Decision

Chris EMT J

Forum Lieutenant
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I talked with my therapist, a paramedic friend, and my employer. My paramedic friend informed me that something is holding me back from getting intercepts and my therapist identified that as fear. I now see that the fear is about being judged for unnecessary intercepts. I talked with my employer and they agreed to down grade my position to a EMT basic and will allow be to shadow a medic and re take the AEMT course. I have been making mistakes for a little while and now because of fear of intercepts those mistakes aren't being corrected. So I will work with a medic as a basic until I retake a AEMT course and WILL NOT be continuing to engage on this forum as it is not improving my care but worsening my mental health. Maybe after redoing my AEMT and I feel more comfortable as a provider I will update the forum but I am taking time away from patient care to re learn the basic up to my level.
 

DrParasite

The fire extinguisher is not just for show
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I talked with my therapist, a paramedic friend, and my employer. My paramedic friend informed me that something is holding me back from getting intercepts and my therapist identified that as fear. I now see that the fear is about being judged for unnecessary intercepts. I talked with my employer and they agreed to down grade my position to a EMT basic and will allow be to shadow a medic and re take the AEMT course. I have been making mistakes for a little while and now because of fear of intercepts those mistakes aren't being corrected. So I will work with a medic as a basic until I retake a AEMT course and WILL NOT be continuing to engage on this forum as it is not improving my care but worsening my mental health. Maybe after redoing my AEMT and I feel more comfortable as a provider I will update the forum but I am taking time away from patient care to re learn the basic up to my level.
ok, sounds like you have a plan, and good luck with your career and your future education
 

spimx

Forum Crew Member
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What is an intercept? Is there a chance your friend is holding you back? EMS has a very distinct culture of competition and your friend and department may be critical of your performance in accordance with a competitive and punitive culture. These cultures can hurt your confidence and confuse you to what is a good performance. I wish I could help you with mental health but I have also suffered mental health issues without a clear path to resolve. The one thing that did help me was to volunteer at a local church helping the homeless population. It helps me to give back, find something less critical and stressful that can afford you the opportunity to help people.

I think it is possible that if you go to a fire department you will see that not everyone is in a futile competition to prove how intelligent they are and a more team oriented environment may help build your confidence and focus, alos resulting in a better performance.
 

MMiz

I put the M in EMTLife
Community Leader
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It sounds like you have a plan.

If you lack confidence, spend time shadowing a Paramedic or someone at your level where you can learn from others and improve your skills and decision making.

I don’t believe re-taking the course at the same institution is going to help as much as you hope.

I think you’d benefit greatly from finding a mentor. Either find one yourself, or ask your job to help find you a Paramedic mentor to help you work through some of these issues.

Forum members have questioned and criticized your clinical decisions. I hope your mentors are able to provide constructive feedback that helps you grow as a provider.

Never stop growing as a person and provided.

Good luck!
 

Akulahawk

EMT-P/ED RN
Community Leader
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What is an intercept?
In this context, I believe what's being described is when you have a non-Paramedic ambulance (in this case an AEMT level) meeting up with a Paramedic level ambulance (or Paramedic in a fly car) to either bring the Paramedic on-board for a higher level of care OR transfer the patient over to the Paramedic level ambulance and, in any case, care of the patient is then directed by a Paramedic and not the AEMT (in this case, the OP).

I'm in agreement with MMiz here - the OP would likely benefit greatly from a mentor. I'm also of the opinion that the problem isn't one of training, but rather appropriate decision-making. In that regard, I think the type of mentor the OP should look for is one that is able to provide decision-making process coaching. IOW - how to go through the data and come up with an appropriate decision. After that, the mentoring should concentrate on the medicine side of the process. Going back through a full-up AEMT program would likely be a waste of time.

Once the decision-making skills are in place, fear that is related to being criticized about various decisions won't be as significant a stressor as it is currently.
 
OP
OP
Chris EMT J

Chris EMT J

Forum Lieutenant
124
11
18
UPDATE:
I was able to re study quite a bit of content and was recently re-evaluated. I did well on the scenerios I was given and am now able to start practicing at a EMT advance level again. I also got told by my employer I will be on a ALS unit for the next 6months to get some time with a paramedic watching my every decision. This will hopefully get me back on a good track and I will after 6 months start back on a BLS unit as the highest level of care in BLS.
 
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