Do EMTs have the right to correct a paramedic?

[Scaramedic]

You Go girl!!

If someone is giving you grief let me know and I'll take care of it. :angryfire:

Seriously though I agree with the others, yes you have the right to correct bad behavior or patient care. The key is to do it tactfully and at an appropriate time.

Peace,

Marty

:thumbleft:

[ncmedic309]

If your right and you can prove it, you can buck a paramedic, a doctor, another EMT, whatever all day long and you have the right to do so! Just because somebody has a higher certification than you or has held a certification longer (even at the same level) doesn't mean they have a clue as to what they are doing!

[Beagle189]

Yes EMT's have the right to correct Paramedics - for the reasons stated above.

[nypamedic43]

There have been numerous times that I have questioned what my medic has done, usually after the call is over and we are discussing it. I usually learn something when that happens. However, there have been a handful of times that I have stopped them on a scene, and asked "What the heck are you doing??" it gave them a reality check and they realized that they were about to make a huge mistake. They thanked me later for stopping them. Anytime I have ever done that, I have always had the patients best interests at heart. It also helps if an EMT knows the Paramedic protocols, as well as their own. If you have a doubt or something doesn't seem right, differs from the norm of what you have seen them do before, speak up. They won't fault you for having good patient care at heart.

Teri

[1EMT-P]

A very wise Paramedic once told me that Paramedics save lives and good EMT's save Paramedics.

[TTLWHKR]

A very wise Paramedic once told me that Paramedics save lives and good EMT's save Paramedics.

I always figured that's just something that ego maniacs say... As far as saving lives, my partner and I are always on the same level. If you can't respect the EMT, then you need to take a step back, after all, Basic doesn't mean less. It means essential skills. Our job (Paramedics) has the same essential skills, with out them, we'd have nothing.

[ncmedic309]

I always figured that's just something that ego maniacs say... As far as saving lives, my partner and I are always on the same level. If you can't respect the EMT, then you need to take a step back, after all, Basic doesn't mean less. It means essential skills. Our job (Paramedics) has the same essential skills, with out them, we'd have nothing.

That was very well put, agree 200%.

[kevkei]

A very wise Paramedic once told me that Paramedics save lives and good EMT's save Paramedics.

This has got to be the stupidest and most nieve saying there is. :roll: I have yet to see anyone qualify or substantiate this statement.

Absolutely correct someone if they are wrong, just be 100% certain that you are right and they are wrong. I have had people of the same level of care and lower try to tell me that I was wrong when in fact they were in the wrong and found out such by doing a little studying and research. At the same time, I've had people say "hey, have you thought of this" or "did you know this..." It's all about tact and diplomacy, and has been stated, how you broach the subject. Team work is suggestive of two or more people working together for a common goal.

We have all made mistakes and we learn from them and it makes us better as caregivers.

[Dustdevil]

A very wise Paramedic once told me that Paramedics save lives and good EMT's save Paramedics.

Funny how everybody who hears this old line thinks it's something innovative and profound. :roll: He was trying to make you feel better about yourself. EMT's get no pay or respect, so a lot of instructors toss you a lot of rhetorical bones to try and pump you up and make you enthusiastic about the simple first aid course you just spent $2000 dollars for. But it's crap. And taking it to heart in the field will very quickly mark you as an idiot and a troublemaker, leaving you alienated from most of your potential partners. An EMT brings nothing magical to the situation that "saves" paramedics. There is nothing special about an EMT that allows them to "save" their partner where another paramedic could not have done so. Why the heck would I want a "saviour" when I could have a full partner who can share in the total care of the patient instead of just load my cot and drive my ambulance? Your job is not to "save" your paramedic. Your job is to be a PARTNER to the paramedic. If you walk around with the saviour attitude, your career is going to be very short.

The problem is, a truly "good" EMT is about as common as a virgin in a whorehouse. Their education sucks. Their experience is usually horribly structured. And the field overwhelmingly attracts idiots to begin with. Three strikes. Damn rare to find an EMT with enough knowledge or common sense to function competently, much less supervise others critically. Just read the idiotic posts on this board by EMT's bragging about the things they do NOT do for their patients because they know better than their instructors. Not to mention all the stuff they think they SHOULD be able to do to patients because they have a whole month of night school under their belt. Gimme' a break.

And no, I am not terribly impressed with most medics either. They suffer from the same three critical failures as EMT's mentioned above. But at least they have a broader foundation and frame of reference from which to base their decisions. In my experience, it would be extremely, extremely rare that an EMT "saves" a Paramedic with medical or operational input. I have never seen it happen. Sure, I've had an EMT make my job a lot easier and more pleasant by knowing WTF she was doing and anticipating my needs. It's wonderful when it happens. But it's certainly not synonymous with "saving" the medic.

Luckily for me, I had been a medic for many years before I ever had to partner with an EMT. And, in fact, it is absurd that any rookie medic in this country is paired with just a basic. Such a structure is the blind leading the blind. It should be a crime. And if your agency is doing it, your agency sucks!

The answers to the original question have addressed it quite well. Of course you have the right to question anything you perceive to be incorrect or unusual. Absolutely. You are part of the team and share responsibility for the patient. There are a lot of stupid, lazy, and incompetent medics out there. There are a lot of tired and sleepy and stressed out medics out there. And there are a lot of medics out there who simply have the occasional brain fart. A *good* EMT can indeed make a difference, so take that responsibility seriously. But don't let it go to your head. Use some tact in your communications, because there is a very good chance that what you think doesn't look right is actually absolutely correct from a paramedic perspective and you are jeopardising your relationship with both your partner and your patient by being a mouthy arsehole and spouting off ignorant crap with some sense of self-importance. Your job is to make sure the patient is being treated right, not to try and prove you are better than your partner.

And if your partner doesn't agree with your observation or suggestion, tough. Suck it up and do as you are told. Don't stand there and argue with me about whether we're going to use a long board or a scoop stretcher. Don't tell me what your instructor told you. Don't tell me what your former partner told you. Do what I tell you, when I tell you to do it, or hit the clock. There were at least 20 other people in your EMT class, and most of them are still looking for a job. And there is another class graduating next week. You are expendable and very easily replaced. If you're going to make a stand over an issue, it had better be something EXTREMELY important and that you are ABSOLUTELY positive of. Because about the second time you make an arse of yourself over some trivial issue that you have neither the education nor the experience to even speculate upon, you become a liability to me and you will be back at Taco Bell within the week.

[RegularEMT]

Your job is to make sure the patient is being treated right, not to try and prove you are better than your partner.

Ultimately that's all that really matters. I'd rather speak up politely out of simple reasoning and logic for my patient than let something wrong happen to them. You can always be wrong, but you can never be right 100% of the time. I may speak up and say something in a good way, my job is ultimately caring for my patient, not respecting my partner. If my partner does something blatantly wrong, and I know from my knowledge that it is, you bet your booty I will speak up, but only out of respect for my patient. It's their emergency, not mine. Either way, I'm never going to go head to head with a paramedic on an ALS issue. I try to define my boundaries as solid, but sometimes it spills over, and I do have proffesional respect for my partner, but that doesn't mean I'll let that get in the way of proper pre-hospital care.