“It’s Not My Emergency”

Part one of a two part series on scene presence. Part two is here.

A regular reader of The EMT Spot asked a great question recently. (Thanks Timothy.) “How do I keep my cool and not loose my head in stressful situations?” I want to give you a tip that has worked well for me in the past. It’s a phrase I learned as an EMT and it’s helped me on countless occasions.

“It’s not my emergency.”

I know. I know what you’re thinking. On the surface, “It’s not my emergency.” sounds like a very callous and uncaring thing to say. But give me a chance to explain.

I was taught the phrase, “It’s not my emergency.” by a talented young paramedic who was a mentor in my early years in EMS. Since I first learned it, I’ve heard it used in a much more callous and uncaring form. More often than not, when I hear people say this catch-phrase it’s said in a dismissive manner. “It’s not my emergency” has become, “It’s not my problem.” or worse, “I don’t care about your emergency.” It never meant that to me. That’s not how I learned it.

For me, “It’s not my emergency.” is a mantra that helps us remember our role in the trial and tragedies that befall our patients. It reminds me of my place in the human drama of EMS. My role is that of the caregiver, not the patient. And, until the day that I pick up a phone and dial 911, that’s how it shall remain.

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The E-Book is Coming!

OK, I can’t keep this to myself any longer. It’s time for the big announcement. With the final draft still in the mail from my editorial team and the final design still lacking a few details, it would probably be best to just keep this under wraps for a few more weeks, but I can’t wait.

My first E-book is scheduled for release on January 21st, one week from today. The e-book will be free and it will be available right here at The Spot.

The Book is called The Non-Conformists Guide to EMS Success. This book is the culmination of two decades of EMS experiences, mistakes, failures, trials, and errors that lead to my ultimate success. My goal was to write something that would be useful to EMTs at any stage in their career. And I didn’t hold anything back. This is my road map to finding true success and fulfilment in EMS work.

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I Spy

Sometimes it’s all just a matter of what you focus on.

My children like to play a game called “I Spy” while we’re driving around in the car. You probably remember the game as well. One person selects a random object. Something you’re sure the other folks in the car won’t guess. Then you let everyone know what color it is.

“I spy, with my little eye, something … blue.”

And the guessing game begins. There are different strategies to keeping the guessing game going. You can select a common colored item and try to hide your object in the sea of white, blue or gray items. You can also pick something more obscure and force your guessers to use their powers of observation.

I’ve noticed an interesting phenomenon when we chose the second option. It’s trickier than it apperas. “I spy something purple.” This one should be easy.  There’s just not that much purple to pick from. Find the purple thing … win. Next player.

Purple … purple. “Uh, the insigina on the radio?”

“Nope.”

“Huummm. Mommys hair clip?”

“Nope.”

“The digital readout on the thermometer? Your sister’s swim goggles? The letters on my t-shirt?”

“No, No and nooooo.”

Wait, where did all this purple stuff come from? This one was supposed to be a gimmie.

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Get to Vs. Have to

Between my blog, Twitter and my EMT class, I have the opportunity to talk to a lot of new EMTs and EMT students. It’s fun to take part in the early energy of learning emergency services. Working with EMT students is an opportunity to vicariously relive the excitement and confusion of the first cardiac arrest or major accident scene.

One thing I’ve noticed as we porgress into our chosen field is what I call the “get to - have to” shift. New EMTs get to do things. “I get to ride along for 8 hours today.” “I got to hold c-spine on scene.” “I get to do all the patient assessments today.” “I get to be the attendant next shift.” “I get my first partner assignment at the end of the week.”

Somewhere along the way we shift. We’re still doing the same job. We’re still running the same calls but somehow, someone convinced us that we don’t have a choice. We may even chose to believe that these things aren’t fun anymore. Perhaps they’re not even worth doing.

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Who’s Going To Let Me?

      … Who’s Going To Stop Me?

I should have expected it. It was to be expected. After two recent posts suggesting people take some drastic actions, I’m responding to a wave of, “but we just can’t” feedback. … Let me ask you something.

Why are you waiting for permission to be awesome?

But we just can’t Steve. If we did this thing you’re suggesting it would be immoral, it would be illegal, it would be unethical. Nobody does that here. I’d be the only one. People think differently where we live. You just don’t understand. That would go against the grain. That’s not the way I’m made.

Sometimes in life we have to ask for permission. That’s just the way life works. There are barriers preventing us from going to far. Part of life is playing by the rules. Your protocols are an example. Your policies and procedures are another.

We are obligated to follow the law of the land. But I find it interesting how often we use these constructs as excuses for why we can’t do anything drastic or unusual. None of these things are preventing you from being better. None of them are keeping you from standing up for yourself, your patient, your profession or your God given right to be remarkable. Stop pretending that someone or something is keeping you from being everything you want to be.

Stop waiting for permission. Especially if you’re taking a stand on what you believe. Gandi didn’t wait for permission to hike to the sea and make salt. Rosa Parks don’t ask for permission to sit in the front of the bus. They simply acted on their convictions. They chose to live lives worth living … their way. And you can too. No more excuses. No more waiting. If you needed permission, I give you permission. Tell them I said it was OK. Go live a life worth living. Go be awesome. Tell me how it goes.

Stop Whining

Yes, I’m talking about you.

We are talking about you being more satisfied with your work right? We’re talking about you being better at what you do and accomplishing more and getting more of the stuff you want and less of the stuff you don’t want in your career right?

Perhaps I should have mentioned this earlier. There is one little essential detail to the whole equation. You have to stop that annoying habit of whining about stuff. How do I know you’re a whiner? Because, for the most part, we’re all whiners. We all do it. Sure there are different degrees of whiners. Some folks are world class, champion whiners and some folks are merely amateur whiners who only dabble in the complaining arts on the side.

