bright side, since they compensate so long before they die, they will likely not crash until the hospital, if they crash at all.

If they do crash before you arrive or with you, they are likely not coming back no matter what you do.

See, nothing to worry about.


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## flanaganj (Jan 23, 2012)

I agree with peds. So I went out and took an NRP class to learn some more. I figure of I feel uncomfortable with a subject, I should search out more schooling.


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## Ana (Jan 23, 2012)

Veneficus said:


> Look at the bright side, since they compensate so long before they die, they will likely not crash until the hospital, if they crash at all.
> 
> If they do crash before you arrive or with you, they are likely not coming back no matter what you do.
> 
> See, nothing to worry about.



Thks I think now I will wait more 20 years to get my license


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## Ana (Jan 23, 2012)

wyoskibum said:


> Dogs.  Not all dogs, just the little yap yap ankle biting ones!!!  ;-D



ChihuahuaPhobia???


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## Ana (Jan 23, 2012)

flanaganj said:


> I agree with peds. So I went out and took an NRP class to learn some more. I figure of I feel uncomfortable with a subject, I should search out more schooling.



I will definitely take more classes about it!


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## Ana (Jan 23, 2012)

We got a 6 yo with a gun shot to the neck other day, I was working at the ER! I wasn't participating because it was too many stars for one constellation! Room was really stuffed! But I wonder what would i do if tracheostomy site was too damages for tubing (scary to me)?


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## Veneficus (Jan 23, 2012)

Ana said:


> I will definitely take more classes about it!



Go large and get a job at a PEDs transport, ER, or ICU.

After a few months, you will make peds look easy. 

(anytime you are really good at something it looks so effortless anyone can do it.)


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## Ana (Jan 23, 2012)

On scene...


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## lawndartcatcher (Jan 23, 2012)

Pre-CPAP, it was really, really bad (so filled up it's oozing from their ears) CHF patients.

Now, it's really, really bad CHF patients with contraindications to CPAP.


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## Veneficus (Jan 23, 2012)

lawndartcatcher said:


> Pre-CPAP, it was really, really bad (so filled up it's oozing from their ears) CHF patients.
> 
> Now, it's really, really bad CHF patients with contraindications to CPAP.



That is why they invented bumetanide 

( I like this thread, assuaging fears is easy  )


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## usalsfyre (Jan 23, 2012)

Not a new paramedic, but the can't intubate/can't ventilate patient with significant obstacles to cricothyrotomy (morbidly obese, kyphosis, limited neck mobility) keeps me awake at night.


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## fast65 (Jan 23, 2012)

My greatest fear? Well an old member here summed it up pretty well for me one night. It's that eventually someone may die because I was too tired, too slow, or because I just didn't know enough. That is my greatest fear.


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## Ana (Jan 23, 2012)

I agree with fast65


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## Shishkabob (Jan 23, 2012)

Veneficus said:


> Look at the bright side, since they compensate so long before they die, they will likely not crash until the hospital, if they crash at all.
> 
> If they do crash before you arrive or with you, they are likely not coming back no matter what you do.
> 
> See, nothing to worry about.



Is it bad that I laughed like a maniacal person when I read that?





My fear?  Freezing on scene.  Been a Paramedic for 2 years, EMS for 3, and it still worries me.


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## FL Medic (Jan 23, 2012)

Ana said:


> Thks I think now I will wait more 20 years to get my license



Mine is Peds as well


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## Outbac1 (Jan 23, 2012)

Peds can make me nervous. How nervous is directly proportional to the severity of the problem. 
 The thing I never want to deal with is a car fire with people in it still alive. And nothing you can do.


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## NomadicMedic (Jan 23, 2012)

My biggest fear is getting killed or seriously injured at work, more specifically, in an ambulance crash. 

Some of the BLS providers (who have the ambulances that we ALS folks have to ride in) scare the bejabbers out of me.


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## Devilz311 (Jan 23, 2012)

n7lxi said:


> Some of the BLS providers (who have the ambulances that we ALS folks have to ride in) scare the bejabbers out of me.



