How do we handle the sensitive hand-off reports from EMS to the ED?

Different aspects, like potentially violent family members, unsafe scenes, are often a critical details that need to be conveyed to the ED but don’t have to be announced to everyone in the hand-off report in front of the patient

Micah works as a field and ER paramedic. He talks about this situation and how it’s going for him. He enjoys the number of resources he has access to in the ED

Being able to see the whole workup and outcome of the patient is a big benefit as well, working in the ED

I love it when the EMS crews come back and follow up on their patients, it’s a big way to help them improve and learn

We talk about interpersonal conflict on scenes

Casey tries to be as friendly as he can and learn everyone’s names

It’s easy for all of us to allow our egos to get too out of hand, but we need to treat everyone how we would want to be treated

I talk about some issues I’ve had with the fire department in the past – sometimes it is all about how you are doing something as opposed to what you are doing in your interactions with other agencies

At the end of the day, the patient can be affected when we have confrontational scenes so we should always be seeking to avoid this

Alex talks about working 48 hours with his fire crew and responding on scenes with the same crew and how this differs from private ambulance responding with other agencies he may not know very well

Casey talks about how, years ago, the EMS crews had more time to stop by the fire stations and become more familiar with the fire crews

Casey talks about the power of edifying others in our field

Audrianna talks about a fire crew going above and beyond in the ED as well

We talk about small things we can all do to go above and beyond our regular tasks, helping families navigate the ED, getting a blanket for someone, cleaning a room

Little things like this also help you feel better about your job too; they help you remember why you got into medicine in the first place

It does require you to look beyond yourself to see those opportunities

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Everything you hear today from myself and my guests is opinion only and doesn’t represent any organizations or companies that any of us are affiliated with. The stories you hear have been modified to protect patient privacy and any resemblance to real individuals is coincidental. This is for educational and entertainment purposes only and should not be taken as medical advice nor used to diagnose any medical or healthcare conditions. This is not medical advice. If you have personal health concerns, please seek professional care.

Full show notes can be found here: Episodes - Practical EMS - Content for EMTs, PAs, Paramedics
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