Wackie Posted March 5, 2006 Share Posted March 5, 2006 I had my ER shift today for EMT-B where everyone there pretended as if I didn't exist. I had to ask about everything. Can I do the vitals? Can I help with that splint? etc. I had to catch nurses/the paramedic (who was given the task to train me who was more interested in disappearing or gossiping than training me)/doctors at the right moment in order to learn anything. Even then, all I could do is watch. They had code lingo on the board which told them if the patient needed to be assessed and what have you. I was pretty much ignored by two different nurses when I asked what the code/board meant since it was obvious I was on my own. The one nurse who didn't ignore me kept taking me back to show me how to do a UA. I pissed off the charge nurse when I basically told her I'm here to learn and that I need opportunities to do so. Thank gawd for the shift change who had staff willing to show me things, let me help, etc. From then on, I did patient assessments, vitals, helped with a dislocated elbow, a few lacerations, draining an abscess, restraining a child, moving patients from cots to beds... I'm still f-ing pissed off though and feeling a little jipped. I was there 12 hours for 4 hours of actual clinical. Time isn't an excuse since it was slower than heck with the rude shift and busy with the nice shift. I learn more from the volunteer work I do than the rude shift I was doing an actual clinical at. I hope my ambulance rides aren't the same. I saw one of my classmates. He was involved which lifts my spirits. Perhaps I'm belly aching over nothing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Posted March 5, 2006 Share Posted March 5, 2006 I feel your pain. You're all revved up to do your best, bring your enthusiasm, a crisp uniform and a humble willingness to learn, and... * poof * no response, or worse, avoidance. But I think you're on the right track with your closing comment: Take the long view -- how much will those twelve hours mean to you in twelve weeks, twelve months, twelve years from now? The staff that underwhelmed you see dozens of us march through their doors, stay for less than a day (that's the system, no one's fault) and disappear into the night, with no credit to their temporary instructors. It would take extraordinary vision for your "hosts" to invest much energy in your (or my) fleeting presence. Let's hope we would do so in their place, but after a long time working anywhere, many people get jaded. Rise above it; it's just a puddle to step over. Keep moving; you have a goal -- feel sorry for those you've just met who don't. And you've learned what not to do to others! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dsmittty911 Posted March 5, 2006 Share Posted March 5, 2006 It sounds like you've got the right attitude about wanting to learn. Keep your head up and your eyes open, you WILL find preceptors who want to help you learn. I don't know about the school that you're in but here we have series of checks and balance to keep incidents like this from happening. As we do things here we fill out (and have signed by preceptor) a sheet listing skills that we have performed. We also do patient charts documenting pertinent info. Age/sex/ complaints etc. (no name due to HIPPA), Another thing that we fill out is a preceptor evaluation and they fill out one on us. If your school is worth anything and has a very good reputation in the area with the places you do clinicals then let your school dept head no or your instructor. Most places will actually get upset about students being treated like that. I had a run in with a charge nurse here and she ended up in a lot of trouble for treating students badly(using them as slaves, not helping them learn. She didn't like students and did anything she could to keep them out of her hair.) Anyway there are more preceptors out there who want you to learn and if you find one that you click with stay with them and pay attention. Good Luck I really enjoyed my clinicals. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
emtkelley Posted March 5, 2006 Share Posted March 5, 2006 Just keep going in and having a positive attitude. Keep offering to help and get in on things (may I see that? May I listen to those lung sounds? Mind if I help dress that laceration?) Your willingness will speak volumes. You are going to have people who are difficult to work with, both on the ambulance and off. Take up with people who are willing to teach and help you through and tolerate those who show indifference. Also, don't forget to thank everyone on each shift, regardless of their attitude. I went an extra step when I did my clinicals and wrote thank you's to the EMS dept and the ER dept after I was finished with everything. I am big on thank you notes. A little kindness goes a long way! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rat115 Posted March 5, 2006 Share Posted March 5, 2006 Sounds like you did your best today. My feeling on the subject would be to write the person who takes care of scheduling clinicals and thank the person who worked with you so well. Let the person in charge know that this was big positive in a day of negatives. This way you show what you saw that was good and let the ER dept know that you were unhappy with your clinical in a positive way. Hope you other clinical times are better. :thumbright: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ridryder 911 Posted March 5, 2006 Share Posted March 5, 2006 Sorry about your experience... but please remember you are just one of the few hundred they may see this semester. Although, I personally do like students many do not.. & with good reason(s). You have the right attitude, and keep being positive, you will make more an impression that way. Students come & go... I work in a rural ER & we still see about 150 EMT type students a semester, so don't get discouraged from the attitudes. In medicine you have to have initiative, you will find that most staff is too busy, and really is you & your institutions responsibility to be aggressive in obtaining your clinical objectives. Time to grow thick skin and determination. Be safe, R/R 911 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hammerpcp Posted March 5, 2006 Share Posted March 5, 2006 It sounds like you've got the right attitude about wanting to learn. Keep your