FireMedic22
Forum Ride Along
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For some it's easier but I've had a few coworkers that couldn't handle watching the same people day after day slowly die.
Why the hate on dialysis runs?
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unleashedfury
Forum Asst. Chief
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I used to have one I took every Tuesday morning. I worked 7a-7p that day on a 911 truck. This woman was in a assisted living facility who would go for dialysis and her appt. was at 7am. in the town I worked in.
She was a sweet old lady and to save the hassle of having a non emergency driver come in that early for one call, I used to take a wheel chair van home Monday night and pick her up at 6am. The company would punch me in at 530 when I left my home I would pick her up take her to dialysis and report for my shift. I never minded doing it I took her every Tuesday until she passed. She was the sweetest old lady you would ever meet. and that was the last of my dailsys runs
She was a sweet old lady and to save the hassle of having a non emergency driver come in that early for one call, I used to take a wheel chair van home Monday night and pick her up at 6am. The company would punch me in at 530 when I left my home I would pick her up take her to dialysis and report for my shift. I never minded doing it I took her every Tuesday until she passed. She was the sweetest old lady you would ever meet. and that was the last of my dailsys runs
Kevinf
Forum Captain
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I went to pick up a patient to take them to routine dialysis only to find the pt completely unresponsive at the ECF. I had taken the pt back from dialysis the previous day, aware that that they had not been able to successfully complete dialysis several times that week; severe sepsis was an easy conclusion. Off to the hospital we went. I was at the same ED later that day and I saw that they were able to wake the patient long enough for the family to say their goodbyes. This patient had been in constant pain and had a very low quality of life, so no more suffering at least.
On a not-so-side note, the staff at the facility we had gone to pick the patient up from didn't seem to realize that they had dressed an unresponsive patient in a profound medical emergency that morning, so we walked into the facility for a nice little gotcha. :glare:
On a not-so-side note, the staff at the facility we had gone to pick the patient up from didn't seem to realize that they had dressed an unresponsive patient in a profound medical emergency that morning, so we walked into the facility for a nice little gotcha. :glare:
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How much life saving did you actually learn in 4 months. That mentality won't last you too long in this field- dialysis derby or not.
The "E" stands for "Emergency". The "T" stands for "Technician", not "transport".
It's not in my job description, not what I trained for, not what I studied for.
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I'm willing to bet transporting patients, emergency or not, is in your job description.
Again, how much about saving a life could you actually learn in roughly 120hrs.
Out of curiosity- how long have you been an EMT, bud?
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I think this very honest statement speaks to a much larger issue within EMS culture and EMS education.
EMS education, marketing, equipment, clothing, vehicle design, culture, etc. is still almost solely focused on response to and identification, management, and transport of people experiencing life-threatening emergencies. The reality though, is that out of all responses / transports, EMS personnel probably perform a life-saving intervention way less than 1% of the time. A higher % in 911 of course, but still very low compared to what the training and culture would indicate.
No one should be surprised at predominantly young, "type-A" people feeling bored and disenfranchised when they were told that EMT's "respond to emergencies and save lives", then went to EMT school where they were taught how to "respond to emergencies and save lives", and then were put to work doing nothing of the sort.
I'm not saying it's right or wrong for people to dislike non-acute transports, I'm just saying it's very predictable and understandable.
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You were trained to provide patient care. Sometimes, that care could save a life. But most times, no matter what the setting, that's not really what goes down.
I don't understand how everyone is so surprised to find that their first EMT job is doing mostly BLS transports. It doesn't take very long to do a little research before the class to realize you probably aren't gonna land a full time 911 job right out of EMT school. People do it, but for the most part if you live in a city you're going to have to cut your teeth like everyone else.
Also, you probably "save more lives" transporting dialysis patients in a week than a 911 crew does in a month if you really want to look at it like that. One is just more acute than the other.
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Do you think technician is some glorified term worthy of respect? The primary job of an EMT is absolutely to provide transport. That's what the position was designed for, and that remains the primary goal of every EMS system in this country. I won't go on too much as everything I would like to say has already been mentioned in the previous few posts, but prepare for an attitude adjustment. Your expectations for what EMS is appear to be wildly inaccurate.
wanderingmedic
RN, Paramedic
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I love these. I get paid to sit and study (I'm still in college). It's a super job if you are trying to finish a degree...which I highly recommend you do.
Kevinf
Forum Captain
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Around here transport employers pay significantly better than 911 employers (to the tune of several dollars an hour better).
I work full time in a transport company. I've not terribly infrequently had to redirect to the ED to or from dialysis runs. And given the amount of time we're on the road it is not unusual for us to witness an accident and thus be the very first crew on scene... no PD, no fire, no help waiting for you. Just you and your partner. We've witnessed major accidents, found people lying unconscious in ditches, even had a bicyclist fall of his bike and start seizing in front of us. Just because you are doing "just transport" that day doesn't mean you'll never see anything else.
If you are concerned about money, go be an RN or PA or MD... or a delivery driver. They make a very respectable living.
BTW, even most ED docs often spend most of their day doing "scut" work, very little life saving at any given moment.
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AtlasFlyer
Forum Captain
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In my EMT class last spring, we were told quite honestly that a lot of of what we were being trained for was called "patient care", and that the "glory" and "lifesaving" were pretty rare and not really a part of daily EMT life. Anyone who left the EMT class I took with any delusions of life being like "Chicago Fire" or "Emergency!" weren't paying attention in class.
15 years. Done volunteer, paid, works with medics.
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One would think somebody with 15 years would know and understand what our job and "job description" was... :unsure:
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PaulEMT, I do think chaz90 is correct, but I also feel that you took it the wrong way. EMS and/or IFT was created for the purpose of transport. Yes, we do emergencies, but even in emergencies our primary purpose is transport. We provide care and attempt to promote life, but we are not a clinic. It is a not our goal to treat and release every patient, it is our mission to get people to the hospital or dialysis if needed.
I do not think any of the other responses were disrepectful, just accurate.
I do not think any of the other responses were disrepectful, just accurate.
What's funny is I probably dealt with more genuine life threats doing IFT than 911 (and that excludes the CCT portion of that job). The "renal round up" patients are train wrecks. Answering the phone for med consults now I can usually count on diverting at least one and often more scheduled transports to the ED because the patient is decompensating.
But of course we're only providing competent medical care and not running around at breakneck speeds with the woo woo's and flashies going so what the heck do we know?
But of course we're only providing competent medical care and not running around at breakneck speeds with the woo woo's and flashies going so what the heck do we know?
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I notice this thread is quickly degenerating into name calling and other childish games.
Prove your point with solid arguments. Name calling is necessary and violates our rules.
Prove your point with solid arguments. Name calling is necessary and violates our rules.
Hunter
Forum Asst. Chief
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This, it's specially true in real emergencies, people don't need us they need a hospital to fix them. They need an OR, blood transfusion, insuline drip, thrombolitics, xrays or.... dialysis... and our job is to get them to the most appropriate facility alive and to monitor them en route. Taking people to dialysis is exactly what we were trained for. Paul, stop and think about it for a second you'll realise what we're saying.
dialysis runs generally blow, theyre monotonous, con homes suck, and the patients are often lifeless shells, but they are also our bread and butter. Without them, most EMS workers would not be getting a paycheck...where I am, pay rate for 911 runs is about 28%(which is considered decent), then consider that BLS is all pre-scheduled and approved by insurance, so while medicare/medicaid may not pay the full amount, they are still getting payed almost 100% of the time....