Читать книгу The Good, The Bad & The Ugly Paramedic - Tammie Bullard - Страница 10

Whilst most of us generally want to do the right thing, sometimes it’s easy to fall into bad habits, get caught up in what we see others get away with, or succumb to pressure from colleagues who choose to discourage our positive behaviours.

Professional Chatter v Gossiping Groups

No matter where we work in the world, most paramedics are accustomed to “ramping” or waiting in corridors and triage areas, with patients. In many countries, this wait may be several hours with each patient we transport, and results in extremely long periods, therefore, of public scrutiny. Whilst some of us may view this waiting period as a form of relief from attending to continuous call outs, equally, some of us may detest the time spent awaiting a bed for our patient. Either way, it is becoming a growing part of our role, and doesn’t look like it will disappear in the near future.

So, we’re standing in the corridor for long periods of time, what a great opportunity to catch up and have a chat with colleagues! We’re talking about jobs we’ve done lately. Perhaps it’s the fascinating but gruesome details of a murder suicide, or the humorously inappropriate behaviour of an intoxicated patient. Maybe we’re discussing our frustrations around a regular caller whom we’ve now attended twice already this shift, or relaying the details of our alcohol fuelled personal shenanigans during days off.

Imagine how our patient, and any family members they have with them, may perceive this? The longer they are listening, and observing our behaviour, the more damaging to our reputations this may be.

The best-case scenario for our professional reputation is that they lose respect for what they had previously considered an admirable career. The worst-case scenario is that the patient, or their escort, is shocked enough to either lodge a complaint, or worry that they may be our next topic of hilarity and scorn.

Such thoughts will undoubtedly return to the patient the next time they consider calling an ambulance. None of us embarked on this career with the aim of causing discomfort or angst, therefore it’s well worth avoiding for both professionalism and our personal job satisfaction.

Promoting Paramedicine v Injuring Our Image

After several hours of waiting, we’re surprised by an unexpected opportunity to take five minutes of time out, as there are no outstanding calls (I hear you laughing at that unlikely story!). We’re parked up near the beach with a much-needed coffee, chatting to our partner, with our feet up on the dashboard. The windows are open to catch that beautiful ocean breeze and we’re playing a favourite song a little louder than usual, just so we can grab that feeling of pseudo freedom we all desperately crave.

The little children walking past with their kindergarten teacher suddenly lose their own happy, innocent sense of freedom, once they get near to our vehicle. They were initially excited to see the ambulance from further away, and their eyes lit up at the teacher’s suggestion to wander over for a visit. The closer they get, however, the more intimidated they start to feel by the noise and demeanour of our crew. Most of us love the adoration children have for our roles and our vehicles, but as we slip into bad habits, it’s easy to forget how we may be perceived.

On our first day at work in an ambulance, we wouldn’t have dreamed of lounging in the seat with our boots up on the dashboard in public. No way would we have cranked the stereo with the windows open from our new office that made us so proud.

Remember that feeling of walking past intimidating teenagers when we were little? That’s the last feeling we want to elicit in anyone around us. We signed up to instil public confidence in us during times of emergency and care for people who call for an ambulance.

Whilst there are opportunities where we can listen to great music and even elevate our feet by resting them up on the dash (as long as we wipe it down afterwards of course), those opportunities must be limited to the times that we’re parked up away from the public eye.

Humble Protestation v Disrespectful Diatribe

Our next call comes across the radio, to an elderly lady with chest pain. Once we reach our destination, the patient’s daughter has already arrived and calmed her mother. This gives us plenty of time to build rapport and reassure our patient whilst we’re assessing, treating and preparing for transport.

During their general chatter with our attending partner whilst we’re driving, en route to hospital, we hear the patient praising the hard work of paramedics and expressing her thanks for the “tireless efforts” she describes. It feels good to be appreciated, doesn’t it? Our partner, however, responds with “it’s just a job” and dismisses her thanks. Going on to describe a lazy profession who get to lounge around and sleep between calls.

The patient cannot believe this and hopes that her gratitude is being dismissed with modesty and humility. She wants, and possibly needs, to believe that her perception of paramedics is as professional, hardworking, caring members of society. If this is not the case, how can she feel confident that we want to provide that professionalism and care?

Her daughter joins in and describes how paramedics have always been so cheery, and reassuringly calm, during treatment of her mother in the past. Our partner, however, is keen to emphasise their casual, cool demeanour. They go on to quote “You call, we haul!” type phrases, stating that we only work for half of the year. Omitting the fact that a good chunk of that time is spent working long shifts, or sleeping to catch up afterwards. As we listen, we cringe with shame.

Public perception of our role is generally extremely positive. Simply acknowledging this positive praise with polite thanks can help patients to maintain their sense of safety, security and confidence in the service that we provide. Educating any misconception is obviously an important factor, when necessary, if managed appropriately, but shutting down positive feedback and describing an entire profession in such negative terms is unfair. To the patients, to our colleagues and to our entire industry.

If we wish to describe ourselves personally as lazy, slack, or any other negative term, that’s entirely up to the individual. We can easily convince the general public of this with our words, body language and attitude, without even realising it. In doing this, however, we may irreparably damage the hard earned reputation and respect that paramedics have gained over one hundred years.