Do you administer painkillers more often to white patients?

[Michael]

[web:b7b07b6808]http://www.newsweek.com/id/82641/output/print[/web:b7b07b6808]

[spenac]

No almost all narcs I have administered are to so called minoritys.

[p3medic]

The neighborhoods I work tend to be mostly non-white. I'd like to think I treat everyone alike, but unfortunately thats probably not the case. We have a multitude of ethnicities in my area, all with unique cultural "quirks" and what is an overwhelming event for some, is merely a nuisance to others.

[brentoli]

No almost all narcs I have administered are to so called minoritys.

Do you transport caucasians?

[spenac]

Do you transport caucasians?

Nope we're prejudiced.

[tniuqs]

The WHOLE study is seriously flawed .... why you say?

Because the MDs color or lack of color is not addressed on "each" delivery of medication.

The personal comment's by the presenter of the study are interesting / curious because each patient presents or tolerates pain differently, the presentation of this study is in my opinion a means to light a fire and make arguement, it is in my humble opinion a make work project only and where did the funding come from.... look to root premise, that said, there is always bias of one form or another if one looks to color or religion or language or cultural status.

cheers

[Ghetto-Trotter]

The WHOLE study is seriously flawed .... why you say?

Because the MDs color or lack of color is not addressed on "each" delivery of medication.

The personal comment's by the presenter of the study are interesting / curious because each patient presents or tolerates pain differently, the presentation of this study is in my opinion a means to light a fire and make arguement, it is in my humble opinion a make work project only and where did the funding come from.... look to root premise, that said, there is always bias of one form or another if one looks to color or religion or language or cultural status.

cheers

Long time reader, first time poster. I work in a pretty poor, city that's about 55% white, 35% black, and the balance a smattering of people from all over the globe.

I can tell you for a fact that I administer analgesic relief for black people less than for white people. I'd be a liar if I wasn't honest about that. It's not by intention, since I don't sit there and try to find ways to cheat people at every turn, but it comes down to honesty. It's not a color thing. It's a poverty thing. And since minorities tend to be poorer where I work, that's how it plays out. I have noticed this when I critique my work. I, for whatever reason, feel like poor people are trying to cheat me and lie to me more often than wealthy people.

Yeah, criticize all you want, but really think about how YOU interact with patients before you judge me. Do you wipe your shoes better when you walk into a expensive house vs a poor crappy house? Do you shut the door all the way in a crappy house as often as in a big mansion? Do you cut across the grass when walking up to a shanty? How about when you're walking into an immaculate million dollar apartment? Do you pick up all your trash when running a code in a ritzy part of town vs the ghetto? If you're in that 99%, you probably don't.

I had this guy the other day tell me that the cut on his finger, mind you a teensy cut, was 8/10 pain. I was like, "That is 8/10?" Mind you, this was guy who had been SHOT in the past. Liar, plain and simple.

Then I get the people with chest pain. We pick them up from jail. 10/10 chest pain. I say, "10/10 is the worst pain you could POSSIBLY imagine. That would be the worst pain you have ever experienced. Like being burned alive while getting stabbed in the stomach." They reply, "Yeah, 10/10." I make sure, 'This is the worst pain you have EVER experienced in your life?" Yeah, 10/10. Then they proceed to fall asleep. Liars. No morphine for them.

I don't know if it's a cultural thing or what, but it seems like black people say everything is 10/10 pain. 8/10 pain is a splinter or less. I have gotten a 7/10 once. That was the lowest I remember in 3 years of work. I don't know if people think they won't be taken seriously or what if they don't make some BS claim.

White people can be just as bad. White people are more cunning. "I'm alergic to aspirin, codeine, morphine, fentanyl, ibuprofen and toradol." I say, "Oh, so you can take Naproxyn for pain. You know, alleve?" No, I'm allergic to that too, I just forgot to mention it. "Oh," I say, "YOu didn't mention tylenol. Are you allergic to that?" Yeah, I forgot to mention I'm allergic to tylenol too. "So what works for your pain, since you're obviously allergic to nearly everything commonly given?" Oh, I don't remember. Some D- drug. Doofalid or something. I don't remember. "Dilauded?" Yeah! that's it. Dilauded. Nothing else can touch my pain. It's 11 out of 10! My pain is horrible!

Liars.

The most common presentation for drug seekers I see is "back pain" typically "my sickle cell is killing me!" Yeah, right. And it was killing you yesterday when we ran you, and last week when we ran you, and the 10 days ago when we ran you. You must have some Discovery Health Channel "worlds most painful sickle cell EVAR" medical mystery disease.

I need to talk to some nurses who work in ghetto ERs to figure out how they assess patient pain. They have to have some tricks I don't. This catch all 10/10 crap I get is a waste of time. Anyone have some suggestions? I just want people to be realistic.

[JakeEMTP]

The majority of the patients we transport are black, just demographics. If they hurt, they will get some pain relief from me. It doesn't matter to me what colour a person's skin is, I will treat them the same way.

In the article the writer states that patient's aren't receiving Oxycodone or Morphine for kidney stones. I wonder if they are getting Torodol though. From personal experience, I'll take the Torodol before Morphine anyday.

[itku2er]

Where I am from we treat patients on thier Signs and Symptoms not the color of their skin. I could see how this would be a major problem in some cities but in the town I live in its not that big of an issue.

[tniuqs]

Long time reader, first time poster. I work in a pretty poor, city that's about 55% white, 35% black, and the balance a smattering of people from all over the globe.

I can tell you for a fact that I administer analgesic relief for black people less than for white people. I'd be a liar if I wasn't honest about that. It's not by intention, since I don't sit there and try to find ways to cheat people at every turn, but it comes down to honesty. It's not a color thing. It's a poverty thing. And since minorities tend to be poorer where I work, that's how it plays out. I have noticed this when I critique my work. I, for whatever reason, feel like poor people are trying to cheat me and lie to me more often than wealthy people

.

Well, an excellent first post, hey getto come out of the closet ! I enjoy honesty the best.

I became a Paramedic for really only 2 reasons, back some time ago ... oh please don't go there, dirt is older really, really !

Reason (s)

# 1 - Protect Airways.

# 2 - Take away the PAIN.

Thang is "speaking just for myself" I was born Colour Blind and an Idealist (sometimes that sucks) or maybe it was my MOM and DAD that beat some sense into me at a young age, as they listened to Burton Cummings songs. Sure, I have got some prejudice in me, yes everyone does, but those argument's are based on my political views ... I loose the politics when I have a patient in the back of the gut wagon. We don't have a lot of the black persons here, but a huge mix of everything else.

But then again .... I am cheap too! so with the cost of M/S being about 36 cents per vial its a absolute no brainer for me, and it does go stale dated too, I so hate waste ! So you got 10/10 with some positive findings "tachycardia or HTN" YOU get happy juice .... period and never have I been in front of an MD for inapropriate use.

cheers