Medics Lament

[weldertx69]

Medics Lament

We started down this road we all take
To help someone, a difference to make
But there were things, they were left untold
The pain our hearts would be forced to hold

We went on calls, to help fellow man
To touch, to help, that was our plan
But the horror of it all became too much
Pain and death leave us cold to the touch

The violence, the shootings, it all seems so senseless
But here it keeps coming, just so damn relentless
We work and strive til it numbs our senses
Leaving our souls completely defenseless

The death of a child, abused by a man
His father it seems, we can’t understand
With all of this cruelty of humanity
Some of us begin losing our sanity

Some give up and leave this job
Not willing to let their soul it rob
They move on with life, on to other things
Leaving behind the pain this job brings

Others strive on, in perilous hope
Trying to find, the best way to cope
Some turn to the bottle, they turn to drink
Hoping the booze will let them not think

Some turn to drugs, the needle or weed
A place to hide where there was no need
They hide their problems, they manage to cope
Till next time it hits them, they return to the dope

And some of us have no such luck
Some sink into the mire and muck
Depression sinks in, their soul it doth take
One fateful day a decision they do make

They decide the pain they no more can take
The pain the horror the endless heartbreak
They reach for the gun, their own lives they end
Not caring which way their souls they do send

The lucky ones, they look for help to mend
A partner, a confidant, a very close friend
Someone to talk to, their burden to share
Someone who will listen, someone to care

All of you out there have seen this I share
We must strive for each other, always be there
To help someone else, to make a difference
And fight like hell against the indifference


Jerry Dinsmore
February 5, 2007​

 

[Sasha]

Uhm.... that's just rather depressing.

 

[karaya]

It is, well let's say, a bit over the top? Anyone in this business that remotely has a parallel to this poem needs to be on medication!

 

[phabib]

Well, considering the turnover rate in our field, a lot of people struggle with the job.

I thought it was good.

 

[VentMedic]

It is lucky that most who work in healthcare have learned to deal with trauma and death or we would have a real healthcare shortage by suicide or turnover. Good education and excellent mentors can be a great help also.

This poem is more like a commercial for CISD which is why I am an advocate for having a professional care program established so that everyone can process things in their own way. The author of this poem could probably benefit from that since he may be having trouble processing things he has seen and assumes everyone else is like him. This poem reads like he has attended one too many CISD meetings led by a "trained" counselor instead of seeking professional help.

The turnover rate usually occurs within the first two years when people discover they must actually deal with patients who are sick and dying instead of doing all that cool stuff you see on TV. Some are just not cut out to be care givers at any level or type.

 

[firecoins]

The turnover rate usually occurs within the first two years when people discover they must actually deal with patients who are sick and dying instead of doing all that cool stuff you see on TV. Some are just not cut out to be care givers at any level or type.

I would argue the turnover rates is probably due to people who are not dying or haivng any emergency whatsoever instead of doing all the cool stuff they see on t.v.

But yes, many are not cut out to be caregivers.

 

[medic417]

I actually think this is a quality portrayel that shows how unprepared we in EMS are to go out into the field. We are told the cool stuff but nothing prepares you for what we see and do. This poem would be a good one for discussion during the wellbeing of the medic discussion. It actually shows the dark side of ems and the depths that dark side sends some.

So yes I like it. It could work well for an educational discussion.

 

[Ridryder911]

Although we see death, I don't we see it anymore than many other healthcare professionals just maybe a different situation. I ask do you think Funeral Science profession has such poems or even CISD ? Since they death all the time, yet we never hear their lack or problems within.

R/r 911

 

[karaya]

I actually think this is a quality portrayel that shows how unprepared we in EMS are to go out into the field. We are told the cool stuff but nothing prepares you for what we see and do. This poem would be a good one for discussion during the wellbeing of the medic discussion. It actually shows the dark side of ems and the depths that dark side sends some.

So yes I like it. It could work well for an educational discussion.

Have you looked at the words in this poem? Such as, "Till next time it hits them, they return to the dope." Or how about, "With all of this cruelty of humanity Some of us begin losing our sanity."

