Leaderboard

My favorite quote from Moby Dick: "I will have no man in my boat," said Starbuck, "who is not afraid of the whale." By this, he seemed to mean, not only that the most reliable and useful courage was that which arises from the fair estimation of the encountered peril, but that an utterly fearless man is a far more dangerous comrade than a coward. That said, "fearless paramedicine" means to me: -Never be afraid to make mistakes, as long as you admit and learn from them. -Never be afraid to report abusive behavior. -Never be afraid to stand up for your patient when everyone else wants to cut corners. Never be afraid to do the right thing. -Never be afraid to challenge yourself to learn more. To ask questions from the people you respect, to follow up on what you don't know. Never be afraid to go back to school.

I agree with what's been said so far. The day I become fearless is the day I need to find a new career. I think the challenge and the skill is learning how to control that fear, how to manage it, and how to apply it in a positive sense. I try to be pragmatic wherever possible. In theory, I know I can RSI this inhalation injury but the pucker factor is huge because I am aware of the risks, complications and outcomes. The stark reality is it needs to be done to do my part to minimize morbidity and mortality. If I am fearless, I take too many risks (short cuts, no back-up plan, etc) and have a higher liklihood of being unsuccessful. If I am fearful, I fail to act and respond accordingly. I think by not being fearful nor fearless, I can be aware of both extremes and it helps to keep me honest and patient focused. Everything I do is risk vs benefit based. In my example, failure to do anything obviously results in a poor outcome. If I am fearless, maybe I am lucky and I am successful with a positive outcome. The reality is, you're playing with fire and you will eventually be burned. It's not a matter of IF, rather, WHEN. The other factor is if you are fearless, you are the 'I' of the 'team' (there is no 'I' in team) and you are probably a burden to the rest of your crew.