Got kicked out of paramedic school for disability, is this a sign?

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SpecialK said:
Why such a horrible, nasty attitude?

If this bloke has a genuine disability, isn't he afforded legal protections against unjust discrimination by EEO or human rights legislation?

Sounds a bit dodge mate, I'd definitely look into that.
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Legislation and "human rights" policies are not a substitute for the ability to do something due to a physical or mental disability. Just like how a paraplegic cannot effectively be a firefighter or a commando. If you cannot perform the job, no law or social-justice experiment will ever get you to do the job successfully, and in this particular job, personal failures alienate and kill.
 
As an instructor at a college teaching EMT and Paramedic I can tell you that most college's have a policy in dealing with disabilities, real or percieved. That is not my job, that is the responsibility of a specialist. I will refer the student to that person and abide by whatever accommodations that specialist made for the the student. If you did not disclose your issues and seek counseling prior to being removed from the program for failure to perform that is on you.

However you have to bear in mind that this is a highly interactive field with a lot of autonomy and responsibility. Depending on the level of your disability you may not be able to perform, doesn't mean there isn't a field out there that you can excel in, it just might not be this one.

I have a student currently who has Asperbergers, he disclosed it, I referred him, he sought no accommodation and said he would make it on his own merit or he would wash out. So far he has pushed himself and is making his way okay. But he had some major issues to overcome.

If you feel discriminated against then go see the dean of the program about it and follow their counsel, accusing someone of discrimination on the internet smells of lack personal responsibility. It certainly is time for self reflection on your part. And good luck in your path!

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Disability protections are a good thing and usually span three categories in my mind:
1. Preventing arbitrary rules or modalities in school or the workplace from blocking those with disabilities who could otherwise perform the end goal.
2. Preventing prejudgement of those with disabilities who deserve fair consideration in all realms society.
3. Preventing continued systemic infrastructure from unduly excluding the disabled.

#3 is things like requiring close captioning, chirping sidewalks, wheelchair ramps, etc.
It doesn't apply here.

#2 prevents an employer or school etc from rejecting, ejecting, or making life hard for someone because they have a disability. e.g., "people with ADHD couldn't possibly be a good at R&D because it requires concentration so you cannot apply for a transfer to that division."

I don't think it applies here unless the OP thinks that he would have been given remediation or opportunity up until he revealed his condition and the school treated it like "a final straw."

#1 is worth good discussion after Rocket's post. It is where we see the idea of reasonable accommodation to make a disability irrelevant for arbitrary items with reasonable alternatives.

As applied to school, it has many applications such as recording lectures, test readers, etc because the didactic environment is meant to impart and measure didactic knowledge and the methodology for doing so has very little correlation with the real world application of said knowledge. That is a fancy way of saying that being really good at traditional note taking during classroom lecture or being able to tolerate a noisy environment during an essay test has very little to do with say, being a nurse or an engineer (I won't be surprised when someone attempts to make a tortured counter argument). What is important is mastery of the knowledge.

Things get a bit more grey in social/professional interactions in professional programs. What reasonable accommodations could the OP have hoped for that were not made?

In the workplace, reasonable accommodation could mean that someone with muscular dystrophy hired as a greeter could reasonably ask to be allowed to sit on a stool to great customers, but probably cannot find reasonable accommodation as a wildland firefighter. Someone with ADD could reasonably request to wear noise cancelling earphones if in an open office. Someone with depression might utilize FMLA without being fired.

But someone who has paralyzing anxiety in high pressure situations probably cannot suggest any reasonable accommodations for a position as a hostage negotiator. A quadriplegic cannot suggest any reasonable accommodations as a white water rafting guide. These are extreme examples where the disabled person is by definition an impossible fit.

For those in the grey area, alot of it is about coping strategies because there are no reasonable accommodations to request.
 
