con artists

[Lifeguards For Life]

Ive met several people that no matter how hard you do your sternum rub they have the self control to take it without a flinch...though we still use it.h34r:

I don't think the sternum rub was intended to check if a "patient" is faking it. Why do you care if they are faking it or not?

 

[Shishkabob]

Why make my job harder?

I'm not going to injure my back for someone who can just as easily, and without being in any pain or danger, move themselves to my cot.

 

[EMDispatch]

I don't think the sternum rub was intended to check if a "patient" is faking it. Why do you care if they are faking it or not?

You gotta check LOC, personally I wouldn't use it just to check if they're faking, but I have to check for painful stimulus response.

 

[fortsmithman]

At my service we don't use the NPS we use the OPA instead. One of our senior EMTs told us about the arm test and another is insert a OPA to see if they are faking.

 

[MTEMTB]

Best one I heard from a paramedic friend. Got called to the county jail, inmate having chest pain.
They pick him up and take him to the ER. Busy night so the guy gets up and walks out.
Police picked him up a block away and right back to jail.
While later paged again for an inmate having a heart attack.
same guy.
Friend does the eyelash trick. Knows the guy is faking it.
Inserts a nasal dry. No response. Pulls it out and does iit in the other nostril. Nothing.
Take him to the ER where a doctor is waiting.
Doc pulls out the nasal and trys it on the other side too. No response.
Doc breaks open a couple of amonia tablets and puts both up the guys nose.
he sits up and asks to be taken back to jail.

didn't have too many faking inmates after that.

 

[akflightmedic]

And the resulting chemical burns to the skin and mucosa from the ammonia...how were those explained/treated???

I only ask to make you think because I do realize they did not remain there long enough to cause a burn (unless he really wasn't faking) but this was a sad lesson I learned very early in my career.

We had done the ammonia trick many times, I thought it was effective and then I saw a medic tape one on the cheek of a "faker" cause he had more important things to do than sit there and hold it for a few seconds. It left quite the mark...

 

[EMS/LEO505]

I remember FD responding to a faker call and the "pt" was "unconscious" anyway they knew she was awake but played along and wrote down starting vitals on her forehead with a sharpie. Then she started regaining consciousness and the Lt. told her that if the doctors didn't find anything wrong that she will get charged every penny with out insurance coverage...she got up and walked away with all the stuff still on her face haha

 

[helicub81]

Best one I heard from a paramedic friend. Got called to the county jail, inmate having chest pain.
They pick him up and take him to the ER. Busy night so the guy gets up and walks out.
Police picked him up a block away and right back to jail.
While later paged again for an inmate having a heart attack.
same guy.
Friend does the eyelash trick. Knows the guy is faking it.
Inserts a nasal dry. No response. Pulls it out and does iit in the other nostril. Nothing.
Take him to the ER where a doctor is waiting.
Doc pulls out the nasal and trys it on the other side too. No response.
Doc breaks open a couple of amonia tablets and puts both up the guys nose.
he sits up and asks to be taken back to jail.

didn't have too many faking inmates after that.

How come u guys didn't go directly for an opa? The opa's a better airway anyways and if he accepts an npa, drop an opa too? O :censored::censored::censored::censored: then ud have vomit to clean up nvm lol

 

[reaper]

An NPA can be placed with a gag reflex intact. A OPA cannot!

 

[akflightmedic]

I remember FD responding to a faker call and the "pt" was "unconscious" anyway they knew she was awake but played along and wrote down starting vitals on her forehead with a sharpie. Then she started regaining consciousness and the Lt. told her that if the doctors didn't find anything wrong that she will get charged every penny with out insurance coverage...she got up and walked away with all the stuff still on her face haha

Yeh this is great, let us keep laughing and perpetuating this stupid *** bull :censored::censored::censored::censored:. And people wonder why we are not considered professionals...you know how many "fakers" docs and nurses deal with every single shift...do you think we are alone in this? No we are not, so why do we feel the need to write on, torture, and prank on these people??

 

[Aidey]

That sounds like something from a frat party.


My issue with people faking ALOC is that GCS is part of our trauma activation criteria. The hospitals do not appreciate EMS calling a trauma on some guy who turns out to be faking it. We have had more than one case where a guy puts his car in the ditch while drinking, or gets into an argument in a bar and then plays unconscious to get out of trouble.

 

[Emtpbill]

Yeh this is great, let us keep laughing and perpetuating this stupid *** bull :censored::censored::censored::censored:. And people wonder why we are not considered professionals...you know how many "fakers" docs and nurses deal with every single shift...do you think we are alone in this? No we are not, so why do we feel the need to write on, torture, and prank on these people??

Dude, you are wound up a little too tight. Every other comment from you is slamming someone for not being unprofessional. If someone doesn't have a vent/release/prank, they are gonna go postal.

 

[akflightmedic]

Dude, you are wound up a little too tight. Every other comment from you is slamming someone for not being unprofessional. If someone doesn't have a vent/release/prank, they are gonna go postal.

If you knew me, you would think otherwise. However, the jokes should not involve your patients, safety gear or food. Outside of that, enjoy but it need to be done not while in the public eye, not driving, and not on scene.

Every other profession has their jokes and pranks too, I get that, I have done many great ones myself...but there is a time or place for everything.

It is people like me who care about the job, trying to make it a professional organization, trying to elevate wages and standards of living that is constantly beat back down by the "hey man, you are a tight ***...just relax" crowd. But those people will be the same one's complaining they have no respect or have low wages and can't support their families, blah blah blah.

And I get so tired of hearing about how we need releases...hear this: EVERYONE in EVERY job gets stressed and deals with BS and needs a release. Are the stressors the same? No, they aren't, but they ARE stressors none the less and it is how we choose as people to deal with them that makes the difference.

