disheartened

[Sasha]

The hospital is like a city with little gangs everywhere. You have to earn the confidence and respect of each gang. Then you will be aloud to hang out with them. Same goes for the Rn's, trauma teams,lab techs, RTT's and admin staff. Get to know them all and they will help you in the long run.

Don't lose heart, it can take a while and with some it will take bribing. Find out what they like.

I can tell you that nurses like pens, and they like food. I always have extra pens on hand in case the nurse who uses my pen to sign paper work goes Ooooh I like your pen! Im always like Really? Keep it!

And then that nurse is my new best friend for the day. !

 

[daedalus]

I can tell you that nurses like pens, and they like food. I always have extra pens on hand in case the nurse who uses my pen to sign paper work goes Ooooh I like your pen! Im always like Really? Keep it!

And then that nurse is my new best friend for the day. !

Oh Sasha, you noticed too?? RNs will literally foam at the mouth for pens.

 

[KEVD18]

give away pens? blasphemy!

i keep 3 pens on my person. 2 of "my" pens. they are the only pens i like to write with. patients dont touch them, nor docs or nurses or other emts. they are mine. i also have one patient pen. thats a cheapo(usually a drug rep giveaway or one i found under the seat of the truck etc). if by chance i have acquired an extra freebie, anybody who wants it is welcome to it but my pens are mine!!!!

 

[LucidResq]

RNs will literally foam at the mouth for pens.

Wow... if the highlight of my day working as an RN is going to be receiving a pen... maybe I need to reconsider my career choice :blink: Sounds kind of depressing.

 

[TransportJockey]

Wow... if the highlight of my day working as an RN is going to be receiving a pen... maybe I need to reconsider my career choice :blink: Sounds kind of depressing.

We steal their pens often enough, they love us giving them one

 

[andrey]

All of you are trying to prove that you are tough specialists.
Not one of you do not wanted to understand ,way he is done it.
Only one thing,he wanted to know. Knowlege !
You are going to beat him.
A lot of words ,not one helping.

 

[reaper]

All of you are trying to prove that you are tough specialists.
Not one of you do not wanted to understand ,way he is done it.
Only one thing,he wanted to know. Knowlege !
You are going to beat him.
A lot of words ,not one helping.

I think all the posts where helpful! Everyone explained why it happened and what he should do next time.

Welcome to EMS!

 

[BossyCow]

All of you are trying to prove that you are tough specialists.
Not one of you do not wanted to understand ,way he is done it.
Only one thing,he wanted to know. Knowlege !
You are going to beat him.
A lot of words ,not one helping.

Huh??

Not one of you do not wanted to understand ,way he is done it.

Um double negative and otherwise complete gibberish.

He wanted to know knowledge? Can you spell 'redundant'?

Even the original poster said that he found the comments helpful. What bothered you about the replies, specifically?

 

[VentMedic]

Andrey told us in another post he was Russian. English is not his first language. Some of the American sarcasim and slang we use may not be that easily understood.

Hopefully he will reread the first two pages carefully.

 

[andrey]

Yes, you were out of line with your feelings/emotions.
Yes, the Rad tech could have been kinder but did act within their right.

First, as stated before in other thread, school and the forms which you and everyone signs, it is HIPAA, not HIPPA.
Personal pet peeve obviously; as its been an actual law sine 1996 and had been debated since 1986; just may be time to start spelling it right.

You asked how are you supposed to learn? The answer is simple. Go back to school.
Please show me where CTs/MRI's, etc are part of the EMT on the job training.

Did you ever consider the tech was having a bad day, or just got a bad vibe from you despite your positive demeanor and how you informed her/him it was well within your right because you were going to get a full report anyways? Trying to play one oneupmanship to obtain your goal backfired as you did not get to see the actual images come out originally. You only got a summarized report.

Yes, the tech was an idiot for claiming it was HIPAA violation, but maybe that was the only excuse they had at the moment other than saying they really do not feel like having you hover over them while they do their job, or maybe they just did not feel like teaching/mentoring that day. You are not a student and it is not their job to do so.

In addition, the eyes on the patient thing is a wee bit overkill. It is not "YOUR" patient as you are not the only singular source involved in this patient's care. The patient belongs to a team of medical professionals, such as the rad tech and for whom the most part have way more education and experience than yourself. Most rad centers and their staff are ACLS certified and equipped, therefore they could recognize the most immediate threat which you are alluding to and provide proper care while awaiting ALS ambulance personnel.

