cspinebrah
Forum Crew Member
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Welcome to the world of ems! <_<
I can't stand being a paramedic.
- Thread starter Montbell
- Start date
I agree, and that is why I am here. If I get this upset when a partner freaks out on me what will happen to my view of this job (or even life) when I am unable to resuscitate my first pediatric arrest?
I do not have a set partner. Since I pick up all of the unwanted shifts I have a totally different partner every shift.
Hunter
Forum Asst. Chief
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These things are all part of the job, from the partners who text and drive to having 3 cardiac arrests with 0 saves in one shift you deal with it, talk to your partner if she blows up on you like that then she's obviously unprofessional and shouldn't be given respect or the time of day, I'd talk to management if my partner was unwilling to cooperate. As for the code you don't bring back, do what you can, know that you can't save everyone and figure out a constructive way to release stress.
unleashedfury
Forum Asst. Chief
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Unfortunately a situation we all face, Cardiac arrest of all ages. Pre-hospital arrests are rarely successful. I know for a fact I have probably ran hundreds of cardiac arrests in my career. I got return of pulses on 5 as far as extubated and walking out of the hospital and living a productive life
My first peds arrest freaked me too, I just took a step back and breathed deep and worked to the best of my ability, If your partner has a problem with that she is of the same level of certification I would gladly say if you don't like the way I do it. Your more than welcome to come over and be the lead tech on this call..
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The first pedi arrest wasn't he hard one. The last one I ran messed me up though.
unleashedfury
Forum Asst. Chief
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I think its harder for me now since I have kids.. cause you can relate to the family and the situation.
NomadicMedic
I know a guy who knows a guy.
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I had a pedi code on Wednesday. The baby was a month younger than my 4 month old. It rocked me. :/
unleashedfury
Forum Asst. Chief
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Caught that the other day, in the no topic thread. It does mess with you. My kids are older now 9 and 6 but it always hits home when I get a pediatric patient. The worst one for me was a CO poisoning that had a 8 and 6 yr old the 8 yr old was less responsive but the 6 yr old reminded me exactly of my son kinda happy go lucky. and rambunctious
TheLocalMedic
Grumpy Badger
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Does anyone else get the sense that cumulative stress may be a big factor in the OP's life? Granted, they haven't been in the field that long, but I have a hard time believing that one partner's behavior is responsible for the way they are feeling.
Until recently, I hadn't given a lot of thought to the whole stress/PTSD aspect of the job. I figured that we all had some really :censored::censored::censored::censored:ty experiences that we had to work through, and that was that. I mean, I went through my own period of burnout through the years, and still have calls that haunt me to this day. There were absolutely times that I dreaded going to work, and I can remember attributing that feeling to something that a coworker did or some other incident.
But the more I reflect on my career, the more I realize that most of those burnout/dread moments are probably attributable to high-stress calls that I went through rather than what I was actually blaming as the cause. My wife has become fairly adept a seeking out the source of my psychological unease over the years, and I am learning that it can take weeks, months or sometimes even years for my stress to manifest. Perhaps the stress of being in a new career where we routinely see people on the worst day of their lives is affecting the OP? Maybe their partner's behavior was the so-called "last straw" that finally punched their stress button.
Until recently, I hadn't given a lot of thought to the whole stress/PTSD aspect of the job. I figured that we all had some really :censored::censored::censored::censored:ty experiences that we had to work through, and that was that. I mean, I went through my own period of burnout through the years, and still have calls that haunt me to this day. There were absolutely times that I dreaded going to work, and I can remember attributing that feeling to something that a coworker did or some other incident.
But the more I reflect on my career, the more I realize that most of those burnout/dread moments are probably attributable to high-stress calls that I went through rather than what I was actually blaming as the cause. My wife has become fairly adept a seeking out the source of my psychological unease over the years, and I am learning that it can take weeks, months or sometimes even years for my stress to manifest. Perhaps the stress of being in a new career where we routinely see people on the worst day of their lives is affecting the OP? Maybe their partner's behavior was the so-called "last straw" that finally punched their stress button.
Leprechaun
Forum Ride Along
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It sounds like like you are experiencing a reaction to stress. This is a stressful profession, not only because of the things we see and deal with, but also because of the hours, shifts, random work patterns, sleep depravation, etc. etc.. We all have worked with that person you had the driving issue with, but don't let that affect you or your dedication to work. There are unprofessional and rude people in every job.
