EMT License in trouble of being revoked

[cousin4ever]

Thursday August 2, 2012
I work for a private Ambulance company as an EMT and there was an incident where my partner and I transported a patient we should not have and as much as I would love to play stupid and just say it wasn't my fault because I just drove, we are both in it deep. The hospital did not want to accept the patient and when we arrived the nursing staff ripped me a new one.
Our boss told us if he hears from the nurse the next day or at all we were in jeopardy of not just losing our jobs but our licenses.
Monday he spoke with us and informed us that he received a very disgruntled phone call from the nurse. He told us he hopes that she was just venting doesn't report the incident to the county because not only will we (my partner and I be trouble) but so will the company and the facility.
What are the chances that she will call and would I be able to some how regain my license?
Please help me out...

 

[Farmer2DO]

That's pretty vague.

Why shouldn't the patient have been transported?

You need to give more info if you want a decent reply.

 

[DrParasite]

huh????? without the details of what you actually did (and i am not advocating you giving identifying details online), i am genuinely confused.

if the SNF staff not want you to transport the patient, why did you? why did the hospital not want to accept the patient? did the sending facility arrange for someone to accept the patient, and the ER staff didn't want them to? last I checked, the ER can't refuse a patient (the whole the sign does say emergency/ambulance entrance outside).

did the patient want to go? If the sending facility didn't want you to take the patient and the receiving facility didn't want you to take the patient, why did you take the patient? who set the transport up? if you had refused to do the run, what would your boss have done?

what offense did you commit that can warrant you losing your license? very often complaints are made, even threats from others of costing you your license, but more often than not those who are complaining can't cost you your license.

I don't want you to post any information that can get you in trouble in the real world, but I don't think your license is in trouble based on what you said. As long as you followed your agency rules, state policies, and didn't do anything too bad (and no, having a nurse pissed at you isn't grounds for losing your license, no more than having an EMT being pissed at a nurse can get her fired and have her lose her license), you should be fine. As for the job, well, some companies are shadier than others, and sounds like your boss isn't going to have your back on that one, so you might be looking for a new job in the near future.

 

[cousin4ever]

The details

Fair, I posted and was vague about what happened...
We arrived to a facility and my partner kept all the information to himself any one I asked him what was going on. I went to the room and met the patient who has dysphagia and an abnormal posture due to a cab years ago and contractures. I again would ask my partner what was going on and he wouldn't answer me. I had the patient ready to be transferred to our gurney and waited for the nurse to remove th iv and my partner to help me. I checked his vital signs and got something insanely high and when I to,d my partner what I got and again asked what was going on, he didn't tell me but gave me a look like my vita, signs were ridiculous and I was wrong, so I disregarded it and we proceeded to transport the patient to the hospital. En route my partner yells and tells me he is placing the patient on O2 and the dispatch calls and asks me how the patient looked. I describe to him my findings and right there he tells me that the hospital does not want to receive the patient because it is an ALS call not bls because the patient is tachycardic. The nurse at the facility had not given report to the hospital and my partner did not ask if she did either. The nurse had given report after we left and wanted us to take him back, but I was more than half way there. Then I asked my partner what was going on and he yells that the patients resp rate has gone up, and I go code. I get there it was just a disaster. My partner is sweating bullets and can't keep it together... Just full blown panic sets in for him.
(I am skipping the embarrassment he not just put himself through but our employer and me).
When we reach triage the angry nurse comes out and rips me a new one and my partner and the patient are in another room with a nicer nurse and his panic has escalated. He is able to snap out of it to answer the nurse about chief complaint "Tachycardia, weakness, AND abnormal EKG". She asks if he is full code or if he has a DNR and he reverts back into his panicked state and can just answer with a stutter or an "I don't know". I'm on my own trying to calm the patient, who is looking like he is ready to die, and my partner, who completely useless. I take the paper work from my partner and hand them off as we are rushing the patient to the room and the phlebotomist and I are transferring the patient from our gurney to the bed and I threw threw my partner out of the room because he was just a wreck. The nurse is asking me information and all I say is "I know just as much as you do, I just found out the chief complaint with you." She laughs in my face and as I am running out with the gurney, I have to remind my partner to get a signature but I also have to remind him "No legal documentation in red ink," I grab a black pen, get the signature and run out knowing everything I worked hard for was at jeopardy.
So there are the details and a lot was left out for the sake of not wanting to fully embarrass this guy. But anyone who knows what happened will know who I am and know who I am talking about.

 

[Aidey]

A hospital with an ED wanted to refuse a patient because they were "ALS"? That doesn't make a ton of sense.

 

[sir.shocksalot]

I am not really sure what I just read but I did laugh through parts of it. So a pt with some wonky vitals and an "abnormal EKG" per a nurse should not have been transported? Really all I got out of that was 2 ricky rescue EMTs with inadequate training, education, and oversight had a mildly to moderately sick elderly patient that they freaked out over.

Also, unless you are an EMT in some place other than the US (although this smells like it happened in California), EMTALA laws absolutely prohibit ERs from refusing patients. The patient got to the ER so I don't see a huge issue, although I recommend taking an ativan for you and your partner if you ever see another sickish patient.

 

[Sandog]

Also, unless you are an EMT in some place other than the US (although this smells like it happened in California)

Whats with the Ca. crack? Due to the absurd nature of that post, that's quite an insult to EMS in California. Be just my luck it will be in Ca. :glare:

 

[Medic Tim]

I am guessing this was a scheduled ift. Did you divert to another hospital or continue on to the original? Were you supposed to call 911 or als for this pt? What were the vitals? Did you radio the hospital a pt report?

I may be missing something but what was there to freak out about pt condition wise. This Sounds like a run of the mill transfer where an inexperienced emt freaked out over nothing.

 

[Medic Tim]

Whats with the Ca. crack? Due to the absurd nature of that post, that's quite an insult to EMS in California. Be just my luck it will be in Ca. :glare:

You can tell she is from ca from her previous posts.

 

[bigbaldguy]

Thread closed per forum rule

No Legal Advice or Attorney-Client Relationship

Information contained on or made available through EMTLife forums is not intended to and does not constitute legal advice, recommendations, mediation or counseling of any kind under any circumstance and no attorney-client relationship is formed. Do not act on or rely on any information from EMTLife Message Boards without consulting with a licensed attorney.