Dumbest thing you have been asked

I had an ambulance crew ask me while I was stopped at a little restaurant in the Florida Keys if they were on the right road to Key West.

It was a struggle not to tell them to go back 30 miles and take a left into the Gulf of Mexico.
http://www.tripinfo.com/maps/FL-Keys.htm

At least they didn't ask how long the 7 Mile Bridge is although the new bridge is not exactly 7 miles long.
 
Strange. And a bit scary.

well I was not in uniform. I was in jeans and a t-shirt.

What was scary was that they asked me how to get a very well known high school.
 
I just had someone walk into my station and ask if there is a VET here so his dogs could get their rabies shots..
 
I just had someone walk into my station and ask if there is a VET here so his dogs could get their rabies shots..

come on! That is an EMT-B skill!
 
well I was not in uniform. I was in jeans and a t-shirt.

What was scary was that they asked me how to get a very well known high school.

Yeah, that is the scary part. You hope that cops know their way around the town they patrol...
 
*standing behind and ambulance*

"Do you guys have a, like, first aid kit or anything?"
 
Time for that "teacher" to be re-educated. The use of slang or such abbreviated terminology, especially in a hospital, is not appropriate for the education of a student. These terms are not used in a discussion with students of any type, including doctors in training, or new grads. It is difficult enough to prevent medial errors without adding additional confusion.

You ask me for a "sat" and I can give you at least 5 different "sats" in less than 10 minutes. You have SpO2, SaO2, SvO2, ScO2, SjvO2 and SmvO2 from the PA. I can give you values measured from the blood and values from beside technology.

An RN with 20+ years of experience in the ICU may ask if I've gotten my "sats" on a patient. But, since we have that patient together and we know the patient is a TBI with an IJ for SjvO2 monitoring, I (also with 20+ years of experience) know he/she means a blood draw for monitoring calibrations. As well, if Nitric Oxide is running or the patient is in the burn unit, "sat" again takes on a different meaning. When in doubt, I ask.

In the situation posted, the "teacher" must "teach" the differences and not instruct by assumptions.

If you did not understand the abbreviations I used in this post, you can imagine the confusion for a student in a clinical situation.





Again, inappropriate use of terminology by a teacher who should know better.

As for as being in debt, many hospitals will pay off the debt of RNs and other medical professionals since they have confidence that the person who puts forth 4 years of effort to get an education will be seeking a career and not just a job.

Ok... I am just going to say that a fourth year nursing student should be able to apply her knowledge and reasoning skills to come up with an appropriate response. When one is asked to get a "sat" on a med-surg floor, given an SpO2 oximeter, and sent to a very old woman with a prominent death rattle, what action would be reasonable. Inappropriate or not on the instructors end, it was still not a suitable course of action for the student to take. The student should have at least asked for clarification. If she was a nurse and asked by a MD to give an unsafe dose of a drug, would she simply give it, or would she ask for clarification?
 
Ok... I am just going to say that a fourth year nursing student should be able to apply her knowledge and reasoning skills to come up with an appropriate response. When one is asked to get a "sat" on a med-surg floor, given an SpO2 oximeter, and sent to a very old woman with a prominent death rattle, what action would be reasonable. Inappropriate or not on the instructors end, it was still not a suitable course of action for the student to take. The student should have at least asked for clarification. If she was a nurse and asked by a MD to give an unsafe dose of a drug, would she simply give it, or would she ask for clarification?

STAT....SAT... Again, you don't use inappropriate terms for for students. A "sat" is not even an appropriate term period. We use slang terms and wonder why there are medical errors.
 
STAT....SAT... Again, you don't use inappropriate terms for for students. A "sat" is not even an appropriate term period. We use slang terms and wonder why there are medical errors.

AGREED! Student however needs to apply all the critical thinking skills taught to her. Education is much more than learning skills or how to follow commands. I am willing to admit that that use of the term was inappropriate, and indeed it was brought up during that weeks chart review, and by the University Liaison, and our floors educator. It was simply something I observed that was shocking and noteworthy. VentMedic you make an excellent teaching point. Colloquialisms are inappropriate in education. I apologize if I somehow offended or insulted you.

