Advice Please someone is talking crap about me

[Colorado Medic]

Someone is spreading rumors about me. I found out from some other people that came up and told me.

What should I do? I was told to go a confront him? I pissed off enough to just go to admin. To let then know what’s going on. But I was told to first go and talk to that person first.


I think the reason why he is spreading rumors is because. I took a station that he wants to work at and he ended up at a station we all hate to work at.
Our company is based on seniority to where you can pick your own station if you have the seniority to work there.

The rumors I have head is that I am a bad paramedic; I am weak, and so on.
I have worked with this guy a few times and we got along good, but now he is talking crap about me.

Help

 

[SwissEMT]

Only thing you should do is prove him wrong.

Be the best damn medic people have seen around and his credibility will be worth less than a grain of afghani sand.
Seriously, sometimes this EMS world gets ugly, the best way to counteract rumors is the debunk them. Just do good medicine and don't let the little tool get to you, in the end you'll be stronger than he/she will ever be.

-

 

[akflightmedic]

Seriously...how long have you been in EMS??

This is a daily occurrence in EMS, we cut each other up all the time. Get a stronger spine and get used to it.

Having said that, the best thing you can do is ignore it. Go about your routine and be the best that you can be. You have no one to answer to but your supervisors and if they see you doing the job you were hired to do, they could care less what rumor is being spread.

I would also confront the person spreading the rumor, document it somewhere, the time location and what was said..and I would politely ask him to stop what he is saying, if he has any problems with you, to take them to you or to admin(the proper channels). He does not do this cause he knows it is bunk. But ask him to stop and document it. Have a witness present if you can. If it occurs again, you have reason to report him to admin and you have the documentation to prove it.

As I am sure RidRider will attest, if we paid attention to all the rumors said about us over the years, we would have ran home to mamma crying a long time ago. Dont let some malcontent dictate your feelings. Do your job and then go home, leaving the job behind.

Eventually you will learn as most of the old timers have...

Go to work to work, not to make friends. Let your work speak for itself, you should never have to defend it.

 

[Summit]

You could talk to him. He might deny it. Then what will you do? 360J to his skull?

Sure go talk to him and work it out. Then just prove him wrong.

Everyone else on your service knows that EMS is a rumor mill and to take things with a grain of salt and MAKE THEIR OWN OPINIONS. If they don't, they aren't worth worrying about. If your service is dysfunctional enough to be composed primarily of gossip BELIEVERS who let it affect how they perform with others, get out and find a healthy (all things being relative in EMS) service.

 

[Guardian]

high school

 

[Summit]

high school

totally. here is a special bracelet that says you can be in the cool kids club.

 

[Colorado Medic]

I agree completely High School. I guess the reason I am having problems with this is because I have never had anyone talk bad about me.

I have been In EMS for 9 years and I know people talk crap all the time. But for some reason this is brothing me. I know I shouldn't....

 

[Margaritaville]

Hey colorado -

I'll be happy to kick his a** for you!!! (think of it this way, If they are talking about you - they are leaving others alone! COOL)

 

[Guardian]

I will say this, at my volly fire company, there is a strict policy from our chiefs down that you are not to drag someones name through the mud, especially behind their back. I found this out the hard way when I was joking about someone and my chief chewed me a new one and put my super para-gods *** in its place real quick. I got served a huge piece of humble pie. Looking back on it, I'm really glad it happened because I took it to heart and learned from my mistake. Unfortunately, not all ems/fire/whatever agencies have this strong leadership who won't tolerate this kind of crap so in this case, you might have to step up and take on that role.

 

[Guardian]

Just joking about the high school remark, this is a serious problem. This is exactly why you need mature (and I hate to say it but older) leaders for your members/employees to look up to and attempt to emulate.

 

[Colorado Medic]

It's cool man but your right. This is just a case that someone is not getting what they want.

 

[Airwaygoddess]

So o.k. try talking to that person first, if that does not work, than see if you can get someone i.e. superviser or other admin. to listen and mediate the problem at hand. I get how you feel, in my mind it all comes down to teamwork and being able to relay on co-workers to do the job well and take care of the patients. Is it snowing yet?

