From the start my patient was not very helpful. He refused to answer my questions unless I asked it several times. All he wanted was for me to take him to the hospital. I tried to explain that if he would answer my questions I could figure out why he was having chest pain and then alleviate it.
He was still being stubborn when AMR walked in the door. My assessment, which should have taken just a couple of minutes, had now taken more than 10 and I still didn't know that much. I quietly stepped over to the AMR medic and gave him a run down of what I had and clued him in that the patient had been a pain in the butt. He laughed at me and said thanks. We helped the patient to the gurney and checked to see if they needed anything else before we cleared.
My advice to all future patients out there, answer the medics questions. Trust me, he has a point. He's not trying to get to know you.
I'm retired 5 years, but "back in the day" anything between midnight and 6 am was "oh GAWD hundred".
ReplyDeleteYou just gotta love people...right? My hubby's Dad has a history of heart disease and something crazy like 16 stents. He is the biggest pain in the ass though, if he is having problems he'll blow it off or make a rude comment about Ryan and his emt classes. Really makes me mad, since hubby just cares and wants to make sure his dad is ok. I just hope he's not difficult with the paramedics when he does call 911.
ReplyDeleteOr how about this: The patient answers the questions, but when the medics walk in, give an entirely different set of responses....
ReplyDeleteJust answer the d*** questions!
Have you tried this strategy as to "how much?" If you ask how much beer, they always say "Two beers", but if you ask "Geez how many cases did you drink?" they'll usually fess up to a more accurate number "Oh no, only 6-7"
ReplyDeleteAs a medic of 15 years, I would say that this patient was suffering from an acute onset of tired-of-dealing-with-all-my-damn-relatives and wanted a ride to the hospital so he could sleep soundly that night.
ReplyDeleteEither that or he happened to be an experienced medic who figured he was stubborn and would only talk to a medic. It was tough getting the story from the one or two old folks with that mindset back when my district only ran I-trucks with Paramedic supervisors in the QRV.