He looked OK to me...

Words that can get you fired. Others include,

She said she was fine;

His lead II was unremarkable and has had heartburn in the past;

Your anxiety can come from nowhere and leave you tachy, lady of 55 who's mother died of an MI recently;

Damage like this happens all the time, that bruise is normal;

A little smoke inhalation won't kill you, look at me;

Asthma is not going to kill you, go find your inhaler;

The Doc signed off on the AMA so I'm golden;

Babies sleep all the time;

The snow was too heavy;

It was too hot;

I was tired;

I read in a blog that doing that was alright;

Have you seen this funny youtube cartoon?

Point being that there are a lot of rumors, stories and opinions flying about what happens in our business and it can be very hard to find the truth in a situation with 3 correct versions, one wrong version and 15,000 who have parts right.
I have been known to join the fray when it comes to EMS and Fire Departments who do something I like (Tip of the Helmet) and things I don't (Letter in the File) but drawing conclusions from a single source is a bad idea.
Have an issue with a story you read part of on facebook? Before you lay it on thick you may want to finish reading the story, then seek out at least 2 more sources to confirm the facts. If you can not get the facts, use the google to find out who to call to get the facts.

If they call you back, great. If not, then you have to go with what you have, but the impulse to post something you may regret will have passed.

If you are the one facing termination for doing something you knew in the moment was wrong, see ya. If you find yourself on job 21 in 24 hours and know that not writing a chart will get you home sooner, keep in mind that not writing the chart could get you home a lot. As in unemployed.

If just yelling at the guy to wake up instead of checking his blood sugar and other vital signs to confirm it's just Reuben again after another $3 bottle of wine, you yourself could be the one budgeting for the cheap stuff while on unemployment.

Backed the ambulance into another car near end of shift and drove away? Might as well keep driving into the sunset.

We all make mistakes. I make them all the time, but I make sure I'm doing what I'm supposed to be doing for my patients based on the information I have and how that information fits within the laws, protocols and policies I have sworn to uphold. Have I not charted patients? Of course, when it is not indicated. Have I omitted vital signs on my charts? Yes, it happens when you get back and can't recall the BP, so instead of lying I write nothing.

Being able to defend your actions or inactions with cited policy and protocols in front of you goes a long way to easing stress and the impact on your employment status.

In the end we all need to take a deep breath and find the facts about stories we read, especially in the internet age, when opinion can be mistaken as fact on a regular basis.

"Mr Happy Medic is there a reason you did not awaken the man lying in the street who was later found to be in cardiac arrest?"
"He looked OK to me..."
I'd be fired for sure, and for good reason.

Comments

[...] *  The Happy Medic has compiled a handy list of phrases that can get you fired HERE. [...]
CAN`T SAY said…
Full arrest dispatch? Well Hell, it`s 10 till the end of my shift! I`m waitng for that lazy SOB relief crew to get here early so I can go home!

Yep.......FIRED!
CAN`T SAY said…
Full arrest dispatch? Well Hell, it`s 10 till the end of my shift! I`m waitng for that lazy SOB relief crew to get here early so I can go home!

Yep.......FIRED!
Jeremy said…
This reminds me of a story that happened recently. Female fell, lost consciousness for about 15 minutes. There was a medic and a medic student on. After dropping said patient off at the hospital the medic student turns to the medic and says "I don't think I would have worked her up..."

.....what?!
Jeremy said…
This reminds me of a story that happened recently. Female fell, lost consciousness for about 15 minutes. There was a medic and a medic student on. After dropping said patient off at the hospital the medic student turns to the medic and says "I don't think I would have worked her up..."

.....what?!
Jeremy said…
This reminds me of a story that happened recently. Female fell, lost consciousness for about 15 minutes. There was a medic and a medic student on. After dropping said patient off at the hospital the medic student turns to the medic and says "I don't think I would have worked her up..."

.....what?!