What is the worst rookie mistake you've seen

[johnrsemt]

I left the clipboard behind so many times my partners threatened to put Velcro on my hands and Velcro on the clipboard it to me

 

[rujero]

She hooked the line up and it wouldn't flow real good, I look, and she put the IV in backwards.

What exactly does this mean? You're saying she aimed the tip of the needle toward the distal end of the arm?

 

[johnrsemt]

I was standing in line at Ambulance triage; about 4th; talking to the medic in front of me; happened to look at the IV hanging on their patient. Asked the medic what was wrong with the patient, and was told she was dehydrated. I asked him if it caused any cardiac issues and he looked at me like I was a moron.
I leaned over and kind of whispered to him that he might want to replace the 500mL bag of Lidocaine that he had hanging with a 500mL bag of NS or LR. The look on his face was priceless. I give him respect that he told the ED doctor and nurses what he did; and didn't blame it on his partner, even though his partner spiked the bag.

 

[phideux]

What exactly does this mean? You're saying she aimed the tip of the needle toward the distal end of the arm?

Yeah, you look away for 2 seconds sometimes.

 

[johnrsemt]

I have seen people that have great veins on the bottom of their arms, you have to fold the arm back to get at it; so when you start IV, and you point needle towards the heart, it is actually pointed at the hand. oops

 

[ZootownMedic]

When I was a new medic I was rolling double medic with a guy who’d been at it for 20 years and who I respected a lot. Ran a teenager who had hurt his ankle skateboarding. Roll up on scene and do an assessment and see what I thought at the time was an abrasion to his ankle with some swelling and slight deformity. Medic standing behind says without hardly looking at it that it’s a puncture wound. I literally laughed and corrected him that it was an abrasion. Guess who was right? Bone had popped right through and gone back making a nice little puncture wound that looked like and abrasion. Learned not to argue with people who have been doing the job way longer because you just end up looking stupid.