"WHAT?!?!!!?!", quotes the EMS.....

[Laura Anne]

OK, so I have had a run in of really, really, REALLY stupid health care providers the last few days.

Unfortunately, I was one of them...no big deal, but was a TOTAL blonde moment...

Dispatched for an unresponsive subject at a local nursing home, CPR now in progress. On arrival, a PA was sitting at the front desk, waiving us off like flies swarming above her head, stating, "YOU people aren't needed. The patient is dead." I eye balled her for a good second or two, attempted to ask about the patient and she replied that I didn't need to know anything because she called the time of death..... :shock: Can PA's do that????

Anyhoo.... :roll: Enter patients room and find a 77yr old male with a PEA @40BPM lying supine on top of his newly made bed, dressed in his best, with no staff providing any care. I ask for some sort of history as I begin CPR on the VERY warm patient and the staff tells me he' is blind and is there(at the NH) for dehydration.

***blonde moment*** I went to check his pupils.

NUFF SAID.

Other stupid run in was actually today..... different NH

Called for an unresponsive subject, CPR in progress. On arrival, Pt was a semi-conscious male on a vent. I inquired as to who reported Pt in cardiac arrest and this male nurse, more female than I could EVER be, stated, "he was like in total cardiac arrest and I did a sternal rub and brought him back to life!" He got the "are you F*cking serious look and I attempted to ask him to repeat himself w/o laughing when he got his panties in a twist and stormed out of the room.

SO my question is, who here has ever had a 'blond moment' or has had a run in with someone who was in the health care field and had one?

I love my job.

[Dustdevil]

lol@subject! Were you a cop dispatcher in a previous life?

First thing we have to teach cop dispatchers about dispatching EMS: Our patients are not "subjects", our callers are not "complainants", and don't preface every statement with "be advised".

But the most memorable "duh" moment that comes to mind was from back in my EMT days. Went to pick up some school girl at a suburban ER and transfer her to a larger hospital. Her diagnosis was meningitis. Thinking I would impress the ER doc with my vast knowledge of hospital medicine, I asked him if he'd done an LP on the patient. He just shot me an annoyed look and said, "No, I just used my tricorder". :oops:

[Kaisu]

OK Dust - you got me - WTF is an LP?

On our way to an anaphylaxis call, I asked my paramedic preceptor if we carried epinephrine. :oops:

[Laura Anne]

LOL Dust.....its jut the lil things. I am willing to admit I do thisquite a bit. I tend to have a comment or question for everything and it bites me in the rear quite often!

Kaisu, LP= Lumbar Puncture

[Asysin2leads]

Heh, heh, I like the response of the doc. I get stuff like that all the time, mostly from bystanders. My favorite is "Are you going to take him to the hospital?" I usually respond with a deadpan "Well, we thought too..."

[Richard B the EMT]

Laura Anne asked, re pronouncement of death

Can PA's do that????

You might ask your state Department of Health that question. I specify as so often mentioned, almost as my "Mantra",

My local and state protocols are probably different from the local ones by where you work

It falls under what is and is not allowed at each level of certification or licensing, by title, and is called, I think, level of practice.

[Laura Anne]

Hey RBE....

I didn't exactly trust her "PA expertise" due to the simple facts that

1. she waived me away like some royal bimbo from her precious throne behind the nursing desk. That kind of professionalism goes ohhhh such a LONG way with me...lol.

2. she didn't have an EKG and/or good reason quite frankly for calling it, other than the fact that the guy died in the geri chair in front of the nurses station with them all sitting there. They never knew he'd passed on till they went to move him!! BTW, no liv or rig set in yet. Like I posted above, he was warm, warmer than me!!! :shock: :?

[bigj1130]

Ok I will throw my blonde moment in on this.To preface this I was on the back half ofa 48 and hadn't slept in 44 of those. Dispatched for weakness in a 70ish male onset of 2 hours. No other info. Upon arrival did my assessment and as I was performing my Cincinatti Stroke Screen I asked the patient to press down with his feet. I could not get a response from the left side. I asked the patient to press down again with the same result. I then Asked the patient directly to push down with his left foot. The Patient then advised me in not so nice langauge that if he wanted me to push his prosthetic down he would have to use his hands. Talk about a bad night

[Don1977]

lol@subject! Were you a cop dispatcher in a previous life?

First thing we have to teach cop dispatchers about dispatching EMS: Our patients are not "subjects", our callers are not "complainants", and don't preface every statement with "be advised".

But the most memorable "duh" moment that comes to mind was from back in my EMT days. Went to pick up some school girl at a suburban ER and transfer her to a larger hospital. Her diagnosis was meningitis. Thinking I would impress the ER doc with my vast knowledge of hospital medicine, I asked him if he'd done an LP on the patient. He just shot me an annoyed look and said, "No, I just used my tricorder". :oops:

There is a paramedic at a service here that says "be advised" everytime he talks to on radio , drives me crazy.........

[Ecnalubma08]

Thinking I would impress the ER doc with my vast knowledge of hospital medicine, I asked him if he'd done an LP on the patient. He just shot me an annoyed look and said, "No, I just used my tricorder". :oops:

Haha! This is great! Love the Docs response!