So, since you asked, that left it open for my interpretation and opinion. Yes, your emotions got the better of you and you feel insulted and wanted your story heard. I have heard it and think you were wrong but did the right thing by letting the procedure get done and over with despite it taking you being told twice to leave the room.

If you spend another minute thinking about this and getting personally upset, you may need to go to the store and buy some thicker skin. Other than that, this may be the first time this has happened to you, but I assure you it will NOT be the last!

I told about that nice post.
Other phrase-mongering vith pen,is realy shamful.

 

[traumateam1]

Today I was on a transport, from an urgent care to an outpatient imaging center. The patient was a middle-aged man with numbness in his posterior left thigh and a history of TIA. They wanted to CT his brain.

I like to learn as much as possible. I have found that people are more than willing to teach usually, but today I got a slap on the hand for even asking. We got to the imaging center and loaded the patient onto the table for the scan. When I went to take the gurney out of the room I asked the radiological tech if I could watch the images come up onto the screen because I thought that medical imaging was amazing. She looked at me like I was stupid and told me to leave the room because if i didnt it would be a HIPPA violation. I told her that it was my patient, and that the radiologist was going to have to give me a report on the outcome of the scan anyways so I could relay the information to the MD at the clinic, and that I had access to the patients entire chart and history anyways so there was no way it could be a HIPPA violation. She again told me to leave the room and made it clear I was to stay outside away from the control room for the entire process. This really ticked me off. First since the patient was never signed over to the imaging center, he was still MY patient, and as such, I was in charge of the patients care. I have to remain in full view of the patient the entire time he is in my care, per company policy and common sense. I was in my right mind to demand so, but decided it was in the best interest of the patient just to have the scan done and get back to his doctor. I thought it was rude and I felt like a piece of poop.

Am I wrong in this? Should I not feel offended and is this normal in the medical field? Than how am I supposed to learn?

Ugh, I'm so confused.. maybe it's because I'm a canuck and live in the great white north, that I don't understand this. If the p/t was never signed off to the facility, and as per company rules he had to stay within view of his p/t.. then how come he had to leave, and would be in violation if he didn't?
So.. lets say the p/t for some reason coded, or went into respiratory failure, and the medics weren't able to see the p/t and then that later got back to company supervisor, or boss than would daedalus be in trouble?
I'm just not understanding this... help :sad:

 

[VentMedic]

Ugh, I'm so confused.. maybe it's because I'm a canuck and live in the great white north, that I don't understand this. If the p/t was never signed off to the facility, and as per company rules he had to stay within view of his p/t.. then how come he had to leave, and would be in violation if he didn't?
So.. lets say the p/t for some reason coded, or went into respiratory failure, and the medics weren't able to see the p/t and then that later got back to company supervisor, or boss than would daedalus be in trouble?
I'm just not understanding this... help :sad:

No, as an EMT-Basic, he is not the higher level of medical care and that facility would have their own protocols and emergency teams to call including the local 911 EMS if needed. If the EMT-Bs are not the ones giving the dye or contrast (the RTs do this) and if they have no medicine pumps of their own on the patient, there is little need for EMT-Bs to stay. If a team with special ALS capabilities such as a ventilator or meds on a pump are contracted for the transport, then that would be a different situation.

Other then that, a BLS transport is transportation to the diagnostic center.

 

[traumateam1]

No, as an EMT-Basic, he is not the higher level of medical care and that facility would have their own protocols and emergency teams to call including the local 911 EMS if needed. If the EMT-Bs are not the ones giving the dye or contrast (the RTs do this) and if they have no medicine pumps of their own on the patient, there is little need for EMT-Bs to stay. If a team with special ALS capabilities such as a ventilator or meds on a pump are contracted for the transport, then that would be a different situation.

Other then that, a BLS transport is transportation to the diagnostic center.

Okay that makes sense.. I mean, yeah that's obviously how it works.. I just didn't know if down south it was different, or if because his company policy was to stay with the p/t, that it would kinda override the facilities rules. Ha.. yeah right.
Thanks Vent!

 

[VentMedic]

Okay that makes sense.. I mean, yeah that's obviously how it works.. I just didn't know if down south it was different, or if because his company policy was to stay with the p/t, that it would kinda override the facilities rules. Ha.. yeah right.
Thanks Vent!

