Cognitive Dissonence, is
something that seems to permeate this field like nothing else. I
constantly see people who are the least likely to perform a a high
level think they are the types to be in place for high speed clinical
roles. You know this person, they complain because their ambulance is
too small, think any transfer is below them and are mad because
someone called the ambulance because Jimmy the Frequent Flyer is
drunk an passed out. Basically any call that isn't a cardiac arrest
or major trauma is below them. They use the helicopter for any
critical patient if you are in a rural service, or they are the ones
that transport more patients with lights and sirens than any two
other people at your service. The insist that they are going to be on
a helicopter though.
I point this out because
many people seem to think that a lot of the job is below them and
compassion is not important. I am not saying I never over triaged a
patient to HEMS or transported a patient code three when it probably
wasn't warranted, but I didn't do it regularly. I don't see how a
medic afraid to take a patient on a 2 hour transport with a patient
who is on a antibiotic drip or has a ventilator going is going to
suddenly become more competent when they get to ride on a helicopter
and call themselves a flight medic. Of course, most flight services
have a lot of ways to weed out those people, but that doesn't change
the fact the people who want to do the job most are often the least
competent people there are available.
Rotor wing aircraft are not
magical things with fairy dust sprinkling from them, they are nothing
more than a really small ambulance with a highly trained crew on
board. This crew usually consists of a Paramedic and a RN. Once
released from probation they both are expected to perform at the
highest level of care, not be mad because their bird is so small. We
should remember that these men and women are motivated to be the
best, and ground personnel should emulate them. Work hard at gaining
new knowledge and learn why you should do things, not just what you
should do. If you don't know why, you won't know when the protocol
doesn't fit your patient.
I write this because I
regularly hear people who have no desire to learn new things talk
about how they want to fly, but ignore what makes those crews
excellent. In the area I used to work, there was a high washout rate
due to poor knowledge base. This is something many of these people
could rectify if they too the time to actually look for better
continuing education and consider the effectiveness not just the
hours needed. Most of them have no idea what FOAMED is. The idea of a
Podcast or Youtube video on new subjects aren't important, because
that doesn't count on my needed hours. But by repeating the same
courses and getting the same cards, they doom themselves and their
patients to either worse outcomes or high bills from HEMS coming to
save those patients from poor providers. But they think of themselves
as heroes.
Don't be that person
please. Your patients are depending on you to excel. The truly
critical ones need you to be able to make a decision. It doesn't
matter what type of ambulance you are in, if you are private,
corporate, municipal third service, or fire department based, if you
are a Paramedic or intending to become one, learn to love learning.
The biggest enemy we have is ignorance, and it is easily curable.
Thank you again,
Lone Medic
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