@RocketMedic original post was spot on.
You have to become honest with your self. If you believe that your anxiety could EVER potentially harm/kill a person, do you really want to take that risk? I understand why you're holding on. You have invested a lot of time. Judging by your posts on this thread I'm thinking you already know the answer to "if you should stay in the industry or not". Either that or you're fishing for people to hop onto the discrimination bandwagon with you. Which I don't see flying over too well here, atleast in this instance. I know people who have anxiety and i know people who are able to overcome their anxiety when they need to. They compartmentalize. If you can't do that I dont believe you should work in this field anymore. I don't mean any of this to portray me as an *******. I just want you to be truly honest with yourself. Good luck man. I hope you figure it out.
 
It is of course a sign. Here's the thing, you've had to overcome or at least work around a variety of obstacles on the way to even becoming a paramedic. These are not likely going to stop if you become certified. Do you want to spend your career dealing with employment and personal issues or do you want to end up working as a true clinician? The latter does not have time for the former.
 
I went to medic school with a student diagnosed with Asperger's. He did great in class until his internship which he could not pass for similar reasons of anxiety and interacting with patients. I offered to work with him and run scenarios. Because he was comfortable he did well, but never transitioned to the field and never was able to test because he couldn't get through his internship. The teacher offered him another chance and tried to accommodate him out of state so no rumors and hear say would follow. Ultimately the student decided to to pursue becoming a paramedic and instead became a tutor at the college and a life guard where he was comfortable working and interacting.

A lot of your ore reqs will transfer over to other programs. Radiology technicians make great money and do valuable work. Don't give up but if it's not a fit move on to something you can Excel in.
 
While it is possible that you may have been kicked out of paramedic school because of the effects of your disability, you really cannot use it as an excuse because you did not disclose the disability from the outset. The fact that you brought it up at the end of your time in school, to me, speaks to the fact that you are grasping at straws. I pretty much guarantee you that the school has made a record of this, likely in some detail, and that if you were to attempt to sue them using discrimination as the basis for your lawsuit, you will fail. I do not bring this up at this point to criticize your ability or lack thereof, I do not know your true ability. What I do know is that in the future, you should very much consider disclosing your disability to any school or employer that you wish to associate with so they can make reasonable accommodations for you. If you do not do this at the outset, or at the very least very early on in your "career" you will find it very difficult to make a disability claim later on when you are either dismissed or face some sort of discipline that is the result of the effects of the disability.
 
LifeOfAMedicStudent said:
I was good with skills. There was a time during my break I had to step away a little longer to regroup.

My anxiety came from being in an environment not knowing the people I worked with. I was not even from there. I felt paranoid that they did not like me.
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Anxiety from the environment? Paranoid? You don't belong in health care.

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LifeOfAMedicStudent said:
No, becauas I felt at the time it was not going to hinder me. It doesn't when I bring it up. Discrimination IS discrimination.
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No, it's not. You didn't disclose your disability. They're not mind-readers.

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LifeOfAMedicStudent said:
Because it was later disclosed and that is when they dismissed me.
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They probably didn't like your lack of integrity and dishonesty.

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I've seen posts like these over time and I have to ask what is this person thinking? A disabled person has the right to ask for accommodations, but they need to be honest and realistic with themselves. "Us medics" know how chaotic the environment can be. Responding to the "shots fired" in the projects, "nature unknown", multi-MVA on the highway, etc. And this guy is paranoid because people don't like him, or so he thought? I caught hell when I was in1 out of 8 who passed NREMT-P from my city. I heard much BS and I didn't care less. I wasn't there to be liked. I was there to take care of people. And, BTW, they didn't like military guys like me. Screw 'em. However, debilitating anxiety and paranoia have no place in EMS, FF, LEO.

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I really can't believe what I am reading. Gawd, you blokes sound horrible. I can't believe you have such an attitude towards somebody. Maybe the bits and pieces I have heard from various people are true ... maybe Americans really are just mean and nasty people intrinsically because of how your country runs on individualism so too bad for anybody else.
 
