The other day I heard a couple coworkers talking about the calls they ran for the shift. One of them started to talk about a “BS” patient complaining of difficulty breathing. The part that caught my attention was when he said that he pulled out the “lie detector”, AKA the pulse oximeter, to confirm that the patient was indeed, “full of shit”.
Statements like this absolutely make me cringe. Perhaps I just like to live in my dream world where paramedics are professional and knowledgeable in their field. Don’t get me wrong, I hate transporting the “911 abusers” just as much as everyone else, but I also understand that it’s part of my job.
Now for the medical part of my rant……
I am 100% convinced that we as paramedics can perform our jobs and treat our patients effectively without ever touching a pulse oximeter. Sure it’s a handy tool and it serves it purpose, but it’s nothing more than a luxury.
If a patient presents to me with stable skin signs, clear and equal lung sounds, a good respiratory rate and speaks in full sentences, I can probably assume that they are breathing just fine. Likewise, if someone presents in a “tripod” position with wheezes and speaks in 1-2 word sentences, then I can definitely assume they are in respiratory distress. No pulse oximeter needed. Treat the patients people, not the monitor!
The pulse oximeter only measures a patient’s oxygen saturation in the blood. It cannot determine the metabolism or amount of oxygen actually being used by the body. This is why conditions like respiratory acidosis and carbon monoxide poisoning can give a high Sp02 reading, when in fact the patient is suffering from hypoxia.
So whats the moral of the story?
Do your job dumbass. Assess your patients, get a detailed history and for God’s sake, act professionally.
Good morning readers. Today I am going to talk about professionalism in the EMS field and in the everyday workplace. In my years as a paramedic I have seen both ends of the spectrum. I have worked in environments where EMT’s and Paramedics were allowed to wear pretty much whatever they want. I have also worked with companies where all crew members were required to wear the same uniform, and keep it up to a strict standard. Obviously the stricter of the two produces better confidence with the patients that we serve as well as with members of other branches of public safety.
