# Will you stay for my enema?



## BLSBoy (Nov 1, 2008)

Yah. A first for me. 
Dispatched for a life assist. I was the 3rd on a BLS 911 truck (hey, I get paid decent money to have EMTs review with me things I know, and tell me a few things I didn't. Just cause I'm a Medic don't mean I can't learn something new everyday, and there was less paperwork to go around)
Get on scene, an elderly lady had fallen on her large rear, and couldn't get up. Her caretaker called 911, because she could not get her up. Myself and the other guy do the ol one, two upsiedasie and get her going. 

After she gets her walker, she turns to us, and goes (I swear to you these are her exact words. I will never forget them either) Will you stay for my enema? Sometimes I fall down after them. The one guy who I was working with, without a beat deadpans with, "Does this happen every time you get one? You may want to reduce to amount of material being taken in if so." She persisted, and turned to me (the youngest, and cutest), and asked again. 

I countered with the fact that it is a medical procedure, and that should something go wrong, by our mere presence could infer that we approved of the procedure, and could incur an large amount of liability upon ourselves. 

By this time the LEO was out in the living room crying with laughter, with one of the EMTs I was working with, while the older lady had us cornered in her room, begging us to stay for the enema. 

A first for me. Disturbing?
Yes. 

I will be attending PTSD to rid myself of the memories attached to this incident. :wacko:


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## MagicTyler (Nov 1, 2008)

did you stay?


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## BLSBoy (Nov 1, 2008)

As soon as the caretaker was done, uh, prepping for the "procedure", we hot footed it.


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## reaper (Nov 1, 2008)

So when she fell again, you have to come back? Like you said, it is a medical procedure. Nothing wrong with it!


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## BLSBoy (Nov 1, 2008)

No, the care taker refuted her claims she falls after them. Didnt get a callback, even after we informed her if she fell we would be more then happy to come back out and *pick her up.*

Our opinion was that she was a dirty old lady, who happened to need medical assistance, but wanted to get her jollies as well. We treated her with utmost professionalism (waited to get in the bus to crack jokes and laugh), and gave her all the other instructions we would give a fall vic who didnt want transport or treatment. 

Pervs come in all shapes and sizes....


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## VentMedic (Nov 1, 2008)

You know one of these days you may have a call where you'll have to ask a patient about their bowel program or walk in while a caregiver is checking for stool or cathing a patient. Patients with spinal cord injuries (not in the acute) and some diseases like MS may experience autonomic dysreflexia which can become very serious if not resolved quickly.

Yeah, I know. I always hit the serious side.


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## fma08 (Nov 1, 2008)

VentMedic said:


> You know one of these days you may have a call where you'll have to ask a patient about their bowel program or walk in while a caregiver is checking for stool or cathing a patient. Patients with spinal cord injuries (not in the acute) and some diseases like MS may experience autonomic dysreflexia which can become very serious if not resolved quickly.
> 
> Yeah, I know. I always hit the serious side.



good, someone needs to, cant learn if no one does ^_^


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## JPINFV (Nov 1, 2008)

VentMedic said:


> You know one of these days you may have a call where you'll have to ask a patient about their bowel program or walk in while a caregiver is checking for stool or cathing a patient. Patients with spinal cord injuries (not in the acute) and some diseases like MS may experience autonomic dysreflexia which can become very serious if not resolved quickly.
> 
> Yeah, I know. I always hit the serious side.



I wounder what would happen during the EMT-B ER observation if the student had to help out with a foley insertion and a guaiac test.


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## Sapphyre (Nov 1, 2008)

JPINFV said:


> I wounder what would happen during the EMT-B ER observation if the student had to help out with a foley insertion and a guaiac test.



I know it's not the same, but I had to assist with a straight cath during one of my ER shifts, as a student.


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## JonTullos (Nov 2, 2008)

Sapphyre said:


> I know it's not the same, but I had to assist with a straight cath during one of my ER shifts, as a student.



Sweet Lord, is that what I have to look forward to? LOL  Eh, it wouldn't really bother me (except maybe the smell but I guess you'd get used to it) because my mom is a bed patient and pretty regularly cathed.  Although I don't usually participate in the actual cathing but still... my step dad is pretty, we'll say, "descriptive."


