Dropped a Patient

[lmounkey88]

So need advice. I dropped a patient and I am pretty sure I am going to be let go. I know if I apply to another BLS position they will most likely ask why I don't work at my old job anymore. So my question is if I should tell them about why I got fired? If not, should I make an excuse?
I know it is not good to lie, but I don't think they will want to hire a person that dropped a patient when there are so many other EMT's applying that haven't done that. Thanks for the advice.

 

[NomadicMedic]

First, never lie. Second, you may want to consider a job in retail or move far away, as you're most likely done with EMS.

 

[Brandon O]

Tell them what happened. In my experience, most places understand that stuff happens, but have no tolerance for evasion or BS.

Depending on circumstances you may just be able to leave it off your resume. But if you're in a small area, or even a busy one, expect they'll hear. This business is incestuous.

 

[TeamCutz]

I am curious as to what happened that caused you to drop the patient.

 

[teedubbyaw]

First, never lie. Second, you may want to consider a job in retail or move far away, as you're most likely done with EMS.

Ouch.

 

[DeepFreeze]

I mean are we talking a full flip over the side while full height to the stretcher? Or are we talking about out of the ambulance? Falls/Drops can happen, if you hurt the patient that sucks, if you hurt or injure your partner that is also bad. But we are all human and make mistakes.

Do you have anything else in your closet, or is this just one little incident. If it is just one little incident, as long as you are open and forward about it....and your supervisor is understanding, you might be ok.

 

[mycrofft]

Ideal sequence of events: pt falls, you make sure the pt is ok and being cared for, and immediately call the boss while taking notes. Say objectively what happened. Answer her/his questions, hopefully mostly yes or no. Follow orders.

Losing a lift might be one thing. Doing something against the rules or leaving the ambulance litter fully raised and without someone in physical control of it….not so easy, but not insurmountable if you are a rookie and otherwise copacetic.

Wait to see that they have to say, then act. You might be ok. Lots of us have dropped people in our time.

 

[lmounkey88]

Sorry, I have been busy so I have not replied back. Thanks for the advice, looks like if I get an interview, I should not lie about it.

So, I am fired (not surprised). If you guys are curious, I dropped the patient by taking off the latch too soon and the end of the gurney hit the ground and it flipped to the side while near the ground. Thankfully, the patient only had light abrasions on the side of her forearm and hand.

Anways, I am not too worried about working in the ems field too much but I am worried if this will affect me in another health care field like being a RN or PA or something else in the health care field. I already have enough hours working as an emt but do you guys know if it will affect that too much for the other fields?

 

[wanderingmedic]

Anways, I am not too worried about working in the ems field too much but I am worried if this will affect me in another health care field like being a RN or PA or something else in the health care field. I already have enough hours working as an emt but do you guys know if it will affect that too much for the other fields?

I don't think it would effect other fields in healthcare much. Most people outside EMS do not even know what kind of questions to ask regarding EMS experience.

 

[Medic Tim]

Sorry, I have been busy so I have not replied back. Thanks for the advice, looks like if I get an interview, I should not lie about it.



So, I am fired (not surprised). If you guys are curious, I dropped the patient by taking off the latch too soon and the end of the gurney hit the ground and it flipped to the side while near the ground. Thankfully, the patient only had light abrasions on the side of her forearm and hand.



Anways, I am not too worried about working in the ems field too much but I am worried if this will affect me in another health care field like being a RN or PA or something else in the health care field. I already have enough hours working as an emt but do you guys know if it will affect that too much for the other fields?

Other healthcare fields treat situations like this different( from what I have seen and heard ). Ems leans towards discipline while nursing and others focus on remediation and educating . You should be fine.

 

[Brandon O]

Logging your first (hopefully only) "really, they fired me for that?" experience in private EMS is an important notch under your belt.

I'm not saying it happens to everyone, but, well...

I will add the small piece of advice that there may not be any reason for such things, and sometimes the reason is to make it easier to cover their butts after an accident like this; but sometimes it's because they just don't like you or don't want you around for other reasons, and this was the last straw/excuse. Life started to make more sense when I understood that.

 

[wanderingmedic]

Other healthcare fields treat situations like this different( from what I have seen and heard ). Ems leans towards discipline while nursing and others focus on remediation and educating . You should be fine.

^This^

Nursing especially. I have seen a nurse (when I was a tech) roll a pt off the bed. She was given "fall precaution awareness" training but retained her job. Dropping pt's, falling pt's, pt's hitting the ground hard, (however you want to say it) is a relatively common occurrence in nursing and honestly not that big of a deal (unless you get sued, or seriously hurt someone). I even had a pt who fell the shift before (this was at a different facility than the first mentioned incident), but the fall was never documented. Come to found out later that the massive headache the pt was having...was a hemorrhagic stroke. No one was disciplined on that incident to my knowledge either.

If you were in an RN interview and the incident somehow came up, I think they would understand and it wouldn't be a big deal.

 

[lmounkey88]

Cool, thanks guys. I feel a bit more relieved.