what would you do???

[nightstar22]

basically wanting answers in the medical field, but anyone else's input would be great... there is this paramedic i work with that either has a drug problem or is on too many meds for her own good.. (i work on an ambulance)
the other night we had a transport to a higher care facility 75 miles away.. the patient (pt) was having an acute mi, (heart attack) i was driving.. well when we arrived at the facility,, registration asked for the last set of vitals, the patient was still hooked to the monitor, the blood pressure (bp) was 76/52.. the registering (rg) person asked if that was the last one.. she says it was 176/52, the rg says you mean 76/52 she says no, 176/52, this went on for a few minutes, i looked and noticed it said 76/52.. well the rg asked me too hook her up to their bp and retake so it did.. it went up to 86/58.. then she goes on to tell the rg that she had wiped the nitro off the pt chest.. so we are off to the cardiac floor.. we get there and she gives the recieving nurse (rn) the report... she keeps referring to the pt as a he.. (pt is she) the rn says "i was under the impression that we were getting a female, partner says no its a male.. the rn looks at me and i shake my head and mouth the word "female" partner keeps reffering to pt as male.. rn keeps correcting her and she kept saying "no, male" i might have looked over at partner and said "are you asleep over there" but not sure... well then partner goes on to say the pt name was FISH with a K... the pt name started with a k but not in the last name.. the rn just looks at me... when we go to leave, my partner looks at me and says "i cant believe you told her i was asleep".. then didnt believe me when i said i never said that... apparently my partner was asleep for most of the trip... i did not know this.. when i am tired and have to drive late at night i will crank the radio up front to keep me awake...
i am glad that i only have to work with her only once this month... but if you were in my situation, what would you do?? if the pt would have died, that could mean my license too, because they would ask "didnt you know your partner was impaired.." she had slept all day so i figured she would be awake for the trip...
the next shift she worked she ran the back of the ambulance into a house,(roof/gutter) didnt call anyone when she did.. apparently the people still at the housr had called the insurance company and got an estement and all that good stuff...
when do you speak up?? she is the bosses wife, and i really need this job...
should this be annoymously reported, or since the pt lived throughout the trip (and as far as i know afterwards) should i just wait till the next time i work with her and then watch??
also, the same day i worked with her, it was my turn to take a pt. when we started putting the cot in the ambulance, it went in sideways cause they were heavy, she went to the side door and moved the cot where it would lock in and then said "its too complicated to get out of the truck and get to the drivers seat, since i am already here, i will go ahead and ride this one" that was confusing to me, but some people are weird...

 

[traumateam1]

What did you put in her coffee? lol. That's pretty serious.. not knowing the different between 176 and 76, thinking your p/t is a male when she is a female, and mostly sleeping in the back with a MI p/t. That is just NOT tolerable. What if the p/t had coded mid trip and your partner didn't wake up? Or your patient went really south and your partner didn't wake up to help the p/t. This IS a serious issue, and regardless of who's wife she is, you should talk to someone about what happened. Sure.. if you are attendant and you get a routine (no lights or sirens) call some 70 km away than if it's okay with the driver go ahead and sleep until you arrive and get your p/t, but not when you have a patient in the back of your ambo.
There are some other threads on this site about dealing with unruly partners and angry partners so you might want to check those out to see how others have responded to similar situations, because guaranteed you will get someone referring you to the "search" or to those threads.

 

[Jon]

this is similar, but different... so I have no problem answering it.

when do you speak up?? she is the bosses wife, and i really need this job...

Well... how badly do you need this job? If it involved working with someone who doesn't seem to care about the patient's safety... then perhaps you don't need the job THAT badly. If you report through management... something might happen... you might also get jammed up and nothing happen to her.
If the state has a way to anonymously report the situation... that might be an option.


I've got a few quesitons to clarify the sitution:
#1 - has anyone else commented about similar behavior with this provider? Have you seen them act the same way on other days?

#2 - How long a shift were they on? 12? 24? 48? How much sleep had they gotten? The trucking industry has limits on how much they can drive... but we don't. And even if we do, we have no limit on how long we can care for our patients. Not saying it excuses her conduct... but I know I've had bad nights... espicially on the back half of a 24... and I know how bad 24's can be for me regularly.

 

[41 Duck]

Sounds like a miserable situation.

Personally, I'd say something to her first. If that failed to get results, follow your company's chain of command to the letter. Documenting everything will probably be a good idea.

And not for nothing, but I understand you need A job... but I do not understand that you need THAT one. What's so special about that place?


Later!

--Coop

 

[Ridryder911]

Yes, a bad deal but much worse if you continue to allow it to happen. Be sure to document everything in a personal note (time, event, whom talked to, etc.). Talk to the person directly first, tell them your concerns as you described here. This is a very serious matter and needs to be dealt with ASAP. Remember, you are just as responsible if you allowed & knew about the problem and allowed to continue.

