New Paramedic

[RGVmedic]

To all the paramedic peeps out there.

Recently got a job at a busy 911 company and currently in orientation. It has been pretty ruff. The medics that I am riding out with are pretty hard on me. Is that typical for paramedic orientation? Also if any of you can give me some tips that will help with this new found paramedic job.

exp- 1 year as a basic.

 

[Fish]

Why are they hard on you? Are you messing up on Patient care, operations, what? And to be honest, the ruffness or attitude is all based on the system. Some have a true "Your a Rookie, life is gonna be Hell!" attitude, and others have the attitude or "Your a Rookie and are gonna make A LOT of mistakes, we are here to help you through them..."

 

[BigLouie2314]

They shouldn't be "hard" on you. I am a preceptor in my project (very busy city in New Jersey) and I am never "hard" on my new medics. I do expect the best out of them and expect them to be on top of thier game, however by being rough or hard on them, all this does is discourage them. We were all new at one point and I think a lot of experienced medics forget this.

Take a look at how your process is going...are you learning? Are they answering your questions and explaining thier answers to you? If you are hesitatant or questioning something, do they explain the reasoning behind what they want you to do and/or why you shouldn't do something? In my opinion, if you answer no to any of these, then they are absolutely not helping in getting you prepared to be on your own and you may be better off asking for a different preceptor.

Of course you are going to be put to a higher standard as you are brand new, right out of school, and need to, in a way, prove you have what it takes to work on your own, but you should never become discouraged.

 

[Veneficus]

Some "high performance" agencies use this type of "bootcamp" style preceptorship to "weed people out."

Usually these agencies and preceptors suck at medicine and do the same things over and over for every patient regardless of need and judge their ability as providers by how fast they can follow a wrote protocol and drive to the hospital.

Find a new job.

 

[RocketMedic]

Some "high performance" agencies use this type of "bootcamp" style preceptorship to "weed people out."

Usually these agencies and preceptors suck at medicine and do the same things over and over for every patient regardless of need and judge their ability as providers by how fast they can follow a wrote protocol and drive to the hospital.

Find a new job.

This sounds familiar.

 

[Grumpy]

Know your protocols, assess all your pts thoroughly and treat them according to your protocols. If you do those things then life will be easier, while you are learning the new job. Ask questions, be consistent and that's 3/4 of the orientation process. Good luck and congrats.

 

[pa132399]

im a newer medic myself aug 12 was when i passed registry. ive been on my own since then. i had two days of precepting on a rural unit that has a varied transport to the hospital between 8-50 minutes depending on where we are. my preceptors i knew them because of running with them before as an emt. never as a medic student. prove yourself and feel confident in what you are doing if you are constantly second guessing yourself you will get discouraged and when in doubt call medical command. no doc is going to chew you out for calling command. its your lifeline when your stuck. other than that enjoy it and continue to learn it never stops. good luck with the rest of your precepting.

 

[Veneficus]

This sounds familiar.

I've been around the block a few times.

 

[cbabymedic]

the reason they r like that...

is either 1 your young and successful...
2. they want you out cuz you gone mean more hours
3. people are just plain old rude in ems they feel like sum holyness cuz of the money potential.. slash mean spirited

my suggestion is to just not trust anyone. they are gunna b picking on you to see what dirt they get on you. just dont say nothing act shy =). its hard on me to but hey ignore their monkey communication skills. ^_^

 

[SeeNoMore]

I am also a newer medic and have had more than a few rough days. I think the trick is to have a really realistic understanding of your strengths and weak points and also the willingness to improve. It's important for you to take constructive criticism from your peers but more importantly you want to be the very best medic you can be.

It may have been different for some other folks, but I know that even though I did very well in class, ride time and passed the registry the first time I still had a learning curve, especially because I was getting used to 911 and ALS transport (at times truly critical care transports) at the same time.

My advice, work as hard as you can and don't let the job or a bad call get you down. Don't let other medics make you feel stupid or embaressed, you may have made a mistake but the only option at that point is to learn and move on. Use your off time when the stress is not there to review material and educate yourself. I make a list everyday of topics I want to review, anything from learning learning more about a medication to doing a "what if" about a pt and deciding what you would have done if their condition deproved or what why you did what you did, not just because it was a protocol but making sure your clinical reasoning is on point.

Also ask if you need help. I was often too embarressed and felt I should know it all when medics that were good teachers were willing to help.

Good luck, keep trying.

 

[sir.shocksalot]

This sounds familiar.

Scary isn't it? I bet it's a busy system in a bigish city? Claims to be the best agency in the region. Weird...

Anyway, being mean and talking down to the new guy is modus operandi of some systems. Often not hearing anything about your call is the signal that you did well. The best thing to do is keep your head down and try your best to do what they tell you to. Try not to let what they are saying get to your head, this kind of instruction process mostly just whittles away at your confidence until you turn into a pile of jelly on every call anticipating the critique at the end.

If/when you make it through the instruction process try you best not to let how you were treated as a new guy affect how you treat the next new guy. Often these services have a vicious cycle where the old new guys bully the new new guys because, hey, thats what they had to put up with. I could say lots more about it but unfortunately that is just the way some jobs are. Comes down to the whole insecurity that pervades EMS.