What Are You Anal Retentive About in EMS?

[limbstruck]

I am absolutely sick of the lazy people in this business, be it with cleaning, paperwork or just general appearance. I also hate the people that laugh/mock people that further their education or simply use "big" words.

[pmedic623]

Some more here...... The story tellers that you can figure out pretty quick have either embelished horribly or made it up usually people with very little EMS education but very imoprtant in their own eyes.........add more later

[edogs334]

I am absolutely sick of the lazy people in this business, be it with cleaning, paperwork or just general appearance. I also hate the people that laugh/mock people that further their education or simply use "big" words.

DITTO....I don't like working with people who are lazy and complain about doing calls. Neither am I fond of people who get away with not checking out or cleaning their trucks. Although there ARE people at my station who care about their appearence and patient care (and learning new things), I can't stand the people that are only in EMS for the paycheck and only care about doing the bare minimum. These people are doing a great disservice to their patients, co-workers and their company (or squad, agency, etc.). I say that if you want to be in a job in which the bare minimum is acceptable, don't go into the field of EMS; you'll end up killing or seriously hurting someone.

[AZCEP]

To take the lazy bashing one step further:

-When a call is received in the middle of the night, and you aren't sure who should respond, DO NOT waddle into the hallway in your skivvies, scratch your head and ask me who is taking the call! I had to get up too, and I was able to get my clothes on! :evil:

-When new paramedics arrive from other areas of the country, and ask me to bail them out of the mistakes they are making. Flight crews in my area are notorious for this. They arrive on scene, don't want to listen to what I have to tell them, make a clearly wrong patient management decision, are then unable to carry out this decision, then want me to fix it for them. Uh, HELLO! If you had taken the time to listen to me in the first place, you wouldn't need my help now, jackass!

-The current educational standards are a joke. When you get done with your class, you will be a paramedic also. You should not have to ask me how a piece of your equipment works. Don't ask how you are supposed to perform a needle decompression, surgical cric, central line, sternal IO, nasal intubation, etc. You were taught this stuff in class the same way I was, or at least you should have been. If you are asking me how to do these procedures on a patient that needs them done in a time sensitive manner, you won't be the one doing them, I WILL!

[pmedic623]

. Flight crews in my area are notorious for this. They arrive on scene, don't want to listen to what I have to tell them, make a clearly wrong patient management decision, are then unable to carry out this decision, then want me to fix it for them. Uh, HELLO! If you had taken the time to listen to me in the first place, you wouldn't need my help now, jackass!

=D> =D> =D> =D>

[Ridryder 911]

Okay... here is some more.. anal retention..literally. Those who purposefully, feel they have to expel and share their methane with every one. Okay, I know it is a bodily function.. Clean your damn mess in tthe bathroom.. I don't care most of us are men!... and please hit the toilet !

The other is an occasional cell phone is okay.. but I had a partner that talked to 8 people within 15 miles... and yes he was driving.. sorry, doubt that they could not wait for at least 20 minutes..

The other is flirting on duty..in great detail., especially those who think they have to also have conjugal visits.. c'mon surely you can hold out for 24 hrs...

I know some of you new ones may find it hard to believe, but Paramedic programs really have been out there for a while. You did not invent EMS when you just graduated.

One of my most pitpeeves.. okay you ran a code.. congrats..That is what you are trained & hired to do. Just think, they couldn't had got worse.. no matter what you did to them.. dead is dead!

... Didn't realize I was so anal.. but yet again, a lot of people have reffered to me in those terms..LOL

[pmedic623]

Okay... here is some more.. anal retention..literally. Those who purposefully, feel they have to expel and share their methane with every one. Okay, I know it is a bodily function.. Clean your damn mess in tthe bathroom.. I don't care most of us are men!... and please hit the toilet !

We've got a guy here that takes a big steamer in the a.m. and must have a spoon shaped hemeroid because he always gets shi% on the underside of the toilet. It defies gravity so its the only thing I can figure!

[EMS-Cat]

The real basics: things like equipment and kit checks, restocking when done, etc. There are few things that can cause more terror than grabbing for something in a crunch and finding it it was used / dirtied / broken and now you don't have what you need.

I've been burned that way in hospital based medicine a time or two and actually managed to get quite a few folks mad at me because I'd double check things coming on shift. If I took over the heart room, I'd double check supplies before accepting the turnover of the case and patient. It was to no ones benefit if I had to keep running out to get stuff when I was the only anesthesia assistant in the room. Better I do it before the other shift left. I always checked the crash cart to see when it was last stocked and was it still locked, if the defib had been checked and was working, stuff like that. It's a routine that will only take a few minutes of you day, but can save a lot of heart ache. And if I used something, I replaced it before I went off shift. That's only common professional courtesy.

[bravofoxtrot]

Wiping down every single area that was possibly touched during a patient encounter at all during the day. Yes, I know that I'm contributing to the situation of antibacterial and antiviral resistance, oh well. I really don't like putting my ungloved hand in sticky stuff that isn't mine; especially if it's red. I wish others were more conscientious of cleaning up after their calls.

[Guest]

Im in complete agreement with Bravo and cat, Equipment checks and CLEAN THE DAMN AMBULANCE when you are done with a call. I understand spots that get missed but not pools of fluids or things dripping off the ceiling.

Every morning i come on shift i mix a new container of 10% bleach and clean everything in the back of my ambulance. walls ceiling, monitor and cables ect.ect. unless it is too deep then i request that the off going crew clean their own sh*& up....