This. Everytime I tell BLS to head to the hospital without L&S, it's like a little part of them dies inside lol


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## Chief Complaint (Jan 24, 2012)

Biggest fear?  Peds has already been mentioned so ill go with my second choice...having to emergently poop while im on scene.  We all know that feeling, and its terrifying.


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## DesertMedic66 (Jan 24, 2012)

Peds all the way. I don't even feel comfortable around them in normal life, let alone them being the patient (I like how I am referring to peds as if they are an alien, which I mean come on when they are first born they do look like one).


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## firetender (Jan 24, 2012)

My biggest fear has always been and continues to be finding myself in the middle of something that I had no idea I was afraid of!

It's the anticipation of the fear that drives us nuts. Once you're in the middle of it it's all about one moment at a time. If it's anything else, you're in a hell of your own choosing.


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## Ana (Jan 24, 2012)

firefite said:


> Peds all the way. I don't even feel comfortable around them in normal life, let alone them being the patient (I like how I am referring to peds as if they are an alien, which I mean come on when they are first born they do look like one).



Yeah yeah those little tiny bitty airways and sooo slippery body...bwahuahuahuahuaaaa! Scaryyy! I like the way they smell though!!!


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## rhan101277 (Jan 28, 2012)

Linuss said:


> Is it bad that I laughed like a maniacal person when I read that?
> 
> 
> 
> ...



Yeah I know what you mean.  Sometimes I feel like its more than an adrenaline rush I feel at some scenes and I have to work through it and focus.


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## alphatrauma (Jan 28, 2012)

Veneficus said:


> Go large and * get a job at a PEDs transport, ER, or ICU.*
> 
> After a few months, you will make peds look easy.
> 
> (anytime you are really good at something it looks so effortless anyone can do it.)




^ This

Exactly what I did, and for the same reason(s).


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## Devilz311 (Jan 28, 2012)

After thinking about it for a while, I feel pretty comfortable in my skills that I can handle any sort of patient that is thrown at me... It's the other factors on scene that can make me tense.  We respond to some less-desirable housing and apartment complexes, and rarely have police on scene. From a few yards away at night it's extremely difficult to tell our uniform from an LEO uniform, and most people in those aren't big fans of the police...


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## esmcdowell (Jan 28, 2012)

*biggest fear*

Peds doesn't actually scare me, what really scares me is administering a med and the patient having that one obscure contraindication that I forgot exists and makes them go into irreversible arrest.


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## 46Young (Jan 28, 2012)

My biggest fear is working with that partner that has you in fear of losing your card due to what they do (or choose not to do) for their patients. We know the type. And when something bad goes down, they're throwing you under the bus.


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## MedicMey (Feb 4, 2012)

After a couple peds calls I have gotten more comfortable with that. I have this nagging fear of equipment failure though. I know when I really need something it's not going to work.


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## bigdogems (Feb 7, 2012)

esmcdowell said:


> Peds doesn't actually scare me, what really scares me is administering a med and the patient having that one obscure contraindication that I forgot exists and makes them go into irreversible arrest.


This is pretty much mine. I am completely OCD when It comes to giving a med. I'll check the vial multiple times to make sure I have the right med and dose. But at the same time I think this is a fear I never want to lose


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## Nerd13 (Feb 8, 2012)

I'm pretty much afraid of everything. I just walk on scene and do my best to reference what I've learned and apply it. I figure out new things I can handle with every call!


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## MedicBrew (Feb 14, 2012)

Getting a call right after eating the tamale platter at Bueno!!

"While on scene, if you don't know what to do, at least LOOK like you know what you’re doing. Take a breath, do your job and everything will work out." -my first partner.


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## xrsm002 (Feb 29, 2012)

Paramedics just entertain the patient until God decides what to do with them


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## TatuICU (Feb 29, 2012)

A, B, C homey.  When in doubt just ensure they have an adequate airway, are breathing (or have you breathing for them), and start addressing circulatory issues. 

My biggest fear is always that late night transfer or of course getting a call right before shift change when i have somewhere to be.


