My BIGGEST pet peeves

Working 911, I wore gloves during any initial patient contact.

Working IFT, I rarely wore gloves on initial patient contact unless I was informed by staff that the patient was on any precautions.

Either way, once I had chance to assess the scene for myself, I could make a determination if I needed to continue with the PPE's, increase them, or remove them.
 
Elk Oil said:
I'm just going to go ahead and continue to be wrong.

And I ALWAYS put on a pair of gloves before licking a door knob.
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Then one could argue that you are a danger to your immunocompromised patients.

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ffemt8978 said:
Working 911, I wore gloves during any initial patient contact.

Working IFT, I rarely wore gloves on initial patient contact unless I was informed by staff that the patient was on any precautions.

Either way, once I had chance to assess the scene for myself, I could make a determination if I needed to continue with the PPE's, increase them, or remove them.
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Maybe my relaxed attitude towards gloves is because i have worked ift long enough to educate myself on my patients communicable diseases.

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Epi-do said:
.The need for any type of PPE is situation dependent. Not every patient requires the use of all PPE available to us. Heck, despite what is drilled into us in EMT class, not every patient requires gloves. It's a shame that as a whole, EMS doesn't truly understand what PPE is or how to effectively and appropriately use it.
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Thank you for making my point much more eloquently than I could. It's not wearing gloves that irks me. It's the lack of education on how to assess the situation and over reliance on one item that causes veins in my forehead to bulge.
 
Eh. Break out the Level 3 suits.

It is refreshing not to hear the old chestnut "Don't you know an AIDS viron is small enough to get through the pores in latex?".

Yeah, and if rattlesnakes could fly we'd be in trouble.
 
Wavers in situations where the location is obvious. Like a massive accident and the a bystander waves enthusiastically saying later they didn't want you to miss it or drive past of some s**t.

When you turn up for insignificant complaint where the pt is ambulant reasonably well for all intents and purposes and there are 2-6 cars in the driveway with 3-15 relative sitting around looking worried. One day I'll have the balls to suggest that one of the 190 people in the living room might have taken the pt with the runny nose down to hospital.


RE gloves, I know they're only necessary to put them on in certain situations, but you really do never know what you're going to find where you get in there. Pausing to apply gloves in front of people sometimes bothers them and it interrupts my flow. I wear gloves into most jobs then ditch them once I know more about whats going on.
 
Melclin said:
Wavers in situations where the location is obvious. Like a massive accident and the a bystander waves enthusiastically saying later they didn't want you to miss it or drive past of some s**t.

When you turn up for insignificant complaint where the pt is ambulant reasonably well for all intents and purposes and there are 2-6 cars in the driveway with 3-15 relative sitting around looking worried. One day I'll have the balls to suggest that one of the 190 people in the living room might have taken the pt with the runny nose down to hospital.


RE gloves, I know they're only necessary to put them on in certain situations, but you really do never know what you're going to find where you get in there. Pausing to apply gloves in front of people sometimes bothers them and it interrupts my flow. I wear gloves into most jobs then ditch them once I know more about whats going on.
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LOL @ the wavers, I always laugh at them too.

All people need to do is a simple:

ape_waving_hand_hc.gif



when most people do this:

distress_signal_arms.jpg


I also rage when we pull up to an RTC/MCA/RTA and a bystander starts using hand signals to try and direct us where to park

What's even more infuriating is when people are out the front and watch you drive past their un-numbered house and do nothing, and watch you drive down the street looking for the 'right house'.


I went to a cut finger the other day. 40 year old man, virtually crying because he had cut his finger on furniture, would require 2 stitches maybe. 4 cars and 8 family members all gathered around. We put a pad on the hand and walked him to the ambulance. Drove him the 4km to hospital.
 
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the_negro_puppy said:
I went to a cut finger the other day. 40 year old man, virtually crying because he had cut his finger on furniture, would require 2 stitches maybe. 4 cars and 8 family members all gathered around. We put a pad on the hand and walked him to the ambulance. Drove him the 4km to hospital.
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Brown would refuse to transport him - we do not have to transport somebody if it is medically unnecessary and especially another appropriate means of transport exist.

