Uncomfortable moment

lampnyter

lampnyter

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The other day i had a call and the pt had 1 arm. (Call was unrelated to having one arm) We started talking and he said how he always loved medicine and eventually asked me if he should take the EMT class. I really didnt know what to say. What do you think on the matter?
 
I would say go for it, it never hurts to gain more knowledge or learn new skills. However i am not sure how testing would work with his disability. Almost all of the NREMT skill stations would be very hard if not impossible to complete without two hands. Did he have a prosthetic limb? However i am sure there has been a case like this before and they probably have some type of protocol for a person with a disability. On the other hand i am sure there would be much better classes he could take that would give them medical knowledge without all of the physical skills that an EMT-B class involves.
 
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He could always take the course for the knowledge, but practical skills would be challenging, if not impossible (chest compressions, lifting and cot operations, etc.).

He might be able to perform in a EMD position doing communications.
 
Why limit YOURSELF?

We come in to this world only to find that we are limited in what we can do. ALL OF US. Many of us learn to identify what those limitations are and then we learn how to work around them or use them to good effect. Once we do that, we find we're unlimited.

Along the way, ALL OF US find ourselves picking up new limitations! Is it any different for him than it is for you? We use what we got. How many hands does it take to open an airway or stop bleeding?

Do not deprive the guy of the dignity of finding and using knowledge to discover just how unlimited he is. If you help him, you may even find limitations you once thought you had will dissolve.

(You ever shoot pool against a one-armed person? Good luck!)
 
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Not exactly the same but i know a nurse with only one hand and she pulls it off fabulously. She can do everything she needs to do and is great at adapting to situations. It is amazing how humans can adapt to overcome our shortcomings and with drive and passion turn a disability into a advantage.
 
This is a bit of a double edged sword IMO. On one hand, I currently work with an EMT who has a completely lifeless arm. While it is there, her has no control from the shoulder down. There are certainly limitations to him, but he does a good job.

And in my career I have been partnered with an EMT with no fingers and 2 medics with below knee amputations. Again, all of them performed amazingly well, despite limitations.

All of that said, THERE WERE LIMITATIONS. Not to be completely heartless, but I probably would have struggled on giving positive advise to seeking the career. I cannot tell you how many times I have had to use my entire body to fight off violent people or animals, dodge vehicles, or carry lots of equipment. And while SOME limited folks will make it, most will not.

When I am asked those types of questions, I find it best to be honest. Whatever the disability, people know what it is. And somebody missing an arm is not even thinking otherwise. So ask them, "How limited are you with that arm?". Maybe this person has done some studying and has figured out how to start IVs, long board patients, or move gurneys. Or maybe not and they will think about it.

WM
 
lampnyter said:
Intubation.
Click to expand...

I wouldnt be so quick to underestimate the ability of someone based on a disibility.

Species adapt and overcome things all the time, be it with technology or sheer determination.
 
CAOX3 said:
Like?

I say go for it.
Click to expand...

Adequate compressions during CPR, one-person BVM and gurney operations could present some challenges. However, it's hard to say what he may or may not be capable of without first seeing him in action. I don't know much about being an ER tech, but he may have better luck doing that than being a prehospital EMT. Failing that, I think the education alone from EMT school is a worthwhile investment, but that's just me.
 
lampnyter said:
Intubation.
Click to expand...

I agree that it would probably be extremely difficult / perhaps impossible for someone with one arm to work in a regular two-man ALS or BLS truck.

But... I swear I remember seeing a JEMS or EMS magazine article about 8-10 years ago where there was a paramedic with a prosthetic arm, who had a screw-on laryngoscope. I kid you not.

I have no idea how to find the article, but if I do, I'll link to it.

Perhaps though, this is someone who could work as a 3rd man/woman on a regular truck.
 
I think it would be a stretch, but where there's a will there's a way...The biggest issue is most skills require two hands, however i have seen people do crazier things than EMT skills one handed.
 
I just don't see how you can do the job with only one arm... it is hard enough to do the job well with two! Others have already mentioned CPR and BVM, lifting is also going to be a critical issue. Also, driving will likely need two hands so you can remain in control of the ambulance (with one hand) while using the radio or siren box with the other. Sure, someone with one arm could figure out ways of doing other things efficiently, but there are going to be some limitations that simply aren't fair to the patients. They should not need to settle for a lower standard of care because an EMS employer accommodated an employee with a physical disability that impeded their ability to do the job.

EMS is just one of those jobs where you need to have the physical abilities or you shouldn't do the job. It is unfortunate that we cannot accommodate physical disabilities (generally), but I don't see any way around it.
 
Did you read the link above?

So you would like to just dismiss everyone that has a significant disability though there is proof that it can be done and at a high level?
 
lampnyter said:
The other day i had a call and the pt had 1 arm. (Call was unrelated to having one arm) We started talking and he said how he always loved medicine and eventually asked me if he should take the EMT class. I really didnt know what to say. What do you think on the matter?
Click to expand...

I remember about 10 years ago the department I work for hired a girl with one arm, the other was short and ended where you would expect the elbow to be, congenital defect. Anyway, the first I saw her on a call during her internship I rolled my eyes, told myself there is no way she can do this job. Well, I stood back and watched as she carried the patient in a stairchair while carrying the o2 bag on her back, I was stunned! Turned out she was as good as any of her peers. She is getting ready to start her EM residency this summer. Long story short, where there's a will there's a way.
 
My best friend has been in a wheelchair since age 5, and there's not a single disabled bone in his body; he simply doesn't walk. However, he has degrees in both automotive repair and occupational therapy. IMO, not being able to use his legs makes him better at both. He can (I've seen him do this) more easily get into places other mechanics can't, and regarding occupational therapy (he specializes in the recently "disabled"), he knows exactly what they are going through.

Disability is a state of mind, nothing more.

As far as EMS goes, well, why not? Suppose he tries it and the practical aspects get the better of him. What says he can't do something like dispatch?
 
You don't know how he can adapt and overcome.

We have one medic at my service who is missing half of an arm who also works for a 911 service, another medic who is missing his hand from an accident when he was a firefighter. They're both great medics and make it work.
 
steveshurtleff said:
My best friend has been in a wheelchair since age 5, and there's not a single disabled bone in his body; he simply doesn't walk. However, he has degrees in both automotive repair and occupational therapy. IMO, not being able to use his legs makes him better at both. He can (I've seen him do this) more easily get into places other mechanics can't, and regarding occupational therapy (he specializes in the recently "disabled"), he knows exactly what they are going through.

Disability is a state of mind, nothing more.

As far as EMS goes, well, why not? Suppose he tries it and the practical aspects get the better of him. What says he can't do something like dispatch?
Click to expand...

Dispatching is one thing, front line EMS is another. If you can't do the job, you can't do the job. Can everyone who talks about someone with only one arm "adapting and overcoming" please explain how they do the job as well as a provider with two arms on the various tasks that have been identified as potentially challenging?

I am sure that many can be done by someone with one arm, but I highly doubt they can all be done as well as they can be by someone with two arms.

And in this job, if they can't be done as well then patient care is being impeded and that's not a good thing.
 
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