Here's another, "Some turn to the bottle, they turn to drink
Hoping the booze will let them not think."

This thing reads like one of those 60's dead teenager songs.

 

[medic417]

Have you looked at the words in this poem? Such as, "Till next time it hits them, they return to the dope." Or how about, "With all of this cruelty of humanity Some of us begin losing our sanity."

Here's another, "Some turn to the bottle, they turn to drink
Hoping the booze will let them not think."

This thing reads like one of those 60's dead teenager songs.

Yes I did and from that a very important educational discussion could ensue with your students. While if actual medical education was required for EMS this would be less a problem but in its current short form of training this would at least help cover a subject many instructors skip. So when things get tough many newbies develope bad habits and even if they beat them they return to them. Now an instructor could discuss ways to cope, where to turn for help, etc.

 

[Foxbat]

Although we see death, I don't we see it anymore than many other healthcare professionals just maybe a different situation. I ask do you think Funeral Science profession has such poems or even CISD ? Since they death all the time, yet we never hear their lack or problems within.

R/r 911

Funeral services workers probably don't watch their clients die and don't think something along the lines of "Could I have done anything differently? Is there a chance the patient would stay alive?"

 

[AJ Hidell]

But who is to say that is any more stressful than what a funeral director deals with? Let's face it there are thousands more people in the US who think they can handle EMS than funeral service, so obviously something is worrying them.

 

[medic417]

Funeral directors, embalmers, etc have no aspirations to be Hero's. They have accepted that death wins against the greatest heros so they wisely chose a recession proof career. Plus the corpses don't fight back, normally.

Honestly I think the hero factor keeps more from entering the death business than the ick factor. To many want to be the person that defeats death even if for an hour so they can brag about the save.

 

[VentMedic]

Funeral services workers probably don't watch their clients die and don't think something along the lines of "Could I have done anything differently? Is there a chance the patient would stay alive?"

How long do you actually spend with that dead body?

Have you ever spent 12 hours at a child's bedside knowing that when your shift end that child's life would also be near an end?

Do you know what those trauma patients go through after they spend maybe 15 minutes with you?
Do you know how many professionals are at their bedside for the next several hours doing everything possible for that person but yet know their efforts will still be just prolonging the inevitable?
Do you know how many times that happens daily in hospitals across the country?
Do you know how many babies are taken off life support by RNs and RRTs, then placed in their parents' arms to die?
Ever see an organ procurement surgery?
How about one that is now by the new guidelines of allowing cardiac arrest without brain death?
Ever remove the ETT and watch the patient gasp for hours for their last breath even with comfort care meds?

Yes, these professionals are probably a little better prepared for end of life and dying through their education along with more patient care experience than many in EMS. When you see 2 - 6 people die every 12 hour shift, some of whom you have known for several years, as a professional you are there for the patient. This is their time, not yours. Some EMS providers appear to take everything as their own problem and forget there is a patient with a family that must have some closure to move on. The healthcare professionals that are there for the patients do better than those that feel everything is about them.

 

[Foxbat]

Do you know what those trauma patients go through after they spend maybe 15 minutes with you?
Do you know how many professionals are at their bedside for the next several hours doing everything possible for that person but yet know their efforts will still be just prolonging the inevitable?
Do you know how many times that happens daily in hospitals across the country?
Do you know how many babies are taken off life support by RNs and RRTs, then placed in their parents' arms to die?
Ever see an organ procurement surgery?
How about one that is now by the new guidelines of allowing cardiac arrest without brain death?
Ever remove the ETT and watch the patient gasp for hours for their last breath even with comfort care meds?

I was talking about funeral service. If funeral service workers actually work in hospitals and deal with it, I appologize.

 

[VentMedic]

I was talking about funeral service. If funeral service workers actually work in hospitals and deal with it, I appologize.

The thread was initially about EMS providers. Do you mind if I respond to a topic related to the OP?

BTW, we do have morgue attendants in our huge hospital.

 

[Foxbat]

Sorry I deviated from the topic.

 

[Dustoff]

I gave you 5 STARS Weldrtx just because I could.. many never recover, I am still in counciling..