thatJeffguy
Forum Lieutenant
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I'm new to the field and I'm just STUNNED at how many people are grossly incompetent.
Some providers complain about the high number of "BS" calls yet when they come to the scene of a serious call they do the ABC's (and usually not even a blood sweep or skin check for the "C"), immobilize without exposing, attempt a PMH on the patient en route to the hospital and that's it, MAYBE one set of vitals if "there is time" (i.e. if they can actually auscultate a b/p with the driver going Mach 1 on windy bumpy roads to shave those critical forty seconds off a transfer).
Other providers spend thousand of dollars on gizmos that rarely relate to patient care and balk at the suggestion that they take additional classes (such as PHTLS, or whatever).
Still others show up at their PHTLS classes and ask how short the class will be and encourage the instructors to skip slides and entire lectures so that they can leave early.
The overall attitude of a great deal of providers upon arrival seems to be; "How quickly can I go through my matrix of questions, determine that it's a 'bs' call, then treat the patient in a rude and condescending manner all the time ignoring the basics of human communication skills let alone anything that might resemble actual patient care or adherence to the protocols?" Once the patient says whatever magic words the "provider" is looking for and he deems it a "BS" call, then it's "Walk to the ambulance, sit here and don't move" while they drive to the hospital to present a near-blank trip report sheet to the nurse.
When I read trip sheets, I wonder if the provider had their adolescent child write the narrative. Basic words are misspelled, medical terminology is frequently improvised and the narrative rarely matches the actuality of on-scene care.
On actual trauma calls it seems most providers are more keen on going through the motions than understanding what's happening and thinking critically about it. For example, lots of providers around here hate the KED and refuse to use it. They slap on a C-collar, then start a series of abrupt twisting and jerking measures to get the patient into what appears to be a semi-Fowlers position, floating in the air above the LSB, with one person supporting the weight of the upper body via the c-collar and what I suppose they'd categorize as "spinal immobilization" (of the curved, non-supported spine that was just twisted as the torso moved and the legs did not). The patient is then immediately boarded, secured and moved to the ambulance. I've only seen three patients have their clothes cut off by -b's, but about a hundred times where the -b asks PERMISSION to cut clothes off and then doesn't even offer an explanation as to why it's so critical to do so.
Is this seriously the profession I'm getting into?
Some providers complain about the high number of "BS" calls yet when they come to the scene of a serious call they do the ABC's (and usually not even a blood sweep or skin check for the "C"), immobilize without exposing, attempt a PMH on the patient en route to the hospital and that's it, MAYBE one set of vitals if "there is time" (i.e. if they can actually auscultate a b/p with the driver going Mach 1 on windy bumpy roads to shave those critical forty seconds off a transfer).
Other providers spend thousand of dollars on gizmos that rarely relate to patient care and balk at the suggestion that they take additional classes (such as PHTLS, or whatever).
Still others show up at their PHTLS classes and ask how short the class will be and encourage the instructors to skip slides and entire lectures so that they can leave early.
The overall attitude of a great deal of providers upon arrival seems to be; "How quickly can I go through my matrix of questions, determine that it's a 'bs' call, then treat the patient in a rude and condescending manner all the time ignoring the basics of human communication skills let alone anything that might resemble actual patient care or adherence to the protocols?" Once the patient says whatever magic words the "provider" is looking for and he deems it a "BS" call, then it's "Walk to the ambulance, sit here and don't move" while they drive to the hospital to present a near-blank trip report sheet to the nurse.
When I read trip sheets, I wonder if the provider had their adolescent child write the narrative. Basic words are misspelled, medical terminology is frequently improvised and the narrative rarely matches the actuality of on-scene care.
On actual trauma calls it seems most providers are more keen on going through the motions than understanding what's happening and thinking critically about it. For example, lots of providers around here hate the KED and refuse to use it. They slap on a C-collar, then start a series of abrupt twisting and jerking measures to get the patient into what appears to be a semi-Fowlers position, floating in the air above the LSB, with one person supporting the weight of the upper body via the c-collar and what I suppose they'd categorize as "spinal immobilization" (of the curved, non-supported spine that was just twisted as the torso moved and the legs did not). The patient is then immediately boarded, secured and moved to the ambulance. I've only seen three patients have their clothes cut off by -b's, but about a hundred times where the -b asks PERMISSION to cut clothes off and then doesn't even offer an explanation as to why it's so critical to do so.
Is this seriously the profession I'm getting into?
seriously though, I wouldn't expose an alert and oriented patient bare naked in front of a gaping crowd, unless I saw massive bleeding or frothing blood. A sheet, some police officers, instant privacy.