 

[kevinemt662c]

Wow its everywhere!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Summit]

If all else fails, you can always take the guy out back, sit him down, and have a nice heart to heart (by which I mean beating the ever living crap out of him with a jumbo D cylinder).

 

[TheDoll]

Only thing you should do is prove him wrong.

Be the best damn medic people have seen around and his credibility will be worth less than a grain of afghani sand.
Seriously, sometimes this EMS world gets ugly, the best way to counteract rumors is the debunk them. Just do good medicine and don't let the little tool get to you, in the end you'll be stronger than he/she will ever be.

-

i don't have much ems experience, but i do have a great deal of work experience. this kind of thing happens in many job situations, but it stinks just the same everywhere. out of all of the advice that has been contributed to this thread, i think this is the best. the best way to do well is to live well in my opinion. unfortunately, everywhere you go you are going to run into people who like to cryass, and as much of a shame as it is do you really want to get involved in this individuals schoolyard slap-fight? even though you have proper channels to go through to deal with this sometimes it's better just to show people what you're made of. i think swissemt hit the nail on the head by advising that you just do the best that you can, and THAT alone will make said individual look foolish over time. i mean, at some point you have to do something about it if it is really affecting your job and reputation, but if you can avoid bringing even more attention to the situation, i'm sure you'll be better off in the long run. sorry you have to deal with this. good luck and...'do good work' (garrison keillor).

 

[Tincanfireman]

You didn't get to be a ranking medic by being weak or having poor skills. You've got something he wants and he's being an idiot to get it. Some people (successfully) get the competition out of the way by planting those seeds of doubt so deep the other person gets intimidated and quits. Keep doing what you're doing; others will notice what he's up to, probably sooner than later. The fact that others have already come to you indicates you have real friends who don't want to see you get stabbed in the back. Best of luck, and yes, it does happen most everywhere!

 

[gradygirl]

Hmmmmmmm, I've only just been through something like this. Only it was one of my best friends talking crap about one of my other best friends. (Funny how I'm best friends with them both, but they basically can't stand each other.) Basically what was said was that this guy was fooling around with his partner and was also lazy. Well, I went to my friend and told him what was said. He confronted the other, who hastily backtracked and ate every word. And the motive behind this: they're two of the best medics at their service, but have a strained working relationship. Fortunately, this rumor got dropped before it got out of control, but apparently sent waves through the company, between crews and shifts.

Be the big person and confront this guy. As it's been mentioned, sounds like he's after something, so if you can squash it now, or at least confront him over it, most likely things will stop. And if they don't, it's Hello Admin.

 

[Ridryder911]

I highly suggest to be sure to narrow it down to whom is spreading rumors. I agree to confront him; however, I have found those with that type of character, this does not supress them.

I suggest to confront them when there are others present.. either put up or shut up time. If he has a beef then he will have to have the gonads to stand up; if he does not then leave the impression he had the chance to say something.

I would be blunt and tell them that there was rumors that they were spreading rumors and you wanted to nip it, in case it was it was not true or if it was true... say it to my face.

More than likely, they will deny... and of course this will lead to discreditably if they did say such.... and most will blow them off from then on. If they do say they did, make them give instances and circumstances exactly when and how... you are always open to constructive criticism, much more than back stabbers....

We in EMS love to criticize but most never want to back it up....

R/r 911

 

[Colorado Medic]

Update

Well I spoke to him, It didn't go anywhere. Like I thought, He just denied it even when I told him who said all the rumors. With there permission of course.

I spoke to my chief paramedic. I guess this guy is like that he just likes to talk crap. My chief also said there were allot of people that have stuck up for me and not to worry about it. I am all good with admin.

I also found out that no one likes this guy. I heard some other stuff but if I spread it around it would be just as low as he is.

 

[Colorado Medic]

Ridryer,
you are right. The sad thing about all of this. Was that I thought he was a friend and turned out to be a bad stabber.

But you know and I know. No matter how great of a medic we are that when a rumor starts.
That all we have is our credit ability. Trash talker are one that could mess it up