Where has commonsense gone?

Corollary to #45: The GPS may get you to the right location, but the directions you get may not be the fastest, most efficient route there.
 
46. Personal equipment and uniforms

a. should complement and not replace equipment supplied by the employer. ("Should" includes "the employer should furnish adequate equipment"). Stethoscope ear tips are excluded.

b. will eventually disappear or break if it is used or carried.

c. makes you liable for its performance. If it fails or contributes to an injury or death, the employer is off the hook and can probably fire you. (See #3 about working for a horse's ***).

d. are probably not tax deductible. (IF required, be ready to prove it; if uniform dry cleaning is required, that can be).
 
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47. Never forget time FROM the scene TO the receiving facility in your risk-benefit calculations. This seems to support going fast, but it does the opposite. If they are so critical that seconds count, then to benefit they need to be seconds away from the receiving facility.

Be prepared then execute efficient prompt safe responses.

Speed rarely saves, but it is the prime contributor to the number one cause of job-related death for EMS workers...and I imagine the #2 cause of iatrogenic death and injury to patients (#1 probably being EMS worker error or dropping the pt).
 
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48. The reasons you got into EMS can get you killed.
And sued, fired, divorced, broke.

a. HEROIC RESCUES: if they aren't a small part of your responses, something's wrong. The most likely reason is you perceive heroic circumstance where there are none. This will lead you to do outlandish things (bad) and over-prepare (not so bad).

IF you are adequately trained, equpped, manned, mentally and prepared, it won't seem heroic, will it?

If it seems you have to do something risky to get it done, and you aren't trained and equipped and manned for it, chances are it isn't going to work.

b. DAMSELS IN DISTRESS (is there a feminine equivalent?): See note above. Add that some patients (not just females, but they have as a group the most success) will act to get you to react emotionally to their situation. Other times, you will respond within your archetype of a "rescuing hero". Remember the quiet patients are usually the worst off, and your greatest service to people will be when they are not a their best (i.e., no makeup on, drunk or hung over, needs someone to care for the kids while she has to go to the hospital). And as for getting laid out of gratitude? "Abandon hope all ye who enter there"....:rofl:

c. WEARING AND BEARING TOYS AND UNIFORMS: If you can never have enough stuff, you have a problem.
 
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Half the e-book is written

...carry on!

But first remember; there is no such thing as writing, it's all rewriting.
 
firetender said:
Suffering Studs
Click to expand...



.......................Really?
No, is there a cultural equivalent or is it assumed males are the rescuer and females the rescues?
 
mycrofft said:
.......................Really?
No, is there a cultural equivalent or is it assumed males are the rescuer and females the rescues?
Click to expand...

Well if it's assumed, than the care provider should inform the paitent that if they would like a care provider of the same sex.
 
mycrofft said:
.......................Really?
No, is there a cultural equivalent or is it assumed males are the rescuer and females the rescues?
Click to expand...

If you think about the psychology here, guys who are in need of rescue have a problem, usually a "Hey, watch this!" or "Hold my beer!" level of stupid going on that precipitates the need for rescue.

This interferes with the whole schtick of how most guys go after a woman. So no, there's very little of that vibe going.
 
THanks.;)
 
That's not a gem of knowledge. It's as rare as hen's teeth unless it's a groupie setup. Had a dependent in base housing who would dial 711 (on base emergency) and arrange for the responders to see her naked or in a neglige etc.
 
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49. Anything around your neck without a breakaway link (better, two) is potentially dangerous. This include stethoscopes.

Thanks WuLabsWuTech
 
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50. If you are contemplating any action and justifying it involves citing more than one protocol, reg or rule; or citing a particular interpretation such as one magazine article or another EMSA's rules; then think twice and think hard. Are you trying to con yourself as well as someone else?

The moral: DON'T CON ANYONE. Not on the job, not playing with co-workers, not your boss, not the doctors, not the patients or their famlies, and especially not your spouse, your kids or yourself. Even if you are "playing", it leaves a residual impression that you will lie or prevaricate to get your way, right or wrong, and breeds distrust.

(Thank you, Robert Townsend).
 
51. Backing into parking spaces often makes it inconvenient to access the rear doors, increases the chance for a parking scrape, and is a pain for the spotter if the parking spot ends in a wall or other large obstruction. It does not save significant time on responses (see 47 above..to benefit from saved seconds, you need to be seconds form the receiving facility), especially if you dash out forwards only to cause another accident of your own. See if there is a spot or a way to drive through a parking slot.
 
52. Blood, serum, excrement, CSF, sputum, amniotic fluid, pus: You can't be a sissy about these. "Grasp the nettle firmly", step up and act appropriately. Shut off your emotions and get it done, safely and graciously.
a. Wear the damn personal protective gear. Insist on having it.
b. While you don't want to plunge your hands into a pool of crap within a half inch of the tops of your gloves, thoughtfully depend upon your protective gear.
c. Of course, bring a spare uniform and change of clothes, and a plastic bag to take clothes home for cleaning.
d. On scene, look before you touch, kneel, even step. Scraping brains off your pants or shoes is a drag especially when it can be avoided easily if you just look and think.
 
53. Speaking of scraping off gunk:

a. Pretreat clothes asap, wash it off soon.
b. Avoid gear you cannot effectively disinfect or clean (dryclean only, leather).
c. Alcohol will help prevent clotting and kill many germs, peroxide will break up a lot of materials.
d. Wash YOU up as well. Periodically wash your hands, arms. After a dirty scene, you and your partner/co-worker check each others' backs etc. for bits and drips.
e. Chlorhexidine gluconate (i.e., Hibiclens, etc) turns indelibly brown with chlorine bleach. If you use it on your clothes or surfaces in yor ambulance, rinse and clean it off before you expose it to chlorine. Yes, even countertops and floors. Skin...no (not a tanning device!.
 
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54. Yes, we know, test XYZ* is sold over the counter to any nincompoop who wants it, but you can't have it. The box says "Home Use Only" for a reason. (Ditto cheap automatic BP cuffs, cheap tympanic thermometers, cheap oral thermometers, cheap otoscopes..).

* "XYZ" being glucometers, AIDS tests, drug screening tests, urine dipsticks, peak exhalation meters, etc.
 
Thanks to (paraphrase) JPINFV

55. "However if she's" (you've) "never heard of OI" (something), "she" (you) "can't consider it as a potential issue, or really definitively state it's not an issue". (originally about a NP who did not know about OI in a patient so could not advocate for better care).
 
mycrofft said:
55. "However if she's" (you've) "never heard of OI" (something), "she" (you) "can't consider it as a potential issue, or really definitively state it's not an issue". (originally about a NP who did not know about OI in a patient so could not advocate for better care).
Click to expand...
OI being Osteogenesis Imperfecta? (knew that one w/o having to look it up. Thanks Discovery Channel!! :cool: LoL)
 
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