You should say you’re wrong.
Today, I was wrong.
I was sent out on a Short of Breath run with a Basic who I’ve worked with before. Several times, in fact.
I was nervous. I’m new. I’m supposed to be nervous, right? All of these runs get my heart racing. That being said, I know this particular partner. I’ve known him for a few years. I’d trust him with my kids.
And today, I took my own nervousness and the fact that I’m not the most confident Brand Spankin’ New Medic out there… On him.
And that’s just not cool.
I was wrong. I’m saying I was wrong.
“D”… Again, I’m sorry. Thank you for pumping me up while my hands shook. You will be a fantastic Intermediate/Specialist!
Epi, You have the knowledge, and your skills are great. Now just trust in yourself.
I’m proud of you.
I’ll be even more proud of you when you realize that the things you worry about will likely never come to fruition.
You’re not going to kill someone because you misinterpreted some obscure EKG finding. You’re going to kill someone by forgetting shit you learned five years ago in EMT-B school.
And I know you didn’t suddenly become a bad EMT just because you got the disco patch.
Epi- If you know that, you have made GREAT strides… There is nothing wrong with being nervous. The only problem is being afraid to admit it!
+1 to what AmboDriver said. I’m glad you don’t have the ParaGod complex I’ve seen a few times, that you can admit you’re wrong, that is an awesome quality in anybody, but especially an EMT.
All the best :)
~Brad
@EMTGoose
Woman, I would chose you to work on me and mine if ever the need arose.
Trust from those that know the job… that is something right there.
Get to the point of why you’re scared, and all will be well.
Know why you’re scared? You’re scared for you…you don’t want anybody to know that you don’t know what you’re doing. Medics are just ruthless on other medics…because they are terrified somebody might find out they did something dumb and rip on them.
You’re scared that you are going to forget something, and you’ll be tagged as a weak medic…we LIVE by our reps on the street. You want to be that unflappable medic in chaos that is calm and cool, and knows what to do…your heart pounds in your ears because you are afraid what others will think about you.
My old medic school instructor used to yell at us during code practice “what the hell are you scared for, YOU aren’t dying?”
It took me a long time to figure out what he meant. Know why you are calm in the back of the rig by yourself? The patient doesn’t know if you’re competent or not…the second your preceptors step out, you’re a whole different medic.
The quicker you cease to be scared for you, and can concentrate solely on what’s going on with the patient, the better you’ll be. You still won’t know the end points of procainamide administration or incredibly obscure 12-lead findings, but you’ll be able to think and stay calm and focused, and after that, you’ll have it knocked. You’ll be the one in the chaos not flipping out, looking like you know it all. Every bit of that is confidence and experience, but you can help it along by consciously confronting what really terrifies you.
I’ve just crossed over recent-ish to the Advanced care paramedic side (that’s Ontario Speak) and I am just as nervous – my mouth gets dry and I try to stay cool but there are days my hands shake and I try to focus… and hopefully my partner realizes that I am just plain nervous and that I don’t mean to snap or speak abruptly.
One step at a time – as experiences build thats where the confidence comes from right? I hope… I still have much much to see… but slowly getting the experience I need.
Good luck and I hope that your partner gives you a good squeeze when he sees you next and you get things cleared up! :)
we were all new at one point.