Being "nice" to patients.

[jordanfstop]

I just wanted some input from you guys(and gals.) I've never really been the most outgoing person (I've always had a few really good friends that I hung around.) I'm not necessarily anti-social though. Working EMS I'm around up to ten strangers a day for thirty minutes or so. I know my assessments fairly well, but I take my time in between some questions which comes off to some of my partners as anti-social/bad pt interaction. I'm confident in my work and I can work pretty well in most situations. The point of this thread is how do you feel about being nice? It's kind of a hard question to word correctly because some of you are probably thinking "Well if you're not being 'nice' then you're probably being an a$$h0le to pts." I know I'm a very nice person and a lot of people take my niceness as a weakness. I figure that it's a mixture between some sort of social disorder of some sort and me not wanting to become connected to pts. Hopefully you get what I mean about being "nice."

Any thoughts or input? Further explanation needed?

For some of you that have had this trouble in the past, has it passed? Has it gotten better? Is it something that goes away over time? Is it still the same?

Thank you.

Be safe and buckle up!

 

[JJR512]

I think I understand what you're saying. It's not that you're not nice, you're just not very engaging or outgoing with strangers, right? I'm the same way. Actually I can be a very outgoing person around people that I know well, but around people I don't know well, I'm quiet and reserved. I know it seems to other people sometimes (the people who don't know me that well) that I'm not being friendly or interesting.

 

[MSDeltaFlt]

As a general rule, I try to talk to pts as I would a member of my own family or my partners and their families. If they're old enough to be my grand parents, I talk to them like my grandparents with the same level of respect. The same goes to those of the same age as my parents, siblings, and their children.

Talk to them like your family and be genuine, and it'll show.

It's amazing the amount of reciprocity you get from your pts.

 

[EMTMandy]

Well, having been on both sides of the spectrum...

I personally feel engaging in a limited amount of side conversation with patients after everything is said and done is not only curteous, but also keeps people (patients) calm in a lot of situations. In my opinion, having a small insight into patient's personalities also improves patient care. I know if I were on the other end, I'd like someone to give a damn about me; the fact that I'm a living human just like them and not just a run number. I'd say the day I lose sight of that is the day I need to re-evaluate my desire to remain in EMS. If someone views that as a weakness, well...I wouldn't care anyway

 

[EMTMandy]

OKay for some reason it won't let me edit and I inadvertently used profanity in my last post without blanking it out. I apologize!

 

[MikeRi24]

you have to consider who the patient is. For example, if its a young kid, you're going to treat them differently than an older person.

With kids, i think its a good idea to be extra nice to them, because they are more than likely scared as hell, so I will always make an extra effort to make them comfortable and tell them everything you're going to do, but in a way that they can understand. maybe strike up a conversation with them to get thier mind off of whatever reason they are there.

With older people, especailly when you're doin non-emergency transports, they always seem to have a story to tell you. I'd say just listen and pretend to be interested even if you're not.

no matter what, try and make them feel comfortable, even if they're pretty bad, dont let them think that. be like "we're gonna take good care of you're everything is gonna be just fine." you have to be calm and in controll. because if you're freaking out, then the firemen, cops and whoever else is gonna start freaking out, all hell is gonna break loose an nothing is gonna ge acomplished. Further more, if the patient sees you freaking out, then they are gonna freak out, and you deffinetely do not want that. remember, its their emergency, not yours.

all in all, I would say try and make the patient feel as comfortable as possible, while still doing what you need to do. if you can multi-task and do everything you need to do and still talk to them, then by all means go ahead. just tray and think of what you would want if you were in thier posistion.

 

[BossyCow]

We see people at their most vulnerable. Relating to them on a personal level takes some of the awkwardness out of that relationship. We see them in their undies, vomiting, pulled from their beds, hair uncombed, morning breath, and with their insides visible to the outside.

Treating them like a person, not just a body, is important. I've had wonderful friendly 30 minute conversations with people I've never seen again and some I hope never to see again. But then, I used to work retail in a tourist town, I can be nice to anyone in short bursts.