head up and your eyes open, you WILL find preceptors who want to help you learn. I don't know about the school that you're in but here we have series of checks and balance to keep incidents like this from happening. As we do things here we fill out (and have signed by preceptor) a sheet listing skills that we have performed. We also do patient charts documenting pertinent info. Age/sex/ complaints etc. (no name due to HIPPA), Another thing that we fill out is a preceptor evaluation and they fill out one on us. If your school is worth anything and has a very good reputation in the area with the places you do clinicals then let your school dept head no or your instructor. Most places will actually get upset about students being treated like that. I had a run in with a charge nurse here and she ended up in a lot of trouble for treating students badly(using them as slaves, not helping them learn. She didn't like students and did anything she could to keep them out of her hair.) Anyway there are more preceptors out there who want you to learn and if you find one that you click with stay with them and pay attention. Good Luck I really enjoyed my clinicals. Never in my life did I think I would hear myself say this (or type this), but it sounds like Texas has a good system going. I had four preceptor crews in total and they were all like what you describe, and worse, except the last ones. My hospital clinicals were generally much better but I got lucky. Also we spend a full day in most hospital departments and are partnered up with one particular RN/anesthesiologist/ALS paramedic etc.. As far as teacher/preceptor accountability there is none. And let me tell you, this is a HUGE problem. Paramedics here eat their young. It seems to be some kind of right of passage. Personally I would much prefer a barmitzva (sp?) or something. Any hoo I hope you learn from the mistakes of others when it is your turn to be the teacher, instead of propagating the cycle. Keep your chin up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wackie Posted March 5, 2006 Author Share Posted March 5, 2006 No checks and balances really. Although, we are allowed to complain to our instructor. To me, it's like taddling and I don't want to be *that* big of a baby. Pissing off the charge nurse effected my scores for the clinical, I think. She's the one to score me. We get scored 1-5, five being the highest, on different aspects such as knowledge, attitude, etc. Everything I was quizzed on by a few nurses I knew the answer to. I fumbled around with the BP cuffs a few times just getting acclimated with the type that took all of the vitals except for RR. Otherwise, I felt I did fairly well for such a greenie. The charge nurse gave me fours. Since it wasn't the highest, I went to the recommendation part and found nothing written except for a signature. One of the nurses I worked more closely with looked over my shoulder and mumbled that she thought I deserved higher. I guess I should just let it roll off my back and look ahead. I found I don't like the machines which take all of the vitals for you. They might save time usually, but when one goes on the fritz, it's a pain. I needed to get a temp on a lady with severe abdominal pain. She wanted to breath through her mouth to help herself deal with the pain. I had to stop her twice with that because of one of these machines deciding to go crazy. :roll: Give me reliability over fuddy-duddies Overall, I learned a lot. Maybe not as much about medicine as I'd like, but about attitudes. And that I need to step it up a notch on my self teaching spanish program Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lone Star Posted March 5, 2006 Share Posted March 5, 2006 When I did my clinicals at the local ER, I too was ignored by most of the staff... I overheard a couple of the nurses talking about 'another EMS student that they had to deal with'...'I'll be glad when they stop sending students in here' and things like that. Luckily, I found a nurse that was willing to 'take me under her wing' and taught me alot while I was there. I ended up assisting ortho set a tib/fib fx, a gastric lavage on a 2 year old, and quite a few other things that day. I even ended up having to have a chat with the attending doc on duty, which resulted in Child Protective Services being called in....(what a mess that was!) All in all, even though you had the bad experience during that clinical rotation, you did learn something valuable...what NOT to do when approached by an EMT student, ... and you'll remember the hunger for knowledge that you had, and when you're approached by a newbie, or a student thats doing ride time with you....you'll be more willing to help that student learn the 'tricks of the trade', how to develop a good bedside manner, and ultimately, you'll be able to teach that student what to do, as opposed to what not to do. Good luck in your endeavors, and always remember......as long as stupid people do stupid things, we'll always have job security! (chuckles) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jenniemt Posted March 6, 2006 Share Posted March 6, 2006 Having a good hospital rotation is made great or crappy depending on who you get for a preceptor. The best preceptor I had in my hospital rotations during EMT school was an EMT who was working as an ER tech. My real preceptor left without telling me so I just glued myself to the tech. He taught me a lot, including placement of 12 lead EKGs and then let me do it on a real patient. It was awesome! When one of my preceptors scored me he said "I gave you fours because there is always something else to learn." I'd rather have 4s down the line than 5s because I know I'm not perfect. I'd rather my preceptors be honest and really show me where I need to improve rather than just picking 5s. My best preceptor ever actually gave me one 3 because I am very shy and he was the only one who really picked up on that and took the time to talk to me about it. If it weren't for him, I wouldn't be in medic school right now. Having the right preceptor really does make or break your clinicals. You NEED to complain because the school can discuss the problem with the hospital clinical coordinator. Do you want your experience to be replicated with another student? That's my two cents, and then some... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts