Pop quiz hotshot: What is the best skill an EMT (B/I/P) can have?

[imurphy]

Money Management skill. Definately. With what we get paid, ya gotta know how to use your money!!

As for GPS's, the new garmins use up to 12 satalites to get best accuracy!

 

[dodgemt]

New EMT aren't you?

in november, it will be two years.

 

[BossyCow]

Best skill we have is creating anything at all out of cravats. Cravats and duct tape will save humanity.

You know, you can make a cravat out of duct tape!

 

[Mountain Res-Q]

Serious question: How is there no signal? It is a satellite positioning device, triangulated by three different satellites above...

A minimum fo three sats are required for a positive lock, four is perferable for and accurate lock. But, AK, you haven't worked in the mountains have you? Hills, mountains, trees, canyons, etc... back it hard. I could walk outside now and fire up my GPS and would have to roam the property to get a lock... I'm at 4,000 feet in the Sierra Nevadas. My house is surrounded by 100+ year old oaks and pines. That is the norm for most of my county. So , unless you are in a clearing, on a highway clear of trees, or on a mountain... good luck.

 

[Mountain Res-Q]

in november, it will be two years.

So (if my math is correct): 1 1/2 years. Rounding up to make it seem like you've been doing it longer is not allowed.

And CPR is not the most important skill. The survival rates for patients that get CPR only aren't very good. You could at least have said defibrilation... although it's not even an important skill for us... hell any moron in an airport can use one now.

 

[amberdt03]

I have yet to ride with a partner who hasn't had a GPS, even though we're provided a MAPSCO. Dallas is a very confusing place, especially when you live an hour away!

watch out using a GPS with an old school person. you'll get a mapsco thrown at you and might have your GPS broken. (just kidding about the breaking part)

 

[Company25Probie]

A good emt-b/i/p needs to have composure.

 

[BuddingEMT]

No, not really. Having a solid foundation of the workings of the body will allow you to think critically about what you are assessing and possible treatment.

Right. But if you can't remember any of what you were taught (meaning you can't retain information) then how are you supposed to use your solid foundation to think critically about what you are assessing?

I stand by my original statement. The ability to retain information is vital.

 

[frdude1000]

scene safety?

 

[medic417]

Ability to entertain self. At least thats my conclusion after extensive research of this topic. :wacko:

 

[Shishkabob]

watch out using a GPS with an old school person. you'll get a mapsco thrown at you and might have your GPS broken. (just kidding about the breaking part)

James was getting a little irked by the GPS' voice when him and I worked together last week!

"Dude, I swear, it says turn right here!"

 

[Mountain Res-Q]

Okay, folks it was answered 20+ posts ago.

It was suppossed to be the ability to LISTEN. I disagree. If you have an unconscious patient the ability to listen is useless. Patinet Assessment skills are the backbone of emergency medicine, without the ability to perform one well you should just get out of medicine!

 

[Shishkabob]

Okay, folks it was answered 20+ posts ago.

It was suppossed to be the ability to LISTEN. I disagree. If you have an unconscious patient the ability to listen is useless. Patinet Assessment skills are the backbone of emergency medicine, without the ability to perform one well you should just get out of medicine!

False.


It's cognitive ability. PA skills are useless if you can't think!

 

[Mountain Res-Q]

False. It's cognitive ability. PA skills are useless if you can't think!

By that logic our greatest skill is the ability to breath. After all, without that "skill" we couldn't think at all!

 

[CAOX3]

Ability to entertain self. At least thats my conclusion after extensive research of this topic. :wacko:

Yeah and you partner.

 

[Sapphyre]

Yeah and you partner.

Why am I responsible for entertaining my partner????? I've learned, that some partners would really much rather be left alone....

 

[TransportJockey]

Why am I responsible for entertaining my partner????? I've learned, that some partners would really much rather be left alone....

+1, or you just don't wanna talk to them anyways

 

[CAOX3]

Why am I responsible for entertaining my partner????? I've learned, that some partners would really much rather be left alone....

When I am left to entertain myself, is usually when the trouble starts.

WOW.....everything so literal around here, it was a joke.

 

[VentMedic]

It was suppossed to be the ability to LISTEN. I disagree. If you have an unconscious patient the ability to listen is useless. Patinet Assessment skills are the backbone of emergency medicine, without the ability to perform one well you should just get out of medicine!

You are looking at this purely as a technician and not as a professional which involves the ability to communicate and that includes listening. This goes way beyond just the "technical skills" of assessment. Even before you get to the scene you must start listening for the correct information to get you to the correct address and to recognize clues that might make your arrival unsafe. You must communicate with bystanders, family and other loved ones. If you already have an attitude about a call or the neighborhood, others may read you like a large print book. Communication (with listening) is not just about words but body language also. Some "loudly" communicate with their body that they don't care about a thing anyone, including family, witnesses, other EMS personnel or healthcare professionals, has to say at a scene. Your communication skills or lack of can make a scene go very bad very quickly or very well if you are an effective communicator.

You may have to gain information about an unconscious patient to determine the whys and hows. The initial assessment will consist of the ABCs but if you want to do good patient care, you may have to verbally ask other for clues and listen to their replies without prejudice or stand in judgment. That means communicating with all who might know something in a professional manner that doesn't intimidate or excite.

Then, you may need to communicate with med control to relay information clearly and again, you may have to listen to the information to ensure accuracy. Communication with the receiving hospital and the ED staff is often where some really display their lack of communication skills for both verbal and listening. Any comments made by the ED staff will "sound" offensive to some "EMT(P)s" and they stop listening to what could be useful information.

 

[Mountain Res-Q]

You are looking at this purely as a technician and not as a professional which involves the ability to communicate and that includes listening. This goes way beyond just the "technical skills" of assessment. Even before you get to the scene you must start listening for the correct information to get you to the correct address and to recognize clues that might make your arrival unsafe. You must communicate with bystanders, family and other loved ones. If you already have an attitude about a call or the neighborhood, others may read you like a large print book. Communication (with listening) is not just about words but body language also. Some "loudly" communicate with their body that they don't care about a thing anyone, including family, witnesses, other EMS personnel or healthcare professionals, has to say at a scene. Your communication skills or lack of can make a scene go very bad very quickly or very well if you are an effective communicator.

You may have to gain information about an unconscious patient to determine the whys and hows. The initial assessment will consist of the ABCs but if you want to do good patient care, you may have to verbally ask other for clues and listen to their replies without prejudice or stand in judgment. That means communicating with all who might know something in a professional manner that doesn't intimidate or excite.

Then, you may need to communicate with med control to relay information clearly and again, you may have to listen to the information to ensure accuracy. Communication with the receiving hospital and the ED staff is often where some really display their lack of communication skills for both verbal and listening. Any comments made by the ED staff will "sound" offensive to some "EMT(P)s" and they stop listening to what could be useful information.

In my opinion LISTENING and COMMUNITING is a part of complitent PATINET ASSESSMENT. The assessment is a combination of what we see, feel, and hear. It involves all our senses, including the ability to listen to what is being said and ask teh right questions. To say that communication is more important that proper assessment is like saying that taking vitals is more important that proper assessment. They are both aspects of our ability to correctly assess the patient and then provide treatment. Communication skills are vital to a good EMSer, but I will simply draw a comparison to a TV Doctor (don;t chastize me for this reference)... House. His communication and people skills suck, but his assessemtn skills are 2nd to none. I know I am using a TV charecter as an example, but you can see how a great assessment can make up for lacking communication skills, not that anyone who takes EMS seriously should take a page from that book. Communication is just another important tool that must me utilized in a proper patient assessment. IMHO.