Honest Opinion

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Permalink Reply by Paul Montpetit on November 2, 2009 at 11:48am

I am also a Registered Nurse and in Fire Rescue.....before anyone (FF/EMS or Nurses) gripes about the way they are treated or addressed why not as they say...."Ride a mile in my boots...?"(sorry about the parody)...This goes both ways....the people in the hospital as well as those in the field can learn alot by putting themselves in the others situation.....Try suggesting this if you are having issues...it will not only open some eyes but both sides will appreciate the unique problems the other side has....In simple terms....DON'T BITCH IF YOU ARE NOT WILLING TO BE PART OF THE SOLUTION....Just my look at it.....Stay safe...always Keep the Faith..........Paul

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Permalink Reply by Paul Montpetit on November 2, 2009 at 11:51am

One other thing.....Respect is earned....not given out lightly.....Have you shown yourself worthy of respect...and no, I am not coming down on you for I see it from our side as well....some medics/FF are very rude when giving reports over the radio or in person to person communications....I usually (if it is one of our people) give them a rather sharp elbow to the ribs if I see it.......Paul

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Permalink Reply by John Crabbe on November 2, 2009 at 2:16pm

Despite this a few month's old thread, oh well. Here we really don't have an issue with lack of respect. Majority of the medics on our dept wen through the tech school and had to do clinicals through the year at the ER's. You got to know the nurses and docs and a rapport is established.

On the flip side though, just because a nurse may have a higher level of knowlege and or certs, it still comes down to what they typically see. I would have no problem working alongside some of the ER nurses, because they basically do see what we do, although when the pt gets to them, the scene is different. I know of plenty of nurses who have been in a certain field for years and lost touch on other skills because they just don't do it enough.

The last several times I recertified my ACLS, I was with several other nurses, some from ICU, some from ER etc. They were also the ones looking at the algorithoms, looking up what drug to push next, taking a bit to realize the rhythm change and so forth. Meanwhile most of the medics cruised on through, why? because they see it more. I was an EMT-Basic and we operated close to a couple hospitals and we have had nurses show up a few times on calls, but many times we turned them away. Not because of respect or they didn't know what to do (some cases they don't) but the fact that it is our license on the line. In this capacity they are a Good Samaritan, unless they want to take over pt care, which doesn't happen often.

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Permalink Reply by Adam Schmitt on November 7, 2009 at 8:26pm

Well I believe this an old arguement that sometimes gets way out of hand. Respect is a two way street. I have been in the middle of this before. I do know of RN's that have no respect to pre-hospital providers, and visa versa. These RN's wound up doing some ride time, seeing what we do, then come back and feel bad that they felt that way in the first place. I even got an apologie or two. On the flip side I know of some Medics that treated everyone with disrespect. Bottom line is, we need to respect everyone we come in contact with. If these people are unprofessional, don't lower yourself to there level.

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Permalink Reply by Ron Ayotte on November 8, 2009 at 1:22am

Out in the streets, EMS is a different animal than in the hospital setting. For someone who is used to having everything they need within arms reach, the streets can be daunting.

I have been to calls where a nurse who happens to be on scene as a bystander tries to take over, barking "orders".

I have also been on calls with a nurse who happens to be on scene as a bystander will ask us how they can help.

I have also been in situations as the "bystander" along with my sister, who happens to be an RN.

As many have stated, respect is a two way street.

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Permalink Reply by Kali Goddess of Destruction 23 hours ago

Ron -

Agreed - working in an area with a number of major teaching hospitals we often get well meaning medical folks eager to help or to try their new skills on the street. We inform them if they want to take charge of the scene they must accompany the patient to the hospital, and about 90% decline that responsibility. The very next thing we ask is what their specialty is - and usually it is something completely irrelevant - "I'm an infectious disease specialist " or podiatrist, or eye surgeon.

Once we got a guy who replied "I'm the ER attending at..." and he named one of the level one trauma centers nearby. Hey, it's all you Doc ;o)

Kali

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Permalink Reply by Loyd Dittfurth 20 hours ago

Curious what about flight nurses? There critical care nurses so they should be able to do the job.

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Permalink Reply by Kali Goddess of Destruction 20 hours ago

I think the discussion between Captain Busy and FETC pretty much answered this question. Critical care nurses have a much different skill set that is appropriate for "in hospital" care - taking care of a patient in an ICU and monitoring and interpreting diagnostic tests and lab results is COMPLETELY different than what is required in the field.

If the flight nurse is also a paramedic, which is what is required in my area, then they are using their prehospital / paramedic skills skills in the prehospital setting.

Kali

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Permalink Reply by keith on November 16, 2009 at 10:03am

coming from the fire/ems world i dont have a problem with RN's that general want to help and understand there limitations in the outside world compared to the hospital setting. we dont have everything within arms reach and we dont have everything that is going to be there in a hospital setting, but its what we do, we deal with it and do the best of our abilities in the field. in the same respect when im in a hospital i try not to step on anyones toes. if i can help or if the staff looks as if they might need help i ask if they do sure ill help up to my s.o.p. if they dont need it just step back and watch them work. with the respect thing i learned when i first got in to fire/ems its very hard and important to earn the respect of the older more experienced personal, you can have all the certs and classes you want. the older crewmen are not going to be impressed with that. Its all about how hard you work and if you'r willing to shut your mouth and listen to what they have to say. thats just what i have just picked up from working in this field, and how i have seen RN's try to jump on truck with no true ems training. you can be an ER RN all you want but until you come work in our world dont be upset or afined when ems fire doesnt respect you asoon as you start. and that works both ways we should carry around the feeling that we are better then RN's just because we work in trucks and they work in hospitals.

In the end we are all here for the samethings. patient care and that is all

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Permalink Reply by Scott on November 19, 2009 at 10:24pm

As an RN in Ohio and on a vollie dept, I am completely aware of what I am allowed and not allowed to do. The medics and EMTs in my area am aware of my experience and I have no problem assisting them in procedures/packaging pts/whatever in the field. I will not wait to start CPR or assess a pt before they arrive if it needs done, but I also will not step outside of my boundaries of licensing either. My butt is on the line, but I will protect myself, too!

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