8 Tragic EMS Behavior Flaws to Avoid

In Greek tragedies, the hero typically displays some form of hamarita, also known as a “tragic flaw.” Hamlet was brooding, Othello was jealous, Macbeth was ambitious. For the most part, it is their tragic flaw that is usually the key to their undoing. When the hero ultimately falls, they tend to sow the seeds of their own demise with their respective tragic flaws.

People often use the word hero when they refer to EMS caregivers. EMT’s, paramedics, firefighters, we all get the hero moniker pinned on us from time to time. I cringe at the term. Most of us are uncomfortable with it to different degrees. And, if there is any truth to our hero title, it is certainly closer to the heroes of Greek tragedy that the comic book heroes we grew up with.

In other words, we all have our tragic flaws. Yes, all of us.

Here are eight of the most common tragic flaws of the EMS hero persona. I have, at one time or another in my career, embodied each and every one of these flaws to one degree or another. I’ve lived each one of them. I would guess that most of us do.

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The June EMS Roundup

“In June, as many as a dozen species may burst their buds on a single day. No man can heed all of these anniversaries; no man can ignore all of them.”

-Aldo Leopold

So many anniversaries. So many happenings in the EMS world. Regardless of how many of them you attempted to heed, you were bound to miss a few. Here’s to the stuff you may have inadvertently ignored.

I started the month with a webinar on how to pass the national registry cognitive exam and quickly moved on to the name the chronicles contest and part three of the very popular ultimate guide to EMT vital signs. I asked you two telling questions with “Where do you put the fear?” and “Are you an EMS nonconformist?” before asking you to consider what will happen on the day that your career clock strikes midnight. Then we talked about what really motivates us and wrapped up with ten reasons why I work in EMS.

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Ten Reasons I Work In EMS

I was recently asked by a reader to explain why I work in EMS. It’s a compelling question. Sometimes, browsing through the blogsphere, you can feel like you’re inundated with content explaining why you shouldn’t work in EMS.

It’s strange. In a line of work as interesting, diverse and unique as ours, you’d think our blogs would read like a fan page for a band called EMS, but that’s just not the case. How to survive in EMS, how to scrape by and how to “fix” EMS seem to be the relevant topics of the day. I thought this readers question was a great opportunity to go on the record and say that there are a lot of good reasons to work in EMS. Here are ten.

It’s different.

I’ve learned that I don’t do well with routine. I couldn’t spend my work life in a cubicle. I’d rather chew tinfoil than show up each day and do the same thing. EMS is infinitely variable. Just when you think you’ve seen it all someone will pick up the phone, dial 911 and prove you wrong.

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What Motivates Us Really?

The Surprising Truth About Personal Motivation

For years as an EMS supervisor I sat in operations meetings discussing the timeless business question, “How do we motivate people to be high performers?” Since most everyone in the room was a current or former field paramedic, you’d think we’d have an edge in answering the question. We didn’t.

It’s worth considering while your sitting around with your partner, hashing out the latest management blunders and explaining how you’d fix everything. If it was you sitting in the agonizingly long staff meeting throwing around ideas, chances are, you wouldn’t do much better.

I do know that the one opportunity I had to work on a true high-performance EMS team, these were the basic ingredients.

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Midnight

Our department recently offered an early retirement buy-out option.  I understand a half-dozen or so people took it. So next month, 6 or so of my colleagues will run their last call and close the door on their career. Six people will write the final chapter and be done.

It makes me wonder. I wonder what that’s like, to hear the tones go off and say, “Yup, this is probably it, the last call of my career.”

What will people say about your EMS career when you’re all done? For many of the readers here at the spot, retirement is a long way away. It’s hard to imagine what is will one day be like to not be in EMS anymore. Yet, it’s worth considering, because you never really know when your last call will be.

Consider Elizabeth Ann Mitchell.

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What Is An EMS Non-Conformist?

An Excerpt from The Non-Conformists Guide To EMS Success

The allure of conformity is powerful for all it offers. On the other side of the conformity dance floor is security, approval, and all the benefits of eventual success. Why wouldn’t we waltz? Doesn’t everybody?