Being EMS or Fire gets us no special pass on life's adventures and stress. Are you saying because we are pranksters that is why it is called "going postal" and not "going EMS"? So maybe if the USPS played more jokes they would never have had those work place shootings and acts of violence which coined the term "going postal" probably before you were born.

But then there have been many similar outbreaks, EMS places of work included yet the going postal term has endured...so maybe your theory is flawed.

Just maybe, if we eliminated the hero complex that we drill into student's brains, maybe if we eliminated a student's way of thinking that it is funny/cool to torture a patient, then just maybe we can move forward as a profession and also educate people on how to have balance in their work, so they will seek proper vents/releases and not go postal.

For the record, what set me off in my response was the fact that it was a STUDENT who made the joke and laughed about shoddy patient care and did not see anything wrong with that. If you personally think a student has the right to be taught poor patient practices and has the right to laugh and think they are acceptable "within the club" which will allow him to continue to do those practices over the years and teach others, then you have no business in my profession.

 

[Lifeguards For Life]

If you knew me, you would think otherwise. However, the jokes should not involve your patients, safety gear or food. Outside of that, enjoy but it need to be done not while in the public eye, not driving, and not on scene.

Every other profession has their jokes and pranks too, I get that, I have done many great ones myself...but there is a time or place for everything.

It is people like me who care about the job, trying to make it a professional organization, trying to elevate wages and standards of living that is constantly beat back down by the "hey man, you are a tight ***...just relax" crowd. But those people will be the same one's complaining they have no respect or have low wages and can't support their families, blah blah blah.

And I get so tired of hearing about how we need releases...hear this: EVERYONE in EVERY job gets stressed and deals with BS and needs a release. Are the stressors the same? No, they aren't, but they ARE stressors none the less and it is how we choose as people to deal with them that makes the difference.

Being EMS or Fire gets us no special pass on life's adventures and stress. Are you saying because we are pranksters that is why it is called "going postal" and not "going EMS"? So maybe if the USPS played more jokes they would never have had those work place shootings and acts of violence which coined the term "going postal" probably before you were born.

But then there have been many similar outbreaks, EMS places of work included yet the going postal term has endured...so maybe your theory is flawed.

Just maybe, if we eliminated the hero complex that we drill into student's brains, maybe if we eliminated a student's way of thinking that it is funny/cool to torture a patient, then just maybe we can move forward as a profession and also educate people on how to have balance in their work, so they will seek proper vents/releases and not go postal.

For the record, what set me off in my response was the fact that it was a STUDENT who made the joke and laughed about shoddy patient care and did not see anything wrong with that. If you personally think a student has the right to be taught poor patient practices and has the right to laugh and think they are acceptable "within the club" which will allow him to continue to do those practices over the years and teach others, then you have no business in my profession.

hear, hear!

 

[Lifeguards For Life]

I remember FD responding to a faker call and the "pt" was "unconscious" anyway they knew she was awake but played along and wrote down starting vitals on her forehead with a sharpie. Then she started regaining consciousness and the Lt. told her that if the doctors didn't find anything wrong that she will get charged every penny with out insurance coverage...she got up and walked away with all the stuff still on her face haha

Evil shenanigans! [YOUTUBE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KvY2CAnEd-o&feature=related[/YOUTUBE]

 

[LucidResq]

I remember FD responding to a faker call and the "pt" was "unconscious" anyway they knew she was awake but played along and wrote down starting vitals on her forehead with a sharpie. Then she started regaining consciousness and the Lt. told her that if the doctors didn't find anything wrong that she will get charged every penny with out insurance coverage...she got up and walked away with all the stuff still on her face haha

I am shocked, nauseated, sad and angry all at the same time.

 

[Shishkabob]

I am shocked, nauseated, sad and angry all at the same time.

How much of that is your current ailment?

 

[EMDispatch]

For the record, what set me off in my response was the fact that it was a STUDENT who made the joke and laughed about shoddy patient care and did not see anything wrong with that. If you personally think a student has the right to be taught poor patient practices and has the right to laugh and think they are acceptable "within the club" which will allow him to continue to do those practices over the years and teach others, then you have no business in my profession.

One of the first discussion our class had on patient care and advocacy was the hypochondriac and the frequent flier. The medic teaching our class told us the story of a regular. The first unit was looking for an excuse to get out, and just dismissed the guys complaints. He arrived on scene and noticed something just wasn't normal...Low and behold the pt was having an MI.

 

[TransportJockey]

One of the first discussion our class had on patient care and advocacy was the hypochondriac and the frequent flier. The medic teaching our class told us the story of a regular. The first unit was looking for an excuse to get out, and just dismissed the guys complaints. He arrived on scene and noticed something just wasn't normal...Low and behold the pt was having an MI.

Exactly. Just because someone might have abused the system in the past, they still deserve a full and thorough assessment, since something might actually be wrong with them.

 

[LucidResq]

You know what, never mind the boy who cried wolf syndrome. Even assuming a patient NEVER has an actual physical ailment when they call, they still deserve to be treated with respect. Most of the time they are calling for a reason - perhaps true mental illness, profound loneliness, fear, etc. In which case you should count your blessings and be glad you are not in such a position.

And even if their intent were truly malicious... which is hard to imagine, or you simply lack the compassion to ponder why they may be calling and empathize... the last thing a professional should do is "stoop to their level" by humiliating them and trying to get some kind of revenge.

At the simplest level, bear in mind that these people usually communicate with the outside world. The way you treat them may not effect their perspective of you or willingness to call for you help again, but if others catch word of you treating them poorly, you'll certainly be looked at as unprofessional at best, and perhaps someone who really needs it will be reluctant to call someday.