08/20/2012
It was not a level of difficulty, or an overwhelming sense of frustration from coursework that found me in a state of vulnerability, evidenced by the choked-up voice and tears falling from my eyes. It was a hospice presentation, and a connection to the patient as a person who was afraid that they never again would spend Christmas with their family, that this hug was the last one, and that they were not going to out-live their parents. Moreover, it was the realization that the hospice patient feared more for the loved ones they were leaving behind than for their inevitable end.
I did not receive a hospice lecture in paramedic school. I did not learn how to hold someone's hand as they cried. I did not have the opportunity to experience true empathy. My head was buried in the pathophysiology of disease and the protocols designed to resolve life-threatening issues of the emergent patient. This is the way it had to be - I had six months in class to learn the science and assessment skills to be able to ensure that mortality and morbidity was decreased to as low a level as I could possibly make them. After this class time, my actions would cause real life consequences for those patients I was tasked with treating as I entered my clinical experiences and internship.
The point to this post is to state that I have grown as a practitioner, and more importantly, a partner in the health care of other people. Science can be learned and is an important component to successful treatment for people with any given condition or disorder. Comfort, empathy, and compassion is the emotion and art revealed by nurses as they recognize this science and put it to use in a manner that eases the patient's mind.
I do not mean to demean prehospital practitioners by this post, but from my experience, we do not express the same level of compassion as the nurse. We talk about it and we try to put it into practice - I recognize this, but the reality is, our response to a great number of people who are injured or ill is "suck it up" because we have a limited time with our patients and we can do only so much to ease their suffering.
A little time. A bit of patience. A moment to sit and listen. None of these things are outlined in our prehospital protocols and we aren't taught these things in paramedic school. Feelings rarely come into the conversation. Perhaps they should.
About Me
- Erich M. Weldon
- San Diego, California, United States
- 20-Dec-11
Greetings!
I am a 37 year-old paramedic who has spent the past 9 years in academia teaching everything from Medical Assisting to Paramedicine and represented education on CA EMSA’s 2011 EMR Task Force which reviewed EMR regulations in CA Title 22. I hold an Associate’s Degree in Paramedic Education and Management from Camden County College.
In addition to my work in academia, I spent the past 16 years working in EMS as an EMT, Paramedic, Air Rescue and Ground Dispatcher, ER Tech, and General Manager of an Ambulance Company.
Outside of work, I generally find myself working as a volunteer in my community. I am one of the Medical Managers for both SF Pride and Folsom Street Events. In August of 2011, I felt there was a need for California to have a state organization for EMS professionals and subsequently founded the CA Association of EMT’s (www.caaemt.org), for which I am the current President.
For recreation, I enjoy outdoor activities at the beach or in the snow. I am engaged to be married, but that will have to wait until I’m done with nursing school.
I hope you enjoy this blog and thanks for tuning in!
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