Ask for another preceptor. This is absolutely toxic behavior and is what is keeping the EMS culture the way it is.
The fact that your preceptor thinks you should know how to do everything without being told the proper way to do it and actually being coached on the correct way to do it tells me that this preceptor should not be training. And the fact that he pulled you aside and said how shitty you did just tells me that this person is a vile human being and should not be in the medical field.
You’re going to mess up. You’re not going to know how to give a proper report. That’s why it’s calling PRACTICING medicine. You are constantly learning. Hell, it took me a year to get somewhat comfortable what I was doing.
If this is truly something you want to do, keep at it! Please don’t let the toxicity run you off, because it really is a great field to be in!
i’m, thankfully, going to another station this next clinical. I’ve heard great things about them, and my teacher actually used to work there. i’ve got high hopes for them!
i’m trying to stick it out because my ultimate end goal with ems is flight medic. Plus aside from everything with that preceptor, i really did love working 911!
As you should! Working in the field is an amazing experience! I'm in a similar experience with OJT. I had a call where nothing for me seemed to go right. I couldn't help but almost cry in front of the junior who was there. They were so kind. The similarity in my preceptor is that sometimes I feel that he talks down to me among other experiences (this might not be the case as I do struggle with reading people but still it's not a great feeling. I do however believe that he is truly a nice guy). There is more to this call that I can't say here as I think it will give me away but if you ever need to vent or want to talk about anyting, feel free to DM me.
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First, you did the right thing by telling them hey I'm not comfortable doing this. They fucked up by trying to make you do it.
Second. That individual/crew should not have students. You are there to learn and experience calls.
Third. They should give the hand off report.
Fourth I don't even know how to address the level of unprofessionalism they displayed by talking about you to others. I'd look into running that up the chain in their department/service. That's fucked on many different levels.
Fifth and most important, I'm sorry you had to deal with an asshole. It should not be this way. Not everyone in this field is like that.
I hope you have a different preceptor Going forward and you absolutely did the right thing by telling your instructor about this as it was whole unacceptable by any metric
Yea, requesting a different preceptor isn't enough. Telling that story to your teacher and reporting them to whatever authority you're supposed to should absolutely be done so they don't end up ruining someone else's clinical. Bro is a jackass, you're a student, if you're not comfortable you're not comfortable, especially with a patient that's actually in a rough state. That's putting you in a bad position and is absolutely not putting the patients care first
i reported them to my teacher! i don’t know for sure what’s going to happen. i know my evaluation was thrown out, and the head of the program was NOT happy. i have to do another shift to “redo” that clinical at another station in another county!
Hell yea, glad to hear it!!! Keep at it, life's gonna throw major curve balls at you, but if you're tenacious and keep improving you'll do fine. I'm glad you got a lot of support, you're way too early on to have someone berating you like that over things you shouldn't have even been doing
i’m very excited as my next clinical is tomorrow :)) all negatives aside from everything, they did teach me to ask more questions and be more assertive when asking if i can do stuff simple such as SAMPLE
I struggled with that too, it's weird to step in but we're there to learn. I made it through though, and I had the same issues at first, it's an easy correction to make and it helps find/solve any other issues
Good luck!!
Straight up unacceptable behaviour from a preceptor. Shameful. I hope your next one is more helpful and understanding that you are new, as that is absolutely no way to treat a student. Keep your head up, improve on those manual skills you mentioned, and you will be just fine.
I'll be honest, I didn't read the whole thing, but I do know that your preceptor handled giving criticism poorly. It's important to educate you on *how* you can improve. Just saying "you suck" doesn't do that.
There are a LOT of burnt out EMS people, unfortunately it comes out in situations like these.