I doubt your patient care skills have been affected but your empathy towards some has been. That's completely normal. We all see the patients that have caused their own medical issues through years of excess and we have all picked up the drunk that really doesn't need an ambulance and will ring again tomorrow and the next day and so on. I will be the first to admit that I have looked at some of these patients as a waste of my time but it never affected my treatment of them. It's part of the job and in time you'll accept that we not only treat acute cases if illness and injury but we see loads of social cases also.
Don't let these incidents cloud what drove you to become a paramedic.
I doubt your patient care skills have been affected but your empathy towards some has been. That's completely normal. We all see the patients that have caused their own medical issues through years of excess and we have all picked up the drunk that really doesn't need an ambulance and will ring again tomorrow and the next day and so on. I will be the first to admit that I have looked at some of these patients as a waste of my time but it never affected my treatment of them. It's part of the job and in time you'll accept that we not only treat acute cases if illness and injury but we see loads of social cases also.
Don't let these incidents cloud what drove you to become a paramedic.
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mycrofft
Still crazy but elsewhere
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OP, a few hipshots:
Hard as it sounds, you must be able to disengage your emotions. If you were at BurgerKink, you wouldn't feel angry selling a burger to a heavy person. That's part of professionalism and doing what you are paid for. Besides, impartiality is implicit in what health care providers do. Don't identify with patients, don't judge them against either you aspirations or fears.
Your co-worker (NOT a "partner", by far!) needs to have another co-worker. Like maybe one of the managers. Just tell them you request not to be scheduled with that person anymore, don't drop the dime on what's happening unless it can be done anonymously or it seems to be a good idea to you (such as if that person begins to make your "workplace hostile", hint hint).
Ask if "bottom scraping" (getting all the leftover shifts and doubling-back a lot) is part of getting into the staffing rotation or is it part of life there. If it's for newbies, ask how long it usually lasts, then mark your calendar.
PS: enlist your boss as a mentor, or get your boss to suggest one.
With 100 employees, that is a wide expanse of control for presumably one or two managers. Nonetheless, start to look around especially as you accrue more experience so if another company gets your attention, go for it with no hard feelings, not waiting for a crash (literally).
Hard as it sounds, you must be able to disengage your emotions. If you were at BurgerKink, you wouldn't feel angry selling a burger to a heavy person. That's part of professionalism and doing what you are paid for. Besides, impartiality is implicit in what health care providers do. Don't identify with patients, don't judge them against either you aspirations or fears.
Your co-worker (NOT a "partner", by far!) needs to have another co-worker. Like maybe one of the managers. Just tell them you request not to be scheduled with that person anymore, don't drop the dime on what's happening unless it can be done anonymously or it seems to be a good idea to you (such as if that person begins to make your "workplace hostile", hint hint).
Ask if "bottom scraping" (getting all the leftover shifts and doubling-back a lot) is part of getting into the staffing rotation or is it part of life there. If it's for newbies, ask how long it usually lasts, then mark your calendar.
PS: enlist your boss as a mentor, or get your boss to suggest one.
With 100 employees, that is a wide expanse of control for presumably one or two managers. Nonetheless, start to look around especially as you accrue more experience so if another company gets your attention, go for it with no hard feelings, not waiting for a crash (literally).
emschick1985
Medic
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No this usually sets in after a year or so. If you are feeling this way already, get out now!!!! I am at 4.5 years and actually have an exit plan now and I couldn't be happier about it!!
teedubbyaw
Forum Deputy Chief
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Please check dates of thread before replying.
planetmike
Forum Lieutenant
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I don’t get why people get so torqued about people replying on-topic to old threads. If a new reply goes off-topic, that’s bad. And yes, teedubbyaw and I have gone off-topic. See http://emtlife.com/threads/suggsted-addition-to-community-rules.38463/ for a discussion of posting on old posts.
MonkeyArrow
Forum Asst. Chief
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You and I have both responded to the thread you linked and there is no general consensus, as seen by the wide array of answers.
Meursault
Organic Mechanic
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Having gone through something similar, as a new employee, your first big argument with a partner can be the moment when the bottom drops out and you realize you're working in a toxic culture: no one cares about your safety concerns, no one's there to advocate for you, and all management sees is two employees arguing, one senior and one new.
That will make you hate your job almost instantly. The solution is to find a new company quickly (without quitting), or if you won't do that, find a new partner immediately.
Angel
Paramedic
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OP hasn't been around since jan...a year almost....just throwing that out there
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The consensus of the Community Leaders is that if people wish to make on topic responses to old threads, they are free to do so.
Ewok Jerky
PA-C
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I just wonder how people even find these threads.
PotatoMedic
Has no idea what I'm doing.
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The search function. Another tool we berate people for not using.