I'm Sad Today

I wasn’t planning on posting today, so this is kind of a snapshot that hasn’t been well-edited.

Sometimes the professionalism and maturity of EMS employees makes me sad.  That is to say, the absolute lack of professionalism and the shocking lack of maturity make me sad.  Yesterday, the NocturnalMedic Facebook page asked, “What is the silliest thing you’ve ever been written up for?”  The comments make me despair for ever seeing EMS as a profession.  Some commenter highlights:

• Vandalism of an ambulance with medical supplies, potentially causing a dangerous drive, is not a silly reason to be written up.
• Hazing a new employee by writing on them?  Again, not a silly reason to be written up.
• Farting into the ambulance PA system is not a silly reason to be written up.  What state allows 8-year olds to work on ambulances?
• There are a lot of people written up for absenteeism.  One protested that appendicitis is not a reason to be written up.  My guess, however, is that they were not written up for that one call out – they were written up for a pattern of excessive absenteeism that violated agency policy.
• Violating a uniform policy is not a silly reason to be written up – unless this was a secret policy that nobody ever showed you and was pulled out of the “Save these policies for people we don’t like” cabinet.  You knew the rules.
• Not cleaning an ambulance at shift end is not a silly reason to be written up.  An unsanitary workspace in the healthcare field is dangerous.  I may have to work in that filth after you, our patients have nasty diseases, and we care for immunocompromised patients.
• Defecating into a trashcan while transporting a patient?  Seriously?!?
• Gory Halloween decorations hanging out of an ambulance is not a silly reason to be written up.  What is the opposite of ironic? 
• One comment pointed out that he wasn’t allowed to use a 12-lead because the agency didn’t have people that understood it.  I hope they are an agency of all EMT-Basics.

This kind of behavior is something that happens, I understand that.  There are some old medics that may have some stories about me in my early 20s.  I was suspended a long time ago for being a dumbass.  But when I was busted, my write up was not silly.  It was deserved and earned, and I made sure to change my ways.  Offering these examples shows an inability to even understand right from wrong.

Other comments make me sad, as well, if I assume that the story is correct.  Getting to calls too quickly, using too many gloves, removing a blanket from a patient to perform an exam, that kind of thing.  My guess, though, is that these “reasons” are not the whole story.  Getting to calls too quickly is probably more related to unsafe vehicle operation.  Removing a blanket and performing an exam can be done in the wrong setting – in front of crowds for example, so maybe that’s what that comment was about.

One way or the other, I’m sad.  I’m sad for EMS leaders who don’t adequately explain their position so that the employees being disciplined can understand the behavior that they need to correct.  I’m sad for the lack of maturity.  I’m sad for the lack of professionalism.  I’m sad for the lack of self-awareness in regards to behavior.  I’m sad for the blame transference and lack of responsibility I saw here.   

Maybe all of the comments are untrue and just Internet trolling.  This is why I try to avoid comment sections.

Next time you hear an EMS employee complain that they are not treated like professional peers worthy of respect by nurses and doctors, think of this.  Next time someone complains that they are treated like cab drivers by patients, think of this.

We do it to ourselves.