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## Buzz (Nov 2, 2008)

JPINFV said:


> I wounder what would happen during the EMT-B ER observation if the student had to help out with a foley insertion and a guaiac test.



I did more than assist with a Foley as a B student on an ER rotation... It was quite slow and we'd just gotten an unresponsive nursing home patient in via ambulance, and I was sitting around at the nurses station trying to pass the time. A nurse walked by tapped me on the shoulder and was like "It's been a slow night for you. Let's get you doing some things." We get into the room and she takes out the Foley kit and was like "Alright. Let's do this..." We took off the patients diaper and a smell that reminds me of the giraffe pens at the zoo saturated the air. The nurse wiped that up a little bit and then she basically talked me through it step by step, but didn't do anything besides that. I still find it funny hearing anyone I work with complaining about even just holding a patients leg with a Foley placement.


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## stephenrb81 (Nov 2, 2008)

Buzz said:


> I still find it funny hearing anyone I work with complaining about even just holding a patients leg with a Foley placement.



I get a kick out of some of the faces of male emt students that I would ask to "assist with urination" (Explaining that they had to hold the patient's penis in the plastic urinal).  I'd then tell them to man up and go into stories about when I use to worked in an ER was signed off to insert Foley's then watch the color drain from their face.


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## lizhiniatsos (Nov 3, 2008)

When we were doing our clinical rotations our Paramedic Instructor gave us strict instructions....He said "When those nurses try to give you the run around and tell you to insert foleys or assist with disimpaction or enema's,  you tell them in no uncertain terms that those privilages are not within your scope of practice!"


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## VentMedic (Nov 3, 2008)

lizhiniatsos said:


> When we were doing our clinical rotations our Paramedic Instructor gave us strict instructions....He said "When those nurses try to give you the run around and tell you to insert foleys or assist with disimpaction or enema's, you tell them in no uncertain terms that those privilages are not within your scope of practice!"


 
Foleys are within  the scope of practice for Paramedics. 

For those of you who now have any questions as to why EDs put CNA preferred for their ED Tech positions, you now know.  They do have the training, knowledge and have lost their shyness to do or learn any job required of them.  They understand patient care and comfort.


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## Epi-do (Nov 3, 2008)

lizhiniatsos said:


> When we were doing our clinical rotations our Paramedic Instructor gave us strict instructions....He said "When those nurses try to give you the run around and tell you to insert foleys or assist with disimpaction or enema's,  you tell them in no uncertain terms that those privilages are not within your scope of practice!"




For my clinicals during medic class, along with the minimum required hours that had to be completed, we also had a list of minimums for skills that we were to perform.  One of the skills on the list was foley caths.  Granted, it isn't something that I just live to do, but it isn't a big deal either.  If someone needs one, somebody has to place it.


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## fma08 (Nov 3, 2008)

Foley's were not even on our list of required skills, but I still did a few, just because it's more experience. Heck, if the docs would have let me, I would have done chest tubes, LP's and anything else I could have gotten my hands on.


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## BossyCow (Nov 3, 2008)

I'm still stuck on how Buzz knows what a giraffe's penis smells like....


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## lizhiniatsos (Nov 3, 2008)

Foley's were not on our list of skills either....and, in spite of our instructor's advice, I did more than a few as well as quite a few other, more interesting things in the name of 'training'. Now, 9 years into the deal, I've worked at a hospital based ambulance service for almost 7 of that and have had a multiplicity of opportunities to learn and grow in ways I feel I never would have if I hadn't been working in the ER as well as in the field... I,as most of you, am ever grateful for just about any learning opportunity that will help me take better care of my patients ~


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## JPINFV (Nov 3, 2008)

BossyCow said:


> I'm still stuck on how Buzz knows what a giraffe's penis smells like....



Errm, I believe he said giraffe pens, not penis. That said, a giraffe's pen is huge.


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## Code 3 (Nov 4, 2008)

Sapphyre said:


> I know it's not the same, but I had to assist with a straight cath during one of my ER shifts, as a student.



Really??? Same here!


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