I’m looking out for you here when I say this, really. It’s time to stop. Why, you ask, should you give up your beloved complaining? Well, there are a whole bunch for reasons. Here’s the big one. You’re never going to reach your real potential as long as you’re stuck in the destructive habit of whining about stuff. It puts you in the totally wrong mindset.

Here are a few of the reasons you need to put a pacifier in it.

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What Makes A Great Partner?

Everyone has their own idea of what makes a shift a good shift. Each of us carries our own magic recipe. Perhaps a little trauma with a dash of cardiac thrown in. Add a choice rig from the fleet and a dispatcher who still remembers the last burrito run you made for her. Sprinkle liberally with just the right amount of down time and voila!

Wait. We’re missing the most essential ingredient. A great shift can never be a great shift without a great partner. That’s the best thing about EMS, all the awesome characters you get to work along side. Some would say that when your mixing your recipe for a great shift, your partner isn’t the most important factor, it’s the only factor. I tend to agree.

Think about it. You could give me the worst shift schedule and the crummiest rig in the fleet. Make me run the worst calls that come. Hold me over late. But if you give me the right partner, we’re going to have some fun. There’s just no stopping us.

The inverse is true as well. Put me in the best medic unit on a prime shift. Dispatch me to the most cherry-picked calls and send me in early when I’m done. But if my partner’s some serious, stick-in-the-mud who couldn’t find fun if you stapled it to his forehead, guess what? It’s going to suck. There’s just no nice way to put it. The partner makes all the difference.

So I got to thinking … no really. What makes an awesome partner? Here’s my list.

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The Greatest Generation

A Guest Post By: Matthew Bergland

Matthew is a street paramedic from Colorado Springs, Colorado. I first met Matt well over a decade ago when he was an EMT for Pridemark Paramedic Services. Today he is a flight medic for Memorial Star Helicopter and also works with American Medical Response. I think Matt’s story deserves a place in “The Big Get It” category here at the spot.

In this piece Matt expresses the frustrations that many of us working in EMS feel each day, as well as an insightful revelation about the value of human beings and the meaning of service.

The Greatest Generation

I have been in EMS for fifteen years. I say this not to evoke in the reader some undeserved sense of awe in my longevity, rather to illustrate the depth of my ability to be exceedingly grumpy and “burned out” when it comes to the more routine aspects of pre-hospital EMS. To expand on this sentiment I’ll provide you with what is, most likely, a common thread throughout our industry.

I work long hours and I am expected to stay past my off time should the EMS system be busy. The pay is less than glamorous and I am routinely forced to sacrifice time with my family to spend time at work to make ends meet. Many times it is very difficult to even eat because we are so busy. To add insult to injury the lion’s shares of my “emergency” patients are drunks, psychs, sore throats and headaches. That being said, I also routinely stand witness to people that have been devastated by illness or injury and the impact that it has on their families.

Many people take advantage of the fact that we provide the care we do. They have no room in their criticisms for the understanding of our sacrifices and the constant training and hardship that we endure to bring our skill to their side. The expectation of those that we serve is, many times, far too high. When you fall short of those unreasonable expectations people tend to take it out on you in a personal manner. We all endure these high prices for our commitment to humanity.

It is easy to become cynical by these long hours and lack of sleep, food, family contact and human suffering. The sound of ambulance tones indicating another call no longer excites me. It merely means more work, less sleep and the potential to take on more of other people’s problems or misery. Many times it means another assault or traffic accident. Often it’s another gang banger that has been shot or stabbed. But more often it is a nursing home patient. It is with this patient population that I have found myself becoming very frustrated at the prospect of another sick, elderly person and have struggled, at times, shore up my compassion so as not to inadvertently treat these patients from the context of that frustration.

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Patients Define Their Emergencies

What if I told you that you could adopt one simple, yet powerful belief that would improve your happiness at work immediately and forever? What if I could tell you one simple truth and, if you were willing to accept it, you would feel less stress and bring more joy and well being to your job starting right now? Would you be interested? Read on.

Carl Jung was the first psychologist to put fourth the theory of the collective unconscious. He recognized that an individuals behavior was driven, not only by their personality, but by the myths, ideas and beliefs held collectively by their culture.

It’s worth recognizing that when you came to emergency services you arrived with some of these beliefs.

You had an idea in your head of what an EMT, a paramedic or a fireman was. It’s probable that your beliefs were based more in the myths of the collective culture than reality, but the industry could take some blame as well.

We did nothing in your training to convince you that your job would be anything different than what you had seen on TV and in the movies. We may have even used some of these images in your recruitment process. 

If you endured a fire academy you were taught each day about structures on fire and victims that needed to be dragged to safety and turned over to imaginary medical personnel. In EMT class you spent each day learning about the various medical emergencies that befall humans. From aneurysms to zygomatic fractures and everything in between, we drilled you on how to recognize those sick patients and how to intervene appropriately. And you learned. You diligently studied for the day when you would be the one responsible for caring for the sick and bringing calm to the chaos.

But the instructors didn’t say much about headaches. Blinding migraine headaches that make the patient so photophobic they can’t see to drive their car. They didn’t talk about stubbed toes either. They didn’t mention that many of the patients would be depressed, abused, addicted and homeless. Nothing was said to prepare you to kneel before drunks and criminals and people with mental imbalances, social dysfunctions and minor yet overwhelming needs that have nothing to do with your training.

In all your training nobody prepared you for emergency services. We may never have even mentioned that emergency services has much less to do with the real, life threatening emergencies than the collective myths told you. Instead, it has everything to do with caring for people and their problems. Welcome to EMS.

But here’s the kicker … none of this is a bad thing.

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