Walking in to the emergency department, the only reason we were taken notice of at all was because of a panic-stricken doctor who wanted a patient on our bed rather than theirs.
I won’t go in to much further detail, but the complete and utter lack of communication, cooperation and understanding that was shown towards my partner and myself from not one, not two, but three doctors was shocking. I do not appreciate being ignored, looked down on and indirectly being told to shut up by people who think they are better than me. Especially not if they are working in healthcare.
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Walking in to the emergency department, a very sick patient on our bed, we navigate towards the large cubicle designed for the flurry of activity that will become upon us shortly.
We turn the corner, and there she stands: feet firmly on the ground, stethoscope around her neck, a hint of a smile followed by: “Hi, I’m Dr Wood, one of the doctors on duty today. Who have you got on your stretcher?” I may have (professionally) fallen in love for a nanosecond before I caught myself again, and gave my handover.
After finishing up my paperwork I pulled the doc aside for a moment, and expressed my appreciation of her and the teams appreciation and communication towards us – that my faith in the medical profession had been restored.
We talked a bit about the details of the job, and she then said: “Yes, I know the area where the patient lives, we went there a few times when I did my observer shifts as a medical student!”
The key to working together, not just alongside each other: Communication, Collaboration and a mutual understanding of each others role helps immensely. Not to mention an open mind and a smile.
A doctor came up to you and spoke directly to the paramedics? What is the world coming to these days?
Glad you have a good working relationship with the hospital medical staff. I wish more doctors out there treated us with a little dignity.
In my view, communication is the key to understanding and change, and while the EMS (aka ambulance) providers operate outside the realms of healthcare education and clinical training, it will remain difficult to promote improved understanding. Inter-professional practice has its roots in inter-professional learning and it’s there where we may begin to break down some of the silos that abound within health.
The only reason the docs have people to work on (and the insurance companies have someone to bill) is because we bring them live patients. There is nothing like street medicine and we certainly don’t do it for the money. But I once got torn apart by a freakin’ PA who screamed at me and my partner that we hadn’t taken out the dentures of an 89 yo man whom we were venting with a BVM (can anyone say “Duh?”). And she kept on yelling at us as she proceeded to intubate said patient so aggressively that the nurse couldn’t keep up with the suction for all of the blood. I finally said (yelled?) to her, “What are you doing? We brought you a live patient and now you’re gonna kill him!” I had several other run-ins with this PA and each time, she was more condescending than the last. Hey, she’s not even a doc! If this is going to work at all, it has to be looked at as a partnership between the medics and the ER docs. Hello? Hello? Can I get a “Hallelujah?”