Being Professional

[Nemiko]

Let me see if this sounds familiar to anyone:

Picture "Our Heroine", currently dressed in her neat white EMS duty uniform, ready for a day of duty: face washed, hair brushed, shoes clean and neat, record still fairly good. Over the course of the day the following statements are issued in the direction of Our Heroine:

- You were that bitch who got the last copy of Harry Potter last week!
- I went to grade school with you! *pause* I *HATED* YOU!
- I remember you. You look stupider now.
- You're the one with the squeaky little voice, right?
- Are you still into (insert bizarre hobby here)?
- You're the one who can't shut up!
- Do you still talk as much?
- Are you still shacked up with that guy?
- Oh my god. YOU? Um, I'm actually feeling better now...

Yes, Our Heroine's past has apparently caught up with her. How do you all get over people with pre-conceived notions of you? Did anyone else have a weird past, and how did you get over it so that people know you're really a responsible professional, not the dork they remember from back in the day? Any suggestions on behaving oneself off-duty? Suggestions for improving your image in your department if you've already got a reputation for being the goofball?

Not that I *am* a goofball. But I am the one with the squeaky voice.
Nemiko

[Dushore5741]

I don't get it..... Actually I'm just posting away to see if my membership status will change.

[fre156]

Okay, I'm a little confused. Were the above comments all made at you?

First of all everyone has a past. Everyone. Those who claim to be squeaky clean themselves are just big ole' liars. You cannot change your past so fuggitaboutit. Change and improve upon the things you think need improving, not what someone else thinks. Screw them.

So what if you're a dork or took the last Harry Potter book or have what someone else deems to be a weird hobby ? Does it really matter in the grand scheme of life? Be who you are and be someone YOU are proud of. The opinions of others define you only if you allow it to.

[lmrchief2]

In my honest opinon I feel most of the people that we deal with have no idea of our history. If they know you from your past they probably do not have that much stuff on you so you won't get it all back in one day at you.

People will judge you on what you are doing at the time. Course if you act out while performing the job then yes you have a problem.

[N2DFire]

If you forget your past & concentrate on the present everyone else will too.

Trust me I was always the dorky, nerdy, class clown, cut up, hardly ever took anything serious guy. I have been involved in EMS for going on 14 years now. No one that I interact with now even remotely cares about who I was back then Including the one time I treated & transported the mother of a high school teacher who once called me "a strange little person". When I exited the ambulance at the hospital (as the only attendant in the back) and he realized who I was, I was no longer "a strange little person" in his eyes but a professional caregiver who had cared for & treated his mother.

Granted maybe I have "grown up" some over the years and that's at least a partial explanation but I still think that for most folks - your past is just that - past.

Therefore my "nutshell" advice to you would be to just continue being professional and do the best job you can do and the rest will take care of itself.

[IAMedic]

Originally posted by N2DFire
...Including the one time I treated & transported the mother of a high school teacher who once called me "a strange little person".

N2DFire:

Nice to know somethings never change, eh!! :D

But seriously folks, N2DFire and the other posts said a mouthful. Everyone has a past. I mean EVERYONE!! We were all young, stupid, and immature at one point in our lives. I was the goofball, "strange little person", "trouble maker", and the hardest to over come "Thief". I was a juvenile delinquent who loved to thrash, mock, and make a fool of anyone that would give me the opportunity. Then I turned into the bully, and later I was the theif who hung around people I want to impress. No one ever thought that I would make something out of myself, including my family. But, now when I go back and see my kin folk, teachers, and community members they know what I do, they like me and can't believe the person I have turned into.

So in essence, it's never too late to turn things around. Best of Luck to you!!

[Oushore]

In my 5 years as an EMT... I've learned that sometimes you need to be a little goofy at the same time as having a professional attitude or you'll have a disposition problem. It may not burn you but it'll put a burn on your partner. KnowhatImean, vern?

You don't have to screw around in front of the patient, be cool & collected, let them know that you-know-what your doing. But make sure your on a person-to-person level with the patient and everyone is comfortable.

As for the past.. I was the nerdy, anti-social geek that sat at the small round lunch table with the other nerd who knew 200 different computer types and played a Warrior Role Play game for two years straight.

Always remember the saying for a trauma patient. "You cannot treat it if you cannot see it. Snip, Snip"

I had a patient last year who was in an accident, ejected w/ femoral, pelvic and head injuries.

I graduated with him, he said "Hey, you're that stupid nerdy kid that I pantsed in Gym class a few years ago; how ya been"...

So I told him the trauma center is requesting that all patients coming in backboards be stripped so they can begine invasive treatments and don't have to cut it off themselves... That is their cardinal rule b/c they do a whole list of poke & probe tests From head to toe and every joint His attitude changed instanly when he figured out that in order to splint that leg, the nerd was going to cut all of his clothing off.

We have a power.

[bigJ164019]

Nemiko:


I wonder, are these statements coming from your past, or your present?

[smurfe]

Change the name on your nameplate


Smurfe:D

[DrParasite]

Originally posted by Nemiko
Let me see if this sounds familiar to anyone:
1 You were that bitch who got the last copy of Harry Potter last week!
2 I went to grade school with you! *pause* I *HATED* YOU!
3 I remember you. You look stupider now.
4 You're the one with the squeaky little voice, right?
5 Are you still into (insert bizarre hobby here)?
6 You're the one who can't shut up!
7 Do you still talk as much?
8 Are you still shacked up with that guy?
9 Oh my god. YOU? Um, I'm actually feeling better now...

and my responses would be:
1 yes I was, and now I'm here because you called for an ambulance. now what seems to be the problem?
2 sorry to hear. but you called 911, so what seems to be the problem?
3 thanks, I try. now what seems to be the problem?
4 yep, that was me. now what seems to be the problem?
5 yes, I am, and I still enjoy it when i'm not working. now what seems to be the problem?
6 that was me. but now I'm here because you called 911. so what seems to be the problem?
7 yep. now what seems to be the problem?
8 nah, we broke up. i'm shacking up with this new guy (or girl), who is a (insert job here). now what seems to be the problem?
9 ok, that's good to hear. please sign my form saying you are refusing to have me treat you, and have a nice day. and if anything starts to hurt again, call 911, or follow up your personal physician.

remember, they called 911 for an emergency. as long as your keep the up the image that you are competant, and are going to help them, your patient shouldn't bring it up again. they probably knew you in high school gym class when you were 15-18. now you are in a uniform, with an EMT/Paramedic patch on your arm, and probably 18-older. the different context in how they see you can do wonders. and if you don't dwell on it, neither will they. and if for some reason they do, let your partner treat this patient, and you treat the next one.

[EMTfarmer]

DrParasite, your answers are superb! By remaining professional in response and demeanor, one can rise to an even higher standard. I appreciate the positive approach. I'd be proud to serve with you!

[Mongoose772]

Yeah. I don't get it either. I'm with that guy who wanted to see if his membership status would change.

[kghemtp]

Good call, Dan! Makes sense to me, and you have to just sluff off most of the past baggage.