 

[ffemt8978]

OKay for some reason it won't let me edit and I inadvertently used profanity in my last post without blanking it out. I apologize!

There's a time limit on how long you can edit posts because we've had some problems in the past.

As far as the profanity goes, there is an automatic censor that kicks in for the ones we really don't want to see on here. As for the rest of them, the occasional slip is not really a problem.

 

[makphisto]

I can appreciate your situation. I'm not a very outgoing person - I'm usually quite the opposite. In fact, my family was quite stunned when I started getting into EMS. I'm more of a "sit at a computer" type of guy, and I typically don't like people.

However, once I'm in the ambulance I'm a different person. It's pretty easy for me to engage the patient in that setting. I'm not super outgoing or anything - time doesn't usually allow for in-depth conversations. But I try to be empathetic - if the patient wants to mention their kids, I'll talk about their kids.

Like MSDeltaFlt said, think of them as family (as much as the situation can handle!) and you'll be fine.

 

[Guardian]

If you’re rude to start with, it usually just gets worse. "Rudeness" is often just honesty and brevity. Unfortunately, most people we deal with don't appreciate those two attributes. So, like the rest of us, bottle up your resulting anger inside and try to ignore it. And take solace in the fact that you too will soon burn out and leave the profession or have an MI and die.

 

[Ridryder911]

Bedside manner is one of the most important aspects a health professional needs to develop. This is the area one will demonstrate upon how well they portray social interaction between people. It is your job to be interactive with patients.

I think the thing I did not see or find was the word "caring". One needs to be forward enough to be able to answer questions and demonstrate empathy.

It is your responsibility to be able to ask and interview without hesitation of personal and detailed questions. One has to have demonstrated some form of compassionate enough to form a bond to be able to obtain and receive these questions.

These questions could be considered embarrassing at times (last menstrual period, last B.M. please describe, etc..) Many times, obtaining the most accurate history is one of the keys to making a correct diagnosis and possibly either treating correctly or possibly having the patient die.

You can usually quickly tell by watching many of those that have mastered this type of behavior as being friendly and empathetic and of those that have not. I see many physicians that have yet master this, and it is quite obvious when they are unable to get the whole picture and usually will depend upon others history to obtain the full picture.

I forewarn, there is a fine line between empathy and sympathy. One can have a professional demeanor of caring and even being compassionate. This again, is part of our job, (which many do not understand) and should be integrated into our routine and in between procedures, when appropriate. Over TLC can be inappropriate, especially if technical procedures and again hx. is being missed.

For some reason many assume we should be calloused and stoic.? Which I do not understand, yes we need to be able to control our emotions if possible, we do have a job to perform.

Remember, majority of the purpose of people calling 911 is not for medical care or treatment, rather they do not what to do at the current time. Basically to be taken care of both emotionally and physically.

R/r 911

 

[firetender]

Being responsive on a real, not canned, level with your patients is one of the most potent tools in your bag of tricks as a medic.

I'm speaking of connection. Most of our patients have an underlying need to feel like human beings rather than puzzles or mounds of flesh with problems. Many wait until the circumstances are unbearable before they'll seek help because of the way that they've been treated in the past once sucked in to the medical system. By the time we show up, they're at wit's end and really do often rely on us to help them place their current situation into perspective.

Tactically, being "nice" means not giving the patient anything to resist. Once they're in the resist mode (and who amongst us doesn't know how quickly a call can go to hell when we give them something to resist?), the continuity and smoothness of the call (especially getting the "patient" and yourself on track so you can get out of there and on to the next call) gets severely compromised.

"Nice" does not mean "coddle". It means polite, attentive, truly listening and then finding a way to communicate back with them on their terms.

Even honesty on a personal level can be an effective tool. Like, "I'd really like you to find a neighbor to get you to the clinic or the hospital because it concerns me that someone who really needs help won't get it while I'm transporting you. Can you see my position?"

At all times remember: Connection is the Gateway to Healing. It is the foundation upon which everything else you do is built.