Brown hates those people who stand round or gorp over your shoulder and go "so is my mate/uncle/friend/brother/random stranger I don't know OK/going to be OK?" or shouting at you "do something do something!" like,

"should we have taken Nana to the medical centre?"
"No you did the right thing by calling us because Nana is not breathing and her heart has stopped"
"Oh ... um"
"Yeah, it's not good mate but we are working on it"

Read: Shirt mate, if you took Nana to the GP clinic the poor GP would have had kittens and hidden in the corner until the ambos showed up, you know how those GPs are with super crook people :D
 
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Sasha said:
How would that change your treatment of the patient?

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It wouldn't change my treatment of the patient in any way. I'd like to be aware of any infectious diseases the patient is carrying. Wouldn't you?
 
vamike said:
It wouldn't change my treatment of the patient in any way. I'd like to be aware of any infectious diseases the patient is carrying. Wouldn't you?
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Want to be aware because it's medical history? Or want to be aware because your scared of the disease? From what it sounds like you weren't going to run across the transmission routes for either one, unless it was active MRSA in the respiratory tract, which gloves won't do a darn thing to help.

Thank you for proving my earlier point.
 
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When a patient looks at me and coughs on me without covering their mouth or attempting in any way to be a polite human being.



Just makes you want to hit someone, doesn't it usal?
 
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vamike said:
It wouldn't change my treatment of the patient in any way. I'd like to be aware of any infectious diseases the patient is carrying. Wouldn't you?
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Airborne crap like TB? Yes. But run of the mill stuff like hep c? Oh well. I know how things like that are picked up and wont put myself at the risk whether or not i know they have them. Glove for blood and body fluids and open wounds.

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Update status.

What's your ETA?

We need you to run this call across the county, even though a closer unit will be clearing fairly soon; but, we're panicking because we're awful at resource management. So even though you just got back to quarters, and we're in peak traffic hours, you must run this call.
 
Linuss said:
When a patient looks at me and coughs on me without covering their mouth or attempting in any way to be a polite human being.



Just makes you want to hit someone, doesn't it usal?
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Patients who expectorate unkindly have been known to make me react oddly:unsure:....
 
The patient who is perfectly capable of speaking to you, but either mumbles, whispers or whatever else so that you can't understand a damn thing they say.


Partners that aren't capable of independent thought. If we are looking at a patient with a GCS of 3 and respirations of 6 and you ask me "What do you want me to do", I want you to GTFO and find me someone with a brain.
 
Melclin said:
Wavers in situations where the location is obvious. Like a massive accident and the a bystander waves enthusiastically saying later they didn't want you to miss it or drive past of some s**t.
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Awww! But like it when bystanders do the EMS dance! It makes me laugh.
 
Another one: Dispatch telling a BLS IFT crew to "Expedite" to a call.

Fricken' unnecessary unless a code response is authorized, and most (all...) of those are unnecessary. I'm going to get there as quickly as safety allows and not a damn second sooner. No need to put pressure on folks who don't know any better by basically telling them to hurry the hell up to a psych transfer.
 
If they tell me to expedite i go slower.

Dont friggin rush me.

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My pet peeves, had one today. If you twist your ankle at 0400, and can walk on it at noon, with almost no limp, but it hurts "a 10 out of 10", and you are able to walk out and climb into the ambulance by yourself, You don't need us, call a cab.

Had another one the other day, 300lb welfare mom, and her 325lb welfare daughter, after a rear ender that barely took some paint off her bumper. She was ambulatory on scene for 5 minutes, got into and out of her car twice. Got back into her car a third time to drive it off the roadway for PD. But is suddenly in so much pain she needs to be immobilized, and so does her daughter, and "Dat muther%^(*$# dat hits dem, gonna be payin fo it. We bof bein transpoted".

Calling 911, getting us out to you, then signing a waiver. If you weren't gonna go, why did you call.
 
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