Partner got mad at me. Was I wrong?

[Anjel]

Sooo... today we were transporting a lady from the hospital to a nursing home.

She was about 58ish I think and had recently been trached. She had a history of schizophrenia and depression and a learning disability.

She was already crying when we walked in the room saying how scared she was and how she was nervous about the ride.

Once we got in the back of the truck she was freaking out about every stop, bump, or turn. After I got her history wrote down she asked if I could hold her hand. Which I did for the remainder of the trip.

My partner told me I am a newbie and need to learn where to draw the line. He thinks I crossed some line by holding her hand.

She was absolutely terrified and shaking and thats the only thing she needed me to do for her. I don't see anything wrong with it. He just really made me mad by saying I am a newbie and have a lot to learn.

 

[ShotMedic]

I dont believe you were out of line, Somtimes holding a patients hands and letting them know you are there for them can be just what the medical director ordered. Always remember you are A Patients Advocate. You gotta think What if that was my mom? would i hold her hand??

 

[HotelCo]

Did it benefit the patient? I think so. If that's the case, you did nothing wrong.

 

[fast65]

If your partner thinks that's crossing the line, then quite frankly, they're a moron. There's no harm in holding a patients hand, we're there to take care of them, and if we need to hold their hand to make them feel better then so be it. There's no harm in providing comfort to a scared patient.

 

[medicstudent101]

Sounds like he's the newbie. What he said was rubbish, you did nothing wrong. Keep up the good work. B)

 

[BEorP]

I certainly wouldn't make a habit of holding every patient's hand, but I do not think you were wrong in this instance.

 

[enjoynz]

Did your partner think you crossed the line because he was concerned for your safety, should the patient become aggressive,
or did he think you crossed the line by caring too much?
There is nothing wrong with holding a patient's hand, if they are concerned or scared and have asked you to do so
..... it's called reassuring your patient!
Unless of course there are some weird laws in the US EMS, that says you are not to hold a patient's hand, which I would doubt?
I'd tell him to back off and stop being so high and mighty!

 

[Anjel]

Did your partner think you crossed the line because he was concerned for your safety, should the patient become aggressive,
or did he think you crossed the line by caring too much?
There is nothing wrong with holding a patient's hand, if they are concerned or scared and have asked you to do so
..... it's called reassuring your patient!
Unless of course there are some weird laws in the US EMS, that says you are not to hold a patient's hand, which I would doubt?
I'd tell him to back off and stop being so high and mighty!

Yea there was nothing dangerous about that pt. She was just scared.

 

[ChorusD]

That just sounds like good paramedickin to me. But really, check your textbooks. Everyone that I've had mentions that a reassuring touch on the shoulder or in this case holding a pt's hand can be the most therapeutic thing you do for that pt.

If the pt's most acute "illness" is a fear of riding in an ambulance then that's something that you can treat.-_-


edit: It's nice to see that there are some people still in this business that actually care about the people when there are so many that don't.

 

[the_negro_puppy]

Holding hands is not in our protocols so we need med controls approval B)













































Your partner is an idiot.

 

[DesertMedic66]

You didn't do anything wrong. That was a good thing that you did. It seems a really good idea that you were in the back of the rig and not your partner.

 

[bstone]

Your partner sucks.

I had a female patient years ago with intractable leg pain. I was working BLS and we had no pain meds to give. All I could do was hold her hand, which she squeezed and didn't let go until we got her into the ER bed. She was one of the more memorable patients I've had.

Again, your partner sucks.

 

[usalsfyre]

You did the right thing. You've grasped what one of the core principals of medicine is, relieve pain and suffering by whatever means you have available. If holding her hand helped her anxiety (i.e. suffering) then you did a darn fine job.

Your partner, on the other hand, is a d-bag who probably needs to look into something other than medicine as a career.

 

[crazycajun]

I agree with all of the other posters. Compassion is a big thing in medical care. Your patient will always remember what you did for them and it will make their next trip easier. Thank you for being a GREAT MEDIC!

 

[EMSrush]

There's nothing wrong with hand-holding for support, as long as you can get everything else done as needed. Tell your partner to explain how the support you provided your pt was problematic; I'd love to hear his rationale...

 

[JPINFV]

Your partner is an idiot...

 

[usalsfyre]

Your partner is an idiot...

Any bets on whether he thinks code 3 response is important?

 

[looker]

Not to repeat what everyone else said but you got an idiot for a partner.

 

[MrBrown]

The fail is strong in your partner

 

[feldy]

Some people in this field see their job as only technical and dont really see the humanistic part to it. I have had partners who will get what they need from the pt and that is it and not make contact (verbal or phsyical) with the pt for the rest of the trip. Others ive worked with will talk to the pt along the way, even if it is a bit of a "its time to get your life in order talk," even so that is showing compasion also.

We dont need to hold everyones hand but every so often that is really all the pt needs. We sometimes can forget that a trip in an ambulance can be very scary for some people.