What are we made of ?

[Sandog]

Sure, snips and snails, and puppy dog tails, but what are we truly made of ?

The Cory Young song got me to asking this question...
http://www.coryyoungmusic.com/

After I wiped my tears I realized something, we are a sentimental bunch, we are hopeless romantics. You may be a big beefy fire fighter but deep inside, there is a chick inside that makes you have compassion, you feel the pain, you feel the patients hurt and I must say you become a real human being when you relieve the pain cause you feel it to. I am sure you know what I mean.

What I have discovered is that those in fire and EMS are a cut above Joe Q. Public. You are all dedicated, you feel their pain and hurt when they do, you are a special clan and should know that. My hat is off to all of you, and myself, we are pretty cool peeps.

The pay may suck, but what other profession gets a wave when you drive by from a bunch of kids who think we are great?

 

[DesertMedic66]

Agreed. No matter how tough you may seem on the outside or even if you have served in the military you will find something that will open up a soft spot. For the public, they call us when they are having a horrible event. And then they most of the time won't see another horrible event for a while. For us it's part of the job. We go from one persons bad day (or even nightmare) straight to another.

 

[Sandog]

Just to add something else, not to disparage our law enforcement crew as I know they get waves also, only difference between waves is that the one we get include all fingers...

 

[John E]

Hmmm...

water mostly...

 

[firetender]

What Lives Inside?

You may be a big beefy fire fighter but deep inside, there is a chick inside that makes you have compassion, you feel the pain, you feel the patients hurt...

...and you're not allowed to express it.

I think, deep inside, in unwatched moments, in times of intense exposure to true pain of things like loss and maybe even futility, and when we're alone, every medic goes there. But the culture still leans towards silence with each other, especially in person..

Sure, you can get away with mentioning this here, but what are the odds of your being able to go up to your big beefy firefighter, give him a hug and say, "It's okay, Darlin', let those tears flow!" without getting cold-cocked?

I'm definitely NOT saying you're wrong. But the dominant culture does anything but reward showing vulnerability. This cuts off a lot of e-motion (energy in motion) and freezes it into a hard ball in your gut that some how, some way needs to get out. Too many and you fall over from the weight and can't get up. Problem is, you drag others who love you down with you.

My point is, however, that just sharing a bit more honestly -- as you are doing here -- may actually begin opening more doors for the proportion of medics who really WOULD like to talk about EMS as if it were more than a technical job, but an avocation with romance and despair and everything in-between!

I'm happy you brought this up. I'm looking forward to hearing other takes on it.

 

[HotelCo]

I'm definitely NOT saying you're wrong. But the dominant culture does anything but reward showing vulnerability. This cuts off a lot of e-motion (energy in motion) and freezes it into a hard ball in your gut that some how, some way needs to get out. Too many and you fall over from the weight and can't get up. Problem is, you drag others who love you down with you.

I've never had a call that has bothered me for more than a few seconds (and those were just a "dang, that sucks.") Not everyone is as emotional as yourself.

Just something I wanted to point out.

(Great music though, Cory!)

 

[DesertMedic66]

Sure, you can get away with mentioning this here, but what are the odds of your being able to go up to your big beefy firefighter, give him a hug and say, "It's okay, Darlin', let those tears flow!" without getting cold-cocked?

it all depends on how close you are with your coworkers. at my station the firefighters are really close. we have had firefighters in tears talking about calls they went on and they thought they made a huge mistake. one of the major ones was an infant that drowned. the medic on duty was working on the patient all the way to the hospital. he was fine until we picked him up. then he just let it all out. if your close to your coworkers then they will open up to you. and thats actually a good thing. if a member of my crew was lets say getting a divorce and not sleeping well i would defiantly want to know because that is going to affect how he does his job.

 

[Sasha]

Candy.

 

[firetender]

Not everyone is as emotional as yourself.

I'm not taking this personally, so you know. I really do hear you.

There's a call running around there, maybe MANY calls with your name written on it. That's the way it works. Each of us, most often without having any idea what "it" is, can easily stumble into the call that rips them apart.

If I have any point, it's that each of us has a range of different tolerances in how calls affect us. What tweaks you won't raise my eyebrow. What I'd like to see is EMS professionals getting accustomed to tolerating and supporting each other when someone hits a wall. That way, everybody gets covered when it gets tough.

It's nice to hear from those of you who are experiencing support amongst your peers. I'm not exaggerating when I say there's a lot of medics out there that don't even recognize it as an option. Bringing out these aspects of the environment you work in makes it more real and less a fantasy.

 

[medicRob]

Cells.

 

[FrostbiteMedic]

I've never had a call that has bothered me for more than a few seconds (and those were just a "dang, that sucks.") Not everyone is as emotional as yourself.

Just something I wanted to point out.

(Great music though, Cory!)

There's a call out there with your name on it that will make you wonder why you got into this profession, if only for a second. You may never get that call, but it's out there. For me, mine came early in my EMS career. I was doing clinicals at an ER and when I walked through the door, they were packed out, and everyone was busy. They placed me in a room with a 4 year old girl who looked fine, but they needed someone to watch her until SO got there. Why? Cause she had been raped by a 13 year old. It hurt somewhere inside to know that all I could do for this young person was to give her a teddy bear. There wasn't a person in that ER that evening that knew what was going on that didn't want to throttle the 13 year old. There is a lot more detail, but I think this gives the gist of it.
Just remember, we are not invincible to our emotions.....

 

[HotelCo]

I'm not taking this personally, so you know. I really do hear you.

Re-reading my post, I can see how it may come across as negative. That wasn't what I was going for. What I should have said what "Not everyone is as in touch with their emotions as yourself." You strike me as a very empathetic, and perhaps spiritual individual.

Perhaps the reason that I've yet to be bothered in the long term (I've had moments, but they were just that. Moments), is because I've always viewed this as a job, not a calling.

So, I'm glad to hear you didn't take it the wrong way, but if there's anyone on the boards that read it and did, that's not what I was going for.

 

[EMS49393]

My friends would probably say that I am made up of Guinness and 18 year old single malt scotch. I think I'm made up of fairy dust, unicorn tears, and magic. Yeah, right.

I run the call then I forget the call. I treat my patients with compassion and respect but once I transfer care the my brain sorts out what I can learn from the call, files it neatly, and tosses the rest away.

I'm a chick, and I'm probably the least touchy-feely person out there. I don't really get into the hand-holding kum ba yah thing.

No, I'm not gay. People always ask me that because I'm anti-cuddle.