-Tim
 
One of our deputy medical directors (we had two deputy MDs) was a basic EMT. He showed up on a scene and asked if he could help. The EMT-P on the scene goes "Who the **** do you think you are? Get off MY scene!" to which the doc responded "Who do you think YOU are? Get off MY license!" *pulls out hospital/EMS ID*

The medic quite literally p*ssed himself.
 
I am sure I would have had more to give than urine... a brick comes to mind. :wacko:
 
AGREED! Student however needs to apply all the critical thinking skills taught to her. Education is much more than learning skills or how to follow commands. I am willing to admit that that use of the term was inappropriate, and indeed it was brought up during that weeks chart review, and by the University Liaison, and our floors educator. It was simply something I observed that was shocking and noteworthy. VentMedic you make an excellent teaching point. Colloquialisms are inappropriate in education. I apologize if I somehow offended or insulted you.

-Tim

No you didn't offend me. I am a little miffed that a nursing instructor was so lax with his/her use of terminolgy especially in a hospital setting. A "sat" is less confusing on the ambulance where the SpO2 is probably the only possibility. If you ever get a chance to visit the ICUs you will see many different "sat" monitors recording various blood saturations. You can also look at an ABG result and see where there is a measured and a calculated saturation which may be matched against an SpO2.

Since the area I work in also has many different languages spoken and with the various accents, some words can be easily misunderstood especially if one is just learning. It is best to speak clearly and avoid any misleading terms at least until one knows the terms applicable to the area they are working. That nursing students will hear many different terms in many different areas of the hospital so even though it might be her 4th year, she still has not had a chance to specialize in one area. Nursing is a very broad field and the foundation is extensive but still only introduces the student to world of nursing even with a 4 year degree. The nurse's real education starts once he/she gets their RN license and begins his/her career.
 
is it also in the Paramedic skills???? :P

It's actually one of those few skills that Medics Can't do but Basics can! If you have a CFR around he's allowed to draw up the shot for you provided he took the additional 30 minute CE course. :p
 
STAT....SAT... Again, you don't use inappropriate terms for for students. A "sat" is not even an appropriate term period. We use slang terms and wonder why there are medical errors.

I agree here. I HATE it when people tell me that the patient's O2 "stat" is 97%. Its not an Oxygen statistic! Its an oxygen saturation level. There's no such thing as an O2 "stat"

"What's her pulseox?" also bothers me, "Well, she actually came from home with her own, it's an ACME pro 2000." But at least that gets across the fact that you are looking for the O2 saturation level.

But still, you'd never ask: "What's her sphygmomanometer?" or "What's her monitor?"

One of our deputy medical directors (we had two deputy MDs) was a basic EMT. He showed up on a scene and asked if he could help. The EMT-P on the scene goes "Who the **** do you think you are? Get off MY scene!" to which the doc responded "Who do you think YOU are? Get off MY license!" *pulls out hospital/EMS ID*

The medic quite literally p*ssed himself.

Wow, yeah, that would be one I'd regret.

Now what's an MD doing with an EMT-B cert? You would think he'd have let his EMT-B card expire once he got his MD since he has his OWN license under which to practice?
 
Now what's an MD doing with an EMT-B cert? You would think he'd have let his EMT-B card expire once he got his MD since he has his OWN license under which to practice?

I asked him once. Actually he got it after completing his MD and his residency in emergency medicine. He figured if he was going to be supervising EMS personnel he should be at least a basic EMT. It would be no different than a lot of the medical directors we see who still maintain their paramedic credentials.
 
Back to the stupid questions...

My partner and I responded to transport a fall patient from a SNF, located less than 1 block from the local hospital. You can actually see the ED from the SNF lobby, it's that close. The RN asked me, "What hospital are you going to?"

I looked at her for what felt like a solid minute, blinked a few times and just pointed at the hospital.
 
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