Paramedic Guilt

One of my favorite paramedics is a guy I'll call B. He's cute, very sweet, considerate, and smart as a whip. Really knows his paramedic bizness. He even brought me Vitamin Water once when I said I was feeling under the weather. That was super nice.

The other day he came in with a patient and he looked unhappy. He said he was tired, that it had been a long, bad day of traveling around at high speeds all over town to hospitals in all sorts of neighborhoods, that he was completely beat. And he looked it. Definitely not his usual smiley self.

Then he said it was really exhausting to bring in a patient and have all the medical staff look at him and his partner like they are lepers, to hear nurses suck their teeth when he rolls by with another patient on a stretcher, to hear, "Oh my god, ANOTHER ONE" every time they come in. He said he's tired of being the messenger who gets killed just for doing his job.

Whoa. I am totally guilty of doing everything I just described above. So, all you paramedics and EMTs and other emergency personnel: I am truly sorry for all the times I've waved at you as you've left the ED and said, "OK, never come back now! Ha ha ha!" I'm sorry for being cranky at you when I'm the ambulance triage nurse and am having a hard time finding beds for all the patients who are lining up down the hall for triage. I certainly can empathize with feeling like the killed messenger: I get plenty of flack from the nurses when I start doubling up beds in their areas due to high volume--it's one of the reasons I hate working ambulance triage.

Most of you are great at your jobs and are nice people too! You have great stories and dark senses of humor, and we generally get along well. So next time I'll think twice before making a smart-ass remark or glaring at you when I'm in a bad mood.

Love (xoxoxoxo),

GuitarGirlRN