What part do you take offense to?

A majority of this thread stems from the emerging from under the bridge quality of the OPs other posts. The OP aside, I think there's some applicable advice in this thread.
 
SpecialK said:
I really can't believe what I am reading. Gawd, you blokes sound horrible. I can't believe you have such an attitude towards somebody. Maybe the bits and pieces I have heard from various people are true ... maybe Americans really are just mean and nasty people intrinsically because of how your country runs on individualism so too bad for anybody else.
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What was so bad about anything that was said? Nothing said was from "individualism" or some sort of malicious intent. It was just realistic truth. Standards are standards for a reason. People should not be discriminated against just for the sake of doing so, nor should things be allowed to slide by when some form of basic level of proficiency is necessary. I don't think anyone has a problem with him pursing Paramedicine with an Aspergers diagnosis. However, if his situation is one that prevents him from being able to focus on task at hand in a classroom setting, then how can it reasonably be assumed he could function in a higher stress environment as potentially the sole ALS provider in charge of managing the call?

We gotta draw the line somewhere. Whether it be anxiety that interferes with the ability to work in this field or being so burnt out that you stop caring about being a quality provider, sometimes people have to figure out that this isn't the best path for them anymore. There is nothing wrong with that, that's life. Learn, regroup, move on.
 
MackTheKnife said:
They probably didn't like your lack of integrity and dishonesty.

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Seriously wtf are you going on about here? There are many legitimate reasons to question OPs fit for the field, but this Crap is beyond the pale.

He was under no obligation to disclose. There are many risks to disclosure especially if there really is no gain as there were no reasonable accommodations to request. Not disclosing is not something that you can attack his integrity over. Comments like that are wildly inapropriate.

@SpecialK had a reasonable response to such tripe.
 
Summit said:
Seriously wtf are you going on about here? There are many legitimate reasons to question OPs fit for the field, but this Crap is beyond the pale.

He was under no obligation to disclose. There are many risks to disclosure especially if there really is no gain as there were no reasonable accommodations to request. Not disclosing is not something that you can attack his integrity over. Comments like that are wildly inapropriate.

@SpecialK had a reasonable response to such tripe.
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No obligation to disclose? Correct. Claiming discrimination because of his undisclosed disability? Horse crap.

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Buy insurance AFTER the event...effective business model, eh? :)
 
akflightmedic said:
Buy insurance AFTER the event...effective business model, eh? :)
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Yeah, you can't fix stupid according to Ron White.

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Even before seeing the links to your previous posts, I saw some red flags in this thread from you alone.

You may not know your partner at all, sometimes you don't work with the same people and you cant continually second guess yourself when patient lives are on the line.

You may have a great relationship with your partner, but then end up at a scene with multi unit or multi department response. No one cares if 'you like them' you are there to do a job

It sounds to me as if your program has done you a favor. *projecting here* I would venture to guess that if you have completed any rotation time already, your preceptors may have noted your difficulty with interaction. I wonder if it carries over to your patient rapport more than you realize.

You also ask for feedback, and when people offer to provide it and request more information, you flat out ignore their posts.

Best of luck, but I would seriously consider if it's time to throw in the towel.
 
LifeOfAMedicStudent said:
I think my biggest problem is interaction with co-workers, not patient care. My social skills lack in some ways.

In terms of patient care and skills, I am decent. I am not perfect. Yes, I can still learn a lot as I am still somewhat green. But I am not any different than any other guy who has worked in EMS for two years.
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Patients are not robots. Very little of EMS is Trauma or Mega Codes. 90% of patient care skills are social skills.

I also have a disability. Last year I was diagnosed with a genetic heart condition. I had to take a very serious look at whether or not continuing in EMS was what was best for my patients. I quit Search and Rescue and got promoted in my EMS job to a position where I am providing limited patient care.

Maybe there is something similar to what you do now where you would not need the critical social skills that EMS requires?


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