Perhaps that desire within us to do something that matters can be fulfilled after we’ve gained the promotions, the love and admiration of our peers, and the power of authority.Then we can start being an advocate for the patient. Then we can start taking good care of the folks who call 911.

We can bone up on our skills, attend the conference, and develop the competencies we were putting off until we got the official nod. We’ll work hard to improve basic proficiencies, overhaul the broken training and orientation systems, and advocate for safer work conditions.

This is all a broken promise the minute we make it. Once we’ve achieved some degree of success by walking the path of conformity the expectations will only continue to grow.

Your leaders, whoever they are, have even less power to step outside the boundaries than you. If there is pressure on you to conform, you can bet there’s twice as much pressure on the poor guy or gal above you. Poor saps.

Non-conformity is stepping back from the speed and thoughtlessness that we tend to operate under. We manage emergencies. Most of our leaders have grown out of this industry that specializes in the fast fix approach. In our business, speed is king, and time is the devil. This creates an environment that doesn’t value thoughtfulness or introspection.

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Where Do You Put The Fear?

I once thought that part of the goal of being a competent paramedic was getting to the point where I no longer felt any fear or anxiety about running calls. After all, most of the folks I worked with appeared to be absolutely fearless. At least the competent ones did. They never go flustered or rushed. They smiled. They remained calm in the face of very real emergencies. I needed to be like that.

Eventually I figured out how to act like they acted, but I never really mastered the whole not-feeling-any-fear thing. It nagged at me for a long time. It took me almost a decade to figure out the secret.

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The Ultimate Guide to EMT Vital Signs

Part 3: The First Rule of Vital Signs

This is probably a good time to bring up the number one rule of vital signs. Remember the movie Fight Club? Everyone knew the first rule of fight club was to never talk about fight club. Now let me give you the first rule of vital signs. Burn it into your memory.

Never lie about vital signs.

Oh, I know. You think you’d never lie about vital signs. You’re an honest person right? Why would you lie about something as silly as vital signs? And yet, it happens…a bunch.

There you are deflating that blood pressure cuff. Everyone’s looking at you, waiting for your report, and you hear . . . . (wait for it) . . . (wait for it) . . . nothing! everyone is waiting. And you did see the needle bounce right around 120 and stop bouncing right around 70. The BP must be normal right? Couldn’t you just make it up and save face?

Don’t do it. It’s hard to admit when you just don’t hear the BP or can’t feel the pulse, especially when you think it’s something you’re doing wrong. It’s easier…and very tempting, to fake it. Don’t do it. You only have to make up incorrect vital signs once to completely blow your credibility.

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Name The Chronicles Contest

If you subscribe to splatter (The twice monthly newsletter of The EMT Spot) you already knew that there was a big announcement coming today. You’ve just been standing by for the nitty-gritty details. what can I say? Sometimes it’s nice to have the inside track.

If you don’t get Splatter you should really consider signing up by typing your name and e-mail address in the sidebar box. Then you can get the inside juice as well.

In any case, here’s the big news. The Chronicles of EMS is getting ready to go big time. They’re pitching this show to everyone from The Discovery Channel to Oprahlooking for a network. One piece of feedback they’ve been getting is that the show needs a new name. The Chronicles of EMS – The Reality Series just doesn’t slide off the tongue the way TV producers like.

This is where you come in. This is where you get to take part in the biggest contest in EMS blogging history. Here is your chance to name the new reality series. If you think you have a better name for the show click here and go to the chronicles website for information on how to enter. You can also go here for all the rules and official stuff.

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Conquer The National Registry Cognitive Exam

One Last Free Webinar From EMS Boot Camp

Turn me loose! If you were there for my Conquer the National Registry Skills Boot Camp you know that I’m pretty fired up about getting people through this exam with the right tools and the right information in their heads. Now I’m ready to take on the cognitive exam.

This has been a fun series and on Monday June 7th at 8:00PM EST / 6:00PM MST I’m goin to wrap it all up with what just might be the most anticipated, most requested, most highly attended EMS Boot Camp of all time.

With Conquer The National Registry Cognitive Exam, I’ll be dissecting the making of a computer based test. I’ll share with you the knowledge I’ve gained from the very people who write and conduct the exam. We’re going to talk about:

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