Nursing Homes

We all know them. We run calls there, mostly at the end of our shifts or in the middle of the night. They all have a unique smell that we love so much. When we pickup patients there, it always seems to be shift change. Nobody seems to have a clue as to what’s wrong with the patient yet everyone including the janitor can tell what room you are looking for the second you walk in. Having a nurse that speaks fluent English is considered a priveledge that only few have experienced.

Sound familiar?

Every community has its nursing home that we all love to run. Unfortunately many of them are just as described. They are about as consistent nationwide as McDonalds. So what makes paramedics think that bitching and treating the staff like crap is going to change anything?

As you can tell, I’m the first one to recognize that nursing homes have their share of problems. But let’s not forget that EMS has its share of problems as well, like arrogance. At some point in time, we as paramedics and emts decided that we are better than anyone not trained to our level in emergency medicine.

Many of us talk down and outright belittle the staff at these facilities. And for no good reason! It is not our job as EMS professionals to judge other healthcare workers. These people are faced with a task that most of us couldn’t handle. Paramedics bitch and complain about washing their rigs. Imagine giving all of those elderly people a bath every day. The nursing home staff is taking care of those elderly people simply because nobody else is willing to do it.

We manage to run medical calls at peoples homes with NO report given and we do our assesment and go on with the call. Yet we consider that to be a huge inconvenience when the patient is at a nursing home?

“Shut up and play your guitar” is a saying I frequently use when musicians and singers start bitching about politics. Well I ask all of you to shut up and run your calls. Pick up your patient, get your paperwork, smile and wish the staff a good day. You can bitch and complain as soon as you leave the hospital. Let’s be professional and keep the venting away from the patients and staff.