Good ways to kill patients

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281mustang

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I've been out of school for a about 2 years and will be out in the field in a few weeks. I have no EMS experience beyond clinicals and am obviously a bit apprehensive about taking on the responsibility.

Use this thread to list common pitfalls that can result in death/harm to patients. Things along the lines of giving an inferior MI w/ right side involvement nitro, overhydrating shock patients, decreasing preload as a result of overventilating during codes, etc.

I may not be a 'good' Medic right out of the gate but if I can acquire the necessary experience without killing anyone in the process I'll be content with that.

Thanks!
 
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When in a cardiovert situation, forget to sync your monitor.

-Forgetting to secure your oxygen bottle to your stretcher.

-Forget to flush your IV line before you run it into your Patient.

-fart in your Patients face and make him die of muster gas poisoning.

-Don't verify your intubation with ETCO2 and lung sounds.

-Didn't read the signs and fed the Paramedic.
 
Failing to maintain a high level of skill with a BVM - as well as an eagerness to use it - will put every one of your airway patients at serious risk.
 
When going to synchronize cardiovert a patient, make sure the monitor is set to sync AND the monitor is picking up the QRS portion of the beat, some people with large T waves will fool the monitor into synchronize shocking them at the wrong time....
 
An unrecognized tube in the goose. Kills 'em every time.
 
Becoming complacent
 
Driving like an idiot.
 
-- Letting anything except bleeding control delay transport of your hemorrhaging patient to the trauma center

-- Letting anything except defibrillation interrupt or compromise high-quality chest compressions in your cardiac arrest

-- Taking away a patient's airway when you're not sure you can give it back

Funny thing is, you'll probably only ever get criticized for the last one... the others will be good clean kills.
 
Getting so wrapped in the fancies that you lose sight of your role and the basics.

Not learning how to do a rapid survey starting as you first see the pt, and keep them alive until you have time to do a secondary…strike that. You are constantly assessing the pt. Just learn what normal, abnormal, and really abnormal present and don't stay took long on scene.
 
Being indecisive and sitting around over thinking situations. If your patient needs meds, procedures, etc, they need it. Being indecisive an getting decision paralysis leading you to do nothing can kill a patient just as quickly as anything.
 
Medication errors(confirm the 6 rights), moving a cardiac arrest patient early, instead of working them for at least 20 mins. before transferring to the ambulance (maybe not an issue if a Lucas or Autopulse is in operation), bagging too fast during a cardiac arrest/low flow state (which impedes venous return), or bagging too quickly when there are signs of increased ICP (eliminates CO2 > increased cerebral vasoconstriction > reduces or cuts off cerebral blood flow), taking critical patients outside to the bus after just vitals/ECG/O2, to treat them in the ambulance when they need timely interventions, walking unstable patients, treating the ACS pt with meds before getting a 12-lead, which may erase any evidence of a STEMI, being lazy in not using the shoulder harness to properly secure the patient to the cot
 
46Young said:
not using the shoulder harness to properly secure the patient to the cot
Click to expand...

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This is the one that bugs the everliving snot out of me. So many people I work with don't do this regularly on their own and I'm usually the one that initiates it. In a crash situation, it really is the only thing keeping them from shooting forward. If they are on a backboard it is imperative that you feed those shoulder straps through the top hand holes and not just over the board.

Not using shoulder straps on gurney during transport = major pet peeve of mine.
 
Chris07 said:
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This is the one that bugs the everliving snot out of me. So many people I work with don't do this regularly on their own and I'm usually the one that initiates it. In a crash situation, it really is the only thing keeping them from shooting forward. If they are on a backboard it is imperative that you feed those shoulder straps through the top hand holes and not just over the board.

Not using shoulder straps on gurney during transport = major pet peeve of mine.
Click to expand...

There are ambulance companies in Southern California that use shoulder straps?
 
Blood letting (unless they have hemochromatosis), leeches, and of course bicarb.
 
JPINFV said:
There are ambulance companies in Southern California that use shoulder straps?
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I'm pretty sure there aren't companies in NJ that have them.

In fact, my former employer's supervisor actually removed them from the new cot when it was delivered. And I don't miss that supervisor one bit.
 
DrParasite said:
I'm pretty sure there aren't companies in NJ that have them.

In fact, my former employer's supervisor actually removed them from the new cot when it was delivered. And I don't miss that supervisor one bit.
Click to expand...

M-a-d illegal.
 
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