As I mentioned in one of my earlier posts, it is rare a BLS team stays unless the test takes only a few minutes. In that case, the reason some BLS teams must stay nearby but not necessarily in the room, is to prevent a delay in transporting the patient back to where they came from. If the BLS team is not there, then there might be a problem with the patient being unobserved in a hallway.

 

[mikie]

Side note: I was fortunate enough to see a CT scan of the trunk (thorax & abdomen). Pretty cool. It was during my ED rotation hours. I asked the pt (RN said it was OK) if I could observe the scans from the next room, got consent.

Tech was pointing out what I was seeing. Never seen one 'live,' just the images printed afterward (small and too hard to read for my untrained eyes). It was a kinda cool learning tool but not for BLS care. More for A & P knowledge.

 

[Buzz]

Particularly on runs like that, I'd just have refused to leave the patient until someone signs the form assuming care of the patient while we're not there. I don't care if there is a provider with a higher level of care there, I'm covering my own ***--especially if they're providing their own treatments.


I've noticed quite a few nurses extremely reluctant to hand a chart over anymore when we're about to take a patient citing HIPAA as the reason. Mainly at hospitals sending a patient home, but I've encountered it at a nursing home sending someone out to the ER as well.

 

[VentMedic]

Particularly on runs like that, I'd just have refused to leave the patient until someone signs the form assuming care of the patient while we're not there. I don't care if there is a provider with a higher level of care there, I'm covering my own ***--especially if they're providing their own treatments.

Was it not the purpose of your transport to get the patient to a center that can do the treatments?
Are you going to prevent them from doing the treatments if they don't sign? Were you contracted just for the transport or are you also giving medications from your own box (excluding O2) during transport or for the procedure? Is your monitoring equipment still on the patient?

Yes I can see getting the signature of the person you turned the patient over to but not to hinder patient care in anyway or to imply that they don't know their job. I can now see how some do get a skewed opinion of EMT(P)s. It's all about attitude.

 

[akflightmedic]

Particularly on runs like that, I'd just have refused to leave the patient until someone signs the form assuming care of the patient while we're not there. I don't care if there is a provider with a higher level of care there, I'm covering my own ***--especially if they're providing their own treatments.

You have not done any of us in the EMS field any favors with that statement and that mentality.

 

[Buzz]

Was it not the purpose of your transport to get the patient to a center that can do the treatments?
Are you going to prevent them from doing the treatments if they don't sign? Were you contracted just for the transport or are you also giving medications from your own box (excluding O2) during transport or for the procedure? Is your monitoring equipment still on the patient?

Yes I can see getting the signature of the person you turned the patient over to but not to hinder patient care in anyway or to imply that they don't know their job. I can now see how some do get a skewed opinion of EMT(P)s. It's all about attitude.

You have not done any of us in the EMS field any favors with that statement and that mentality.

What I said may not have come off as intended. It may appear as if I meant that I would leave with the patient, which is not what I intended. I have never been the cause of a delay in treatment from any facility we have transported to. The main time I seem to run into situations similar to the OP is during radiation treatments, though have also run into it with many various doctors appointments. It's just my view that if they won't accept the patient in writing, than my leaving could be construed as abandonment in the event any does happen. I'd prefer not to leave my career up to that variable element.

 

[VentMedic]

The main time I seem to run into situations similar to the OP is during radiation treatments, though have also run into it with many various doctors appointments. It's just my view that if they won't accept the patient in writing, than my leaving could be construed as abandonment in the event any does happen. I'd prefer not to leave my career up to that variable element.

The patient has an appointment?! What are you saying about not accepting the patient? If they do not have an appointment then contact should be made with who sent the person BY the facility to get the matter straightened out. Missing a radiation treatment or any treatment can be detrimental to the patient AND IS NOT YOUR DECISION TO MAKE AS AN EMT. The fact that the patient has a scheduled appointment and the patient signs a consent for THEIR treatment is their acceptance.

If you have paperwork that must be signed to show that you delivered the patient as per your company's requirement then that is how you should explain it.

If you had an obligation to stay until the treatment is finished to avoid return delay, that can be a different issue but does not mean the patient is to be under your direct care the whole time. CT or Radiation therapy is not under the scope of an EMT.

Reread what abandonment consists of. They would be more likely to get in trouble for releasing a patient to your care if the patient required a higher level of care than an EMT-B or even a Paramedic could provide.