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## Epi52 (Feb 29, 2012)

TatuICU said:


> A, B, C homey.  When in doubt just ensure they have an adequate airway, are breathing (or have you breathing for them), and start addressing circulatory issues.
> 
> My biggest fear is always that late night transfer or of course getting a call right before shift change when i have somewhere to be.



This!!! Remember the adage "Air goes in and out, blood goes round and round, any variation on this is bad"


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## Melclin (Mar 1, 2012)

I do worry occasionally about that job at 6 in the morning after getting flogged on night shift, you can barely see, let alone think and the job turns out to be ridiculously difficult. But not often.

I'm pretty confident in my knowledge and ability to apply it. Not that everything will ever be perfect, but I'm confident that I can function at the vast majority of jobs at level that is at, or above, what is expected of me. 

I fear not living up to the expectations of my more senior colleagues who expect a lot of me. 

That and complex obstetrics cases. Difficult delivery of two flat twins plus a serious post partum haemorrhage. That scares me because no matter how much I read, its very difficult to gain actual hands on experience of things like obstetrics manoeuvres to manipulate breech presentations etc. I'm going to try and organise some more time on obstets wards and I'll be in the NICU for some observations this weekend, but it'll never be enough.


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## medickat (Mar 1, 2012)

I would have to agree that my current biggest fear is giving a medication I shouldn't have because of some obscure contraindication I overlooked. 

As far as peds go, it's usually the parents I get concerned about. They do not take very well to their kid being sick h34r:

When I was a new EMT, I was horrifically afraid of codes. One of my preceptors told me "the worst thing that can happen during a code is that they stay dead." That got me over it pretty quickly.


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## paramagician (Mar 20, 2012)

Delivering a child who needs working up... scares the jeebus outta me.


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## CALIFORNIA (Mar 20, 2012)

Just being a new medic is scary in general, lack of exposure to less common calls.  A limited mental rolodex.


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## EMTHokie (Mar 20, 2012)

CALIFORNIA said:


> Just being a new medic is scary in general, lack of exposure to less common calls.  A limited mental rolodex.



Hmm, imagine that. Just like being a new EMT


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## Shishkabob (Mar 20, 2012)

E





EMTHokie said:


> Hmm, imagine that. Just like being a new EMT



Except worse, because you're the one people rely on, the medications you give can actually kill people and you generally don't have someone higher than you to verify your decisions on scene.


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## Angel21228 (Mar 20, 2012)

Ana said:


> Thks I think now I will wait more 20 years to get my license



Ana, don't listen to him!!  I have taken calls for PED's and Children multiple times.  It's not the easiest thing to do, but it will get better.  Most of the time, they are going to be ok, and probably just a lil sick!!  I have never had a call for a PED or Child crash on me!!


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## EMTHokie (Mar 20, 2012)

Linuss said:


> E
> 
> Except worse, because you're the one people rely on, the medications you give can actually kill people and you generally don't have someone higher than you to verify your decisions on scene.



Oh I know. It's just ironic that he said it because of something he had said in another thread.


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## awesomemedic (Mar 30, 2012)

I'll have to agree with the pooper. When you get the bubble guts and you have to focus so hard on slamming the sphincter shut you forget what else is going on. That is fear.


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## Screwby (Apr 1, 2012)

I still have this irrational fear of doing everything right only to have a cot malfunction that topples a patient to the pavement strapped in and helpless against gravity...just got goosebumps thinking about it...


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## usalsfyre (Apr 1, 2012)

Screwby said:


> I still have this irrational fear of doing everything right only to have a cot malfunction that topples a patient to the pavement strapped in and helpless against gravity...just got goosebumps thinking about it...



^^^^^^^^
A good reason to make sure your partner doesn't "hot drop" the stretcher.


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## JDub (Apr 1, 2012)

n7lxi said:


> My biggest fear is getting killed or seriously injured at work, more specifically, in an ambulance crash.
> 
> Some of the BLS providers (who have the ambulances that we ALS folks have to ride in) scare the bejabbers out of me.



I'm glad someone else feels this way. I already feel uneasy letting someone else drive in just a regular vehicle, let alone with an ambulance and false sense of entitlement for reckless driving.

Other than the driving, I would say one of my biggest fears is delivering a baby especially one with complications


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