Hey everyone I'm having a bit of a problem and wondering if anyone has any advice. So I haven't been working that long in EMS but sometimes not all the time, when I'm working with a pt my hands will shake slightly. I used to work in an ED and never had the problem, when I was in school I never had the problem. I keep telling myself its just a bit of anxiety I'm experiencing and with more experience it will go away but I don't know its embarrassing. Any advice?
Any Advice Would be Great
- Thread starter errey
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Sounds like you are anxious/nervous. With time and experience it should go away. Remember to breath and not rush, It is the pts emergency not yours.
bigbaldguy
Former medic seven years 911 service in houston
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Perhaps an adrenaline thing. Tones go off and your adrenaline spikes stays high while your on the way to the call. By the time you get to patient it's starting to wear off and you get shaky while your adrenaline levels return to normal.
Same thing happened to me for a while.
Same thing happened to me for a while.
did you find it went away with more experience or you learned to handle it. And thank you both for the responses
titmouse
aspiring needlefairy
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+1 Breath. I myself tend to rush a lot. Once I have figured how to slow down and breath the whole process has become much more relaxing and pleasurable.
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If you're excited/nervous before/during a call, take 5-10 slow, deep, controlled breaths. It'll help calm you and let you think clearly 
mycrofft
Still crazy but elsewhere
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Stop looking at your hands. It bugs the patients.
Oscar-winning actors get the shakes. Racehorses get the shakes. Chuck Norris might not get the shakes....but he has a good screenwriter and stunt double.
Maybe lighten up on the caffeine? Make sure you are rested and fed. A little less self-talk consisting of "OMG IT'S HERE I'M ON OMG OMG OMG!!!!".
Oscar-winning actors get the shakes. Racehorses get the shakes. Chuck Norris might not get the shakes....but he has a good screenwriter and stunt double.
Maybe lighten up on the caffeine? Make sure you are rested and fed. A little less self-talk consisting of "OMG IT'S HERE I'M ON OMG OMG OMG!!!!".
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To me, it sounds more like some kind of performance anxiety type of issue. A lot of that will go away with experience. As you begin to see the same types of calls over and over, you will find that a lot of your anxiety goes away. It's just because you've seen it over and over again. It becomes no longer new. In a way, it becomes routine. Probably the biggest thing you can do is breathe. Take some long slow and deep breaths when you're called out to a scene. Then actively start relaxing on the way out to it. That way when you get there, you will be calm, relaxed, ready to go to work.
Above all, remember that it is their emergency, not yours. It does not mean that you don't do your best, it just means that you not take personal ownership of their problem.
Way back when, when I was doing my internship, I used to take a nap on the way to calls while riding in the back. I really truly did not fall asleep, it just ended up being about an extra 5 min. or so of relaxation on the way to the call. Because I was an intern, I did not have to concern myself with figuring out where we were or where we needed to go, mostly because we had 4 hospitals within a very short driving distance and I had a pretty good idea where we were relative to those hospitals. That was something I just used to do to keep me calm on the way to calls when I was 1st learning to be a paramedic.
These days, I would probably get some kind of anxiety at 1st if I were to return to ambulance work, but I would expect that to go away fairly quickly as I would settle into the role of paramedic again.
Above all, remember that it is their emergency, not yours. It does not mean that you don't do your best, it just means that you not take personal ownership of their problem.
Way back when, when I was doing my internship, I used to take a nap on the way to calls while riding in the back. I really truly did not fall asleep, it just ended up being about an extra 5 min. or so of relaxation on the way to the call. Because I was an intern, I did not have to concern myself with figuring out where we were or where we needed to go, mostly because we had 4 hospitals within a very short driving distance and I had a pretty good idea where we were relative to those hospitals. That was something I just used to do to keep me calm on the way to calls when I was 1st learning to be a paramedic.
These days, I would probably get some kind of anxiety at 1st if I were to return to ambulance work, but I would expect that to go away fairly quickly as I would settle into the role of paramedic again.
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I think you probably could lighten up on the caffeine, maybe decaf latte from time to time… And a bunch of good positive self talk all the way to calls. then again, I should be one to talk about that as I used to drink several espresso drinks a day… Not anymore!Stop looking at your hands. It bugs the patients.
Oscar-winning actors get the shakes. Racehorses get the shakes. Chuck Norris might not get the shakes....but he has a good screenwriter and stunt double.
Maybe lighten up on the caffeine? Make sure you are rested and fed. A little less self-talk consisting of "OMG IT'S HERE I'M ON OMG OMG OMG!!!!".
mycrofft
Still crazy but elsewhere
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Me...eight of twenty ounce Mt Dews per eight hour shift, plus coffee coming in and going out.
Don't know if it was going decaff or the beta blockers with atrial fib that got rid of them.
Don't know if it was going decaff or the beta blockers with atrial fib that got rid of them.
thank you all for your responses I do find it happens mostly on a call i don't have a lot of experience with or my first time. the calls i get more regularly it doesn't seem to happen. So yeah it most likely is experience and a bit of anxiety. thank you for the advice i will try it out!