Partner being very rude and unprofessional to patients

Tk11

Forum Captain
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How do you handle this? If he "doesn't like" a patient he will intentionally hit every bump in the road and drive as awful as possible to make it bad for the patient. While getting a pts belongings from the hospital to transport to a nursing facility he opened the pts bottle of lotion that was in her bag and squeezed it all over her stuff because he "didn't like" her. Some of the stuff he says to patients is rude. What do you do about people like this? I've told multiple supervisors I don't want to work with the guy and they haven't done anything, but I haven't brought up the stuff he's done.
 

E tank

Caution: Paralyzing Agent
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How do you handle this? If he "doesn't like" a patient he will intentionally hit every bump in the road and drive as awful as possible to make it bad for the patient. While getting a pts belongings from the hospital to transport to a nursing facility he opened the pts bottle of lotion that was in her bag and squeezed it all over her stuff because he "didn't like" her. Some of the stuff he says to patients is rude. What do you do about people like this? I've told multiple supervisors I don't want to work with the guy and they haven't done anything, but I haven't brought up the stuff he's done.

That isn't rude and unprofessional. What you're describing borders on the sociopathic. The guy needs professional help. I'm not at all an advocate of "writing people up" as a routine way to handle personnel issues, but I'd make an exception here.

This is where you need to decide what the "professional" thing to do is. You will take a hit for it, guaranteed. It's an ethical issue that you'll need to wrestle with and determine the extent to which you're willing to sacrifice for outing a psychopath that has no business taking care of patients.

Who would not kick this guy's a** if they witnessed him treat someone they liked, let alone loved that way? I'm not a large person at all, but I'd gladly go to the hospital if it meant I put this guy there too after he abused a loved one.

Here's something else to think about. You're not the only one that knows about this guy. Say he mistreats some VIP's mom and you go down with him because you didn't say anything? When people complain about that stuff, it's most often about the crew without any distinction of who did what.

Be careful.
 

Tigger

Dodges Pucks
Community Leader
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Have you ever filled out an incident report? Do you know how to deal with improprieties at work? Are you able to confront people who are being asshats?
 

NysEms2117

ex-Parole officer/EMT
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Internal affairs exists for this reason
 

NysEms2117

ex-Parole officer/EMT
1,946
909
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We work in EMS. This isn't Law and Order.

Internal affairs exists in most places, maybe under different names. If it doesn't I don't want to work there. I believe quality assurance is their other more common name. Idk what ems calls it I haven't been investigated by them lol.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

Seirende

Washed Up Paramedic/ EMT Dropout
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While getting a pts belongings from the hospital to transport to a nursing facility he opened the pts bottle of lotion that was in her bag and squeezed it all over her stuff because he "didn't like" her.

Sometimes when another provider's behavior is egregiously deleterious, a direct and immediate confrontation needs to happen. This would have been that point for me.
 

StCEMT

Forum Deputy Chief
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For someone having a bad day, just talk to them. If they are just a prick (he is), then take it higher up to a supervisor. If the supervisor ignores it, keep moving. Especially if he is doing everything like you say he is.

There is a lot of stuff I can understand. I'm sure I wasn't the warmest and most bubbly personality when I got called around 0130 this morning, I was still waking up when we got to the residence a mile down the road. I didn't act like a complete **** though. There is a definite line and your partner blatantly disregards it.
 

DrParasite

The fire extinguisher is not just for show
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While I firmly believe you should speak to someone first, in this case, I think involving a supervisor would be your best course of action. Tell them EXACTLY what he has done, and that is why you don't want to work with him. If what you say is true (and there are three sides to every story), than this guy deserves to be fired, no question about it. I have a high tolerance for a lot of things: but malicious mistreatment of a patient or intentional damage to a patient's belongings is a sign that a termination is warranted.

And if your supervisors don't do anything, or the behavior continues, than I would schedule a meeting with management to ask why this behavior is allowed to continue to occur
 

Jim37F

Forum Deputy Chief
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Why does this sound like an interview question?

Anyways, as the scenario presents, this isn't just a one off, "it's-4-am-and-your-partner-happened-to-load-the-cot-a-little-rougher-than-they-should-have" but and admitted intentional "I'm being rough with the patient because I don't like them". First time offense, tell them that that is NOT cool with you (actually unacceptable period) and they need to knock off that childish immature behavior NOW.

Second offense, OR first one for the malicious vandalization of the patients property, Stop, do not pass go, do not collect $200, go straight to your supervisor. Your partner has now demonstrated they have absolutely zero business being allowed to be in a position of public trust and should be taking a good long hard look at themselves in the mirror whilst finding a more appropriate career for their childish nature.
 

hometownmedic5

Forum Asst. Chief
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You recognize it's a problem. If you do nothing, you're just as complicit as if you participated.

You are at a crossroads. One path is doing the right thing which may result in you being a pariah. The other path is complicitude. Do nothing, let it continue, and hope you're far enough away to stay clean when it blows up.

There's no middle ground. You can't report it and not be outed as the rat to at least your partner and you can't turn a blind eye and not be partly responsible.

Pick a path.
 

EpiEMS

Forum Deputy Chief
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If this is clearly malicious (sounds like it could be), you need to document this for your own protection, and raise it to your supervisor until it gets attended to.
 

dutemplar

Forum Captain
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Pretty much covered. Just IMO:

There's a line. Sounds like that like is way crossed and they're just an unprofessional idiotic *******. If it was "one off" or "rude," I would say, like,.. talk to them and see WTF is up. We all handle stress and bad lives differently and "rude" is certainly one way people are when they are way too stressed, overworked, underslept, ASR/PTSDing. To an extent, we ARE our Brother's Keeper. However, intentionally hitting every bump in the road and actually vandalizing and damaging personal property is a different level of stupidity.

1) Talk with them. It isn't acceptable.
2) Talk with supervisor/ manager with written report of what happened with no improvement/ change.
3) Escalate through corporate with no response.
4) Police complaint with regards to vandalism/ damaging personal property.

Everything we need to know on how to live, we learned in kindergarden. Be nice. Hold hands crossing the street. Share your toys. Do the right thing. Needless to say, but as the situation escalates, you're gonna be (to some) the *******. But if that was YOUR grandmother, what would you want done to address the situation?
 
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