I personally would write an incident report (variance report) about it. Even if she is the Director's wife, he should be as concerned too. He maybe not aware or has blinders, whatever the case, such partners will sink you too. This is a grave and dangerous situation.

Sorry, I would not tolerate this type of behavior or actions. Prepare to locate another job. If talking to her directly does not help, then immediately report to the Director. Inform him you have multiple witnesses to her behavior and discussion. If there is no action immediately, then I would be planning to be out the door ASAP. Your certification and license is to valuable, as well inform him I would be contacting the licensing board for your state or region. This person needs to be investigated before harm comes to the patient and others.

Good luck, and continue to keep true to yourself and the patient. Doing the right thing is not always easy....

 

[sabbymedic]

That is a serious matter and I think that you should find a way to report this. No one wants to get their partner in trouble but lets face it this job is about the patient and saving lives. That patient could have gotten worse, and mistaking a pressure of 76 Systolic and calling it 176 is a huge problem. Hopefully this person does not go on to hurt someone because that would be tragic.

Tough situation, Good luck

 

[sixmaybemore]

I agree, this needs to be reported. The question shouldn't be "do I report this", it should be "how do I go about reporting this?". Find out what your options are, and follow it through.

If you do choose to go directly to her, role play with yourself a bit, have it mapped out exactly what you want to say.

Good luck, and sorry you're having to deal with this.

 

[KEVD18]

tread carefully. unfounded and inaccurate acusations of drug abuse tend to end badly for the acuser. be sure, or at least reasonable sure, before you blow your whistle.

 

[sixmaybemore]

Good point Kev. Were it me, I think I would tend to stick to the facts at hand, as opposed to making a conclusion, or speculating as to why those things may have happened.

 

[nightstar22]

thank you all....

traumateam1: thank you for the links!!!
jon: i believe the state does have a way of doing it anonymously, i am going to check into that.. to answer your questions, 1. when i started working there, alot of people talked about the way she acted, but people like to talk so i ignored it. i have worked with her a few times and she had never been like this. or at least not as bad. 2. we were working a 24 hour shift. she had slept about 10 or so hours that day before we took this call..
41 duck: the main reason i need this job is because i make more than paramedics make working at other services.. the county service here hires you based on who you know.. so far i dont know enough people to work there..lol.. if i went anywhere else, i would have at least a 2$ a hour cut in pay, plus the closest ems service is over 20 miles from here. by the time paying for gas to get to work i wouldnt be bringing home any money..
ridryder911: thanks for your words, there are several of us getting together over the matter..
sabbymedic: it would be very tragic for all involved.. she is a liability and will take everyone with her..
sixmaybemore: i believe people have confronted her before about her actions.. she never responded back. they say this went on all the time before i had started working there but she had got better..
kevd18: well that day, she went to the drug store and came out with a huge bag of medicine. i do not know what type of medicine it was. other people there that day made comments because all she would do is sleep, one goes "well it looks like she is back on her drugs again" so who really knows what was in the bag... i dont think she is doing illegal drugs, but mixing her prescriptions...
thank you all for your quick replies.. i know it is my duty to talk to someone about her.. i know that even if i am not working with her and she kills someone i will still feel bad about sitting back and not doing anything about it.. i am glad i only have to work with her once this month... (-:

 

[KEVD18]

kevd18: well that day, she went to the drug store and came out with a huge bag of medicine. i do not know what type of medicine it was. other people there that day made comments because all she would do is sleep, one goes "well it looks like she is back on her drugs again" so who really knows what was in the bag... i dont think she is doing illegal drugs, but mixing her prescriptions...

well if the medications she's "doing" are of the legally precribed variety, then what i said before goes triple!!!

be very very careful. i would reccomend that you approach this from the direction of what you think she did wrong and stay as far away from "i think its drugs" as you can.

 

[Airwaygoddess]

This needs to be addressed ASAP!

It is your responsibility to yourself, your patient, and the profession that you represent to report this person as soon as possible. It does not matter that you only have to work with her "once a month" . Just remember she could be caring for one of your friends or family, as it is she is caring for "someone's friend or family member."

 

[nightstar22]

she was scheduled to work today, but was not there, they had a replacement in.. someone mentioned that she had to take time off and will not be back for a while.. i had already mentioned the way she acted to the boss, so had a few other people. but they are not able to disclose the reason she was not at work..
i never say anything about anyone unless i see it myself. the only things i have ever seen her take is ibprofen and neurotin (sp?) i know how it is for people to spread rumors about a person doing drugs... when i started working there and ran lights and sirens, my boss asked me if i needed a valium, and i said no, a xanax would do just fine.. this was all jokingly, but before you knew it, people were saying that i popped xanaxes all day and night.... (she was one of them)