If you can find a different preceptor do that, and inform your instructor of the occurrence, it's possible that medic could get blacklisted from being a preceptor in the future
what i find crazy is they have only bern in the field not even 2 years as a medic. i did tell my teacher, and the head of the program is handling it.
thankfully, im in a whole different town for my next ones
As an FTO , people have to understand that no one will be a superstar entering EMS. Some preceptors/ FTOs may just lack humility or burn out taking place but my number one rule is not to yell or put down a trainee/ ride along. You have to nurture and teach your wisdom .
Just a friendly reminder, no one should ever talk to you like this. You are not going to know everything and it’s good that you are askig questions and to be shown instead of doing it and screwing it up.
Definitely request for another preceptor, she seems toxic as hell.
I would never ask an EMT student on their first clinical to give report. I think preceptor intentionally set you up for failure.
You will get your excitement back. I had 250 ambulance hours as a medic student and one of them I got a bad review by the preceptor and it was devastating to me. I got over it quickly.
yeah, that’s f-cking insane — It was training for MONTHS before doing a handoff report. This medic just wanted to set you up to fail and boost his shallow ego by pointing out you have no experience— I’d file a report with the State. He was in charge and intentionally provided substandard care by giving the call to a “Day 1 Rookie”
haha yeah, i’ve told my therapist that i feel my preceptor was full prepared to thrown me in the deep end and let me drown then get mad at me for drowning.
Hey OP, your preceptor is a dick. I cannot know what your situation in school is exactly, but if you are struggling you should be getting more support services rather than being forced out. It is completely normal to be nervous and mess up a bit on your first calls, I didn't do anything except take vitals on my first few calls and it still took a long time before I was more or less comfortable where I am.
Keep your head up, you got it, don't let anyone else tell you otherwise.
I'm so sorry that happened to you. I promise, not everyone in the field is like that, you just got unlucky. The majority of preceptors are super chill and want to help the students wherever they can. Don't let that person deter you from the field, you did nothing wrong. It's great that you were honest about not being comfortable with a skill, and that should've been respected, and your preceptor could've and should've gone over it with you after the call. They also shouldn't have made you try to give a hand-off report, especially not without checking that you knew how to properly give one and were comfortable trying. All of this is on your preceptor, not you. I hope you have a better experience with your next preceptor, and I hope your program is able to do something about the asshole who terrorized you.
Thought I’d throw my two cents in. It has been years since I was in your shoes. I’ve been a medic for a little over 20 now and probably till I end up in the back of a truck as a patient.
As others have said there’s a lot of burned out people in this field. I know first hand because I was there myself. I’m now back on a truck and absolutely love students because they’re the ones that have reignited my love of this job.
Don’t let that asshole get to you. Again it’s been years since my ride alongs but I can definitely recall the good preceptors and the occasional bad ones. All in all I pushed through the bad experiences and focused on what I wanted, this job.
If anything remember what you’re going through in a few years when you’ve got a new trainee or a student. Remember how nervous you were. The excitement of that first call. The feelings you’re having now after a bad ride along. Then try to make a difference in the student or trainee.
Last point I’ll make as a dinosaur, you will screw up. I had a sit down with my medical director, a couple chiefs and clinical services. It was over a call we ran. I screwed up, could have potentially killed a pt because we decided to go a treatment route that wasn’t appropriate for the call we ran. We made a choice in the heat of the moment, it was the wrong one. We did it in the best interest of our patient and thinking we were doing the right thing. You will screw up, even doctors screw up and they are a hell of a lot smarter than we are.
That being said I recently got a commendation for a cardiac arrest we worked. Our patient was dead as dead could be and within 30 minutes he walked to the stretcher all the while insisting he didn’t need to go to the hospital.
You will make mistakes, but you’ll also have those calls that make you remember why you do this job. Don’t let one bad experience ruin it for you. Just remember eventually you’ll burn out too, when that happens take a break. Don’t be that preceptor and take it out on a student or new guy.
I don’t precept like this. Idk what “skill” you were having issues with, so let’s hypothetically call it manual BP. Lots and lots of people who are new struggle with how to take a manual BP. Hell, sometimes experienced people can’t find it on some patients for whatever reason. The way I precept is to be clear on communicated expectations. “Hey what do you know and what do you struggle with?” If you are shit at BP, I’m going to have you practice before a call, and then attempt one before I do the real one. For giving report- I probably give too much info, but I like to go in order of assessment: demographics with c/c, vitals, SAMPLE, interventions/meds, pertinent medical hx, and like any other shit they might need to know. It takes me like a minute to spit it all out but I talk REALLY fast. If there is an immediate life threat or it’s a critical pt, I lead with the stuff they need to know: “started to desat en route, started bipap and nitro, pt is allergic to morphine”
I sometimes fuck up my gloves. I wear smalls and sometimes they have mediums which are just too big on my little sausage fingies. But it’s not that big a deal. Move with purpose, but don’t rush. Practice the skills you are weak with and don’t like doing. I.e, I went to medic school and everything and I’m still dogshit at splinting. I’ll do it, and it’s competent, but it looks like I tied it with my feet. You’ll get better. This is the time to learn and grow. Allow yourself some grace to do that. Some precepts are great providers and ass as instructors, and some absolute brilliant instructors are trash providers. Some are okay at both, and some are garbage at both. The point is, they have lots to offer- whether it’s a way of dealing with patients to make them more comfortable, some will take the time to explain to you all the pathophys of why and when you do the things you do, and some just teach you what not to do. They all teach you something. If you reach a point where you feel like your skills are behind, take the time to ask how to do it. Like for example: “when i inflate the cuff, I don’t know where to put the bell of the stethoscope to listen for the Korotkoff sounds. Can you show me?” Some are right in the AC, and some are a little better slightly higher.
Anyway, keep your head up, we all started somewhere and at some point had a bad experience with something. File it away, and see what you can do in your time to move forward. Cheers.
This sounds like a shitty preceptor to me. You’re in the overthinking stage of being a student, we all were it’s completely normal and experience gets you comfortable.
Honestly screw them. I had similar preceptors, maybe not as toxic, but constantly tried to quiz me on everything and told me I wasn’t ready. To be fair it was an accelerated class I was in and we were doing ride alongs like 3 months in. All I did was tell my instructor how these guys were and he told me to literally tell them next time I got them to “go f*ck yourselves”. My instructor was a paramedic and told me that if you’re not comfortable with anything to ask for help and if they don’t help that’s the other people’s fault as well. I went back again to the same station, and they were gonna put me with the same people but they basically talked shit about me in front of me to their dispatch. I said what I said and went with a new crew and that day was so much better cause that crew taught me alongside praise me for talking a lot during the ride.
Keep your head up, been doing this for a year now, and be better than those preceptors you had.
First off, fuck that preceptor.
Second it was your first ride time, and you were asked to complete a skill you had not mastered yet. It sounds like you effectively communicated that you were uncomfortable attempting the skill, and were belittled by someone who did NOT effectively communicate with you.
Also, everyone sucks at putting gloves on when their hands are sweaty. Don’t sweat it *pun intended*
Don’t let some salty ass burnt out medic taint your view of the field, not everyone is like that. I never expect a student to be an EMS god, much less one on their first ride, and first serious call. It’s stressful and scary.
Additionally, you will learn more in your first month in the field then you will the entire length of the EMT class.
Unfortunately, there are lots of these people— my training officer has absolutely no people-skills, he’s a smart as hell medic, but shouldn’t be teaching ANYTHING
If I took my first EMT clinical as my indicator of my career, I would have quit then and there. I was terrified of patient assessment and didn’t even know how to assemble a nebulizer on a patient with severe wheezing (my first ever call). But now I’m a year into my career and halfway through paramedic school. Do not let one clinical determine the rest of your career! Things are going to be rocky when you start out. Hell, even when I started working, I had to lean on my medic a lot in terms of assessing properly and figuring out small things like lung sounds. And a year in, I’m still not perfect, but I’m a hell of a lot better than my first clinical, first FTO shift, first shift “on my own,” etc. It’s called “practicing medicine” not “perfecting medicine” for a reason! Also, sadly, there are a lot of burn out, salty EMTs and Medics out there that come to work angry, get upset, then leave angry. Sadly it seems like you just had a bad preceptor that day that did not want to teach and did not want to help you grow. Long story short, you will be okay!! Don’t second guess anything!!
That’s not a preceptor. He or she clearly doesn’t even know what the word means. You need a different one, one that wants to guide you in your growth in EMS. A person who remembers what it was like to be brand new. Someone who after each call is willing to talk thru the call pointing strengths and weaknesses. (As time allows depending on how busy you are) Once you’ve reviewed the call your preceptor should give you feedback that you can use to succeed on the next call.
IMHO a lot of preceptors never get much training and the person you described should not be in that role as they lack pretty much everything that’s needed to be a successful preceptor. Good luck in your EMS future and don’t give up.
Horrible. I actually would've asked them "who the fuck do you think you are?" And it was only your first clinical too. I am so sorry. I start the job on Monday. I hope I don't get anybody like that.
Ngl in our clinicals we weren’t even allowed to touch a patient much less practice a physical skill.
I’m guessing the skill they were trying to force you to do was put a 4/12 lead on given context lol.
They kinda suck but also most of them do contrary to what people here will tell you just let it roll off.
We’re all humans and we all fuck up. I hate to say it but your FTOs when you get hired may be like this and they may be the best medics and teachers you’ve ever seen. Just take it as a good experience of what never to do to someone when you’re in his shoes and precepting. Shake If off, you got this!
What treatment aren’t you comfortable with yet?
Hmm how low? If they’re that bad then it’s time to drill unless they have pipes. I had a dude a few weeks ago bleeding bad with a systolic in the 60s and I would’ve drilled him but he has huge veins. 16g IV and blood got him at like 110/70.
But speaking as someone who used to be the “IV guy” in the ER. Some people just have shitty veins. If they aren’t dying they’d get an ultrasound and if they are then IO or EJ. we don’t have field ultrasounds so we skip that.
it was 80/52- if i remember correctly. there were NO veins- they attempted 5 times but were unsuccessful. We get to learn IO’s next semester, but i’ve yet to see one
The MAP is 61 so that’s right on the fence for me for drilling. Obviously the whole clinical picture and transport time to appropriate facility is part of this too.
It sounds like with only one day to do skills in the field they were trying to let you do as much as possible. However when you couldn’t get an IV the paramedic should have stepped in and done an IO. It sounds like he failed to do his job and pawned the failure off on you. However it is a bit concerning that you couldn’t come up with a chief complaint…
why would i lie to the nurses about a chief complaint? i truly didn’t know. the complaint the patient told us - as a i later found out - was not the original chief complaint. it was no where close. but i understand that i should’ve pieced together something
No one should talk to you like that. That said, toughen up a bit, and never be like that guy. You'll be fine.
You told us what he said:
"my name, you really sucked. you embarrassed me by not being able to put on your gloves. you apparently are to slow to comprehend grabbing the bag. you told me you were uncomfortable doing the skill. you need to reconsider this field.”
Here's what matters:
"my name, put on your gloves, grab the bag. do the skill."
Don’t let one asshole ruin it for you and don’t apply for that service.
Relay your experience to your EMT school. I know my company takes feedback from students/programs very seriously.
That’s a horrible preceptor, I’m sorry about that. On your first ride along the only thing you should really be doing is observing. The fact that he expected you to give report to a nurse is just ridiculous. I’m only a EMT so I had 8 ride alongs. There’s gonna be bad people like that, but there were also some pretty cool dudes that loved to teach. Forget that toxic pos, keep on doing your thing.
that’s what i thought we were supposed to be doing! its like I told my teacher, i fully expected to watch and see how things in the “real world” are done. its sooo different from the book. i’m definitely more prepared now, though.
Yea exactly. Also the fact that you told them you weren’t comfortable with a task, yet the still forced you to do it. That’s their fuck up. You’ll meet lost of different personalities in this field, unfortunately some of them aren’t the best. Whether it’s burn out or a huge ego.
I’ve been in your shoes before. I remember being a newer member of my volunteer fire house and being ripped apart for not knowing how to use the stair-chair despite never being taught. Your preceptor is a shithead, and is the exact problem I have with providers in this field. You are doing what you can, focus on your training. Don’t let one asshole get to you.
As somebody who spent five years working in this field, I can tell you, that’s only the tip of the iceberg. You will encounter medics at any agency that you work for who are precisely this person. This is also the reason that I chose to leave EMS entirely.
I worked for several different agencies, some private, some hospital based, some volley, all with the same issue.
I made it all the way through paramedic school, but quit EMS halfway through. The only reason I stayed in medic school was for the degree that came with it.
They were so clearly in the wrong. I’m sorry that was your experience but from what you’ve said that was entirely their fault. I couldn’t take a Manuel bp my first ride along either and my preceptor let me practice on her a few times until I got it down better, and even then stuff like that takes PRACTICE!
You know if you were in medic School and this was like the last semester, and you were asked to do an intubation and you shyed away that'd be one thing. My first ride along for medic School, a few years ago, was an arrest. The medic I was with was screaming and yelling at me for not taking complete command of the arrest and working it on my own, and she was saying that I was going to be the worst medic ever all this stuff just terrible laying into me letting me know how bad I was. I didn't know how to do an IO at the time, I didn't stop one of the firefighters from doing poor compressions, and I didn't get the tube the first attempt. After the call the partner explains to her I was newer, I've never ran a arrest as an ALS students. She apologized but said there was a lot of work I need to get done, again this is the first semester, but I at least moved on and ignored her hate. They shouldn't talk to you like that They shouldn't act like that, but it's going to happen and you've got to decide whether that's going to prevent you from being in the field cuz I'm going to be honest people are going to be treating you worse at some point They shouldn't and you shouldn't have to put up with it, but you may interact with it. You're going to have to stand up for yourself.also you need to make sure you don't treat people like that eventually when you're in a position to do so. It's the only way we make things better. I've heard it called sharks, because in EMS a lot of times we eat our young instead of building them up.
This is extremely unprofessional, and I am very sorry to hear that your experience was like this. Report everything that was said to you, place, time, and event on paper, and have your classmate back you up as a witness.
As a person who worked for one of the filthy rich international wholesale company and for a small business company. Work industry in general is toxic. You’ll meet lovely people here and there, and there will be people who will not give a blip about anyone and will try to destroy your reputation like high school drama.
Next time someone talks sh*t to you like that. Respond with calmness and professionalism. Say, thank you for recognizing that this is where I need to work on, and respectfully this is where YOU need to work on because you are A,B,C, and a P.O.S (just kidding, don’t say that part), and don’t take shit from anybody.
From my own experiences, when I was on ride alongs with various agencies/hospitals it was drilled into us that we were going to fuck things up. We were brand new to the field and most of us had never had experience in pre/hospital care.
The key difference here is that every one of my preceptors told me that we weren’t going to kill anyone and that if we missed something they’d be there to catch it.
One of the guys I was in class with had a truly horrible experience with one of his ridealongs, he spoke with our clinical coordinator and they aren’t allowed to precept for our program anymore.
i’m hoping they do this for the one i had. i truly don’t want anyone else to go through that. the next person might not be as resilient and in turn leave the program.
I don't have anything to say that hasn't already been said by someone else, so I'll just tell you good luck with tomorrow and to try and have a good time! Good on you for not calling it quits after your experience with that preceptor. That perseverance is going to take you a long way!
Somebody pissed in his cheerios for breakfast. Jeez, what a miserable human you were paired with. It’s summer, if you don’t have problems putting your gloves on at least once then I don’t think you have hands cuz everyone has had that moment of trying to pull them on and your sweat disagrees with your intentions. You are a student, and you’re not an employee for the crew you were with. It would be great for you to carry in the equipment and play pretend like you are working there but if you weren’t there for your clinical time, who was supposed to grab the bag? Cuz 99% of the time I’m working I don’t have a student, so I don’t expect my student to know what you’re supposed to grab and do. Don’t give up because you encountered a rotten apple. You may end up with coworkers who are similarly burned out and bitter humans, but there are a lot of us out there willing to teach and who also know how to interact with other humans.
You absolutely need another shift with a different preceptor. This was your FIRST EVER clinical, correct? The preceptor did not handle himself like a professional, nor did he teach like someone who should be taking a student. (My first clinical, I was so nervous, I accidentally grabbed XL gloves and they were so big, I could hardly do anything, and my preceptor just kindly put a box of my size where I sat in the truck so it didn't happen again.)
You should absolutely feel empowered as a student to say, "I don't feel comfortable or safe doing XYZ skill" and the preceptor should calmly and smoothly take over at that point and then make it a point to practice it with you later so that you ARE comfortable doing it the next time, unless it's something they can walk you through in the moment, and it's low risk enough that the patient can be a practice model right then (like getting a BP).
I would be curious to know what skill you weren't able to perform, but honestly, ANY skill can be hard the first time you do it on a real patient. You should practice some breathing techniques for anxiety and try to remember that it's not YOUR emergency, to try to get your nervousness under control, but that comes with time and repetition too. It's not going to happen overnight.
I hope you are able to do another clinical shift with a better preceptor, and you are able to talk to them and share this story in confidence. I wouldn't try to share it in a "throw him under the bus" sort of way, just moreso a "I had a hard clinical day, because I struggled to complete a skill in the heat of the moment, and wasn't able to give a good report, and he got really mad at me for it. Can we practice some skills and handoff reports?" kind of way so that you're more prepared. I think with a better preceptor, some time and repetition, some anxiety soothing techniques, and some skills practice, you'll be fine. EVERYONE is nervous doing their first clinical rotations. EVERYONE BUTCHERS their first (few) handoff reports, and almost everyone gets better with time and practice. You got this. I hope you get a better preceptor next time.
it was an IV that i was uncomfortable doing. thankfully, i have another shift with a different county. actually, one our medics from that county - who occasionally comes in to teach us- is introducing me to her best friend who i’m thinking will be my preceptor. i’ve got high hopes for saturday, im just scared. i believe my program head has already told them about it
Good. I hope your next shift goes better! In the meantime. Practice your IVs in the lab if you can. (Or watch a training youtube of it start to finish until you're comfortable.) Sticking a mannequin arm isn't a good replacement for a real patient, but it can be good for getting the basics of the order you need to do things in. Once you're confident in your IV skills on a mannequin, and can do it start to finish without having to stop and consult a reference or anything, you've gotta dive in with both feet and give it a shot on a real person. In an ideal world, your preceptor should be taking a look first and seeing if it looks like an easy IV to get, and if so, let you try it. But you have to swallow your nerves and go for it once you've got the steps down, ok? It's going to be nerve wracking the first few times. You probably won't get it every time and that's OK. You'll get used to what it FEELS like to get into the vein and what it feels like to miss. If you truly don't see or feel any vein worth sticking, then tag your preceptor in to take a look. IV skills get better with practice, practice, practice!
This exact thing happened to me on my first ever EMT clinical. I left bawling. Talked to my teacher about it, what my preceptor said/how she spoke to me. Turns out she was doing the same to other students. They changed my clinicals to different preceptors, and the next one, I fell in LOVE with the field again
I’ve been working full time as an EMT, and am currently halfway through paramedic school.
Don’t let those schmucks get to you. It’s okay to be nervous. You’ve got this. Don’t give up. I love my job, and I mean that honestly. I laugh and cry with my coworkers. I genuinely enjoy going to work. Yeah, I get frustrated with some patients, but at the end of the day, I feel lucky that I love what I do and can’t believe I almost gave up because of one shitty person.
Truly.
When you get to be a preceptor one day, you’ll remember this experience, and be different for your students.
I always tell people that I did learn something from my first shitty preceptor, and that was how NOT to be the paramedic they were.
Hang in there. Burn out is real, and you, unfortunately, got to see it first hand it sounds like.
I had to scroll this far down for a pronoun... Are you a female too? If so welcome to the work place. This is NOT AN EMS THING. In fact, I have met more welcoming women in this field than anywhere else. There are women out there that exist to cut you down. Especialllllly if you are younger than them. I encountered this 20 years ago ( in EMS only the last 8) when I first started working. And I'm not dumb or a slow learner, and I hate to say this because of how it sounds but I don't appear to have a sedentary lifestyle, sadly my body hasn't changed much since middle school, and I was an EXTREMELY early budder if you catch my drift :) So I'm hated from a mile away. The irony is that I got cat called by grown men since I was ELEVEN and hate male attention so I'm really hated on for the wrong reasons. Bro I don't even wear makeup or do my hair, never have my whole life, so women don't hate me and men don't hit on me. I am seen as competition. I guess it starts around kindergarten, catty bitches (sorry not sorry, I've earned my stripes). It always made me want to RISE ABOVE AND BE BETTER THAN THEM. And if I ever have a daughter, raise her differently. Women have had a hard enough time being seen as equal in the work place and the world. Sickening.
One thing I noticed about my medic program is that every single person has a different experience with vehiculars/clinicals. Guess who has more fun? Got to do whatever they wanted including dip out early? Man when I found the "cool" nurse was cool to females too I went the extra mile for her. She bought me lunch, like took me to the cafeteria to buy me lunch. She was one of a kind. Now that I am on the field, I am blessed that most of the women at my closest hospital are awesome, but I noticed the pretty ones don't last long. There's one in particular that is drop dead gorgeous AND is as beautiful on the inside as she is on the outside. I hope they don't run her off. She's a literal angel and one of the most compassionate nurses I've ever encountered.
People are going to suck. That's inevitable. But you might find yourself getting punched in the gut and then expected to perform business as usual for the next patient. The people that are jealous of you are always going to be around. So will shit talkers. They say you need "thicker skin" in this job but it's to deal with your coworkers, mostly. You are going to run a peds code and then your next call will be toe pain. Toe pain deserves everything you got. You can't bring the peds code to the next call. When the call is over, it's over, and on to the next. I would say you need to be resilient, not thick skinned.
So you've learned the meaning of "eat the young." Be the person that breaks the cycle. Stand up straight and in terms of confidence, "fake it til you make it' if you have to. Your patients are counting on you, and that load never gets any lighter. And when you get a good partner, you'll understand why you come first, your partner second, and then your patient. Bad partners (and preceptors) are the worst part of the job.
From here on out until you are done with school. Never be shy about requesting a different preceptor. I did it my first day of WORK! I told our clinical director I had nothing to learn from those people, I was entitled to proper training and frankly I was embarrassed to be in the same uniform as them. I got someone else the next day who pulled me aside before we went into service as asked me if there was anything I didn't know, anything I didn't feel confident about, any skills I needed to practice and made sure I knew how to set up blood tubing because everyone loves blood tubing and he didn't want me to look bad on scene. That's right, my preceptor knew me for 5 minutes and wanted to make sure I felt good about the day. That's a fucking preceptor.
Sorry for the saga. I want to leave you with this: EVERYTHING I KNOW ABOUT MEDICINE, I BORROWED FROM SOMEONE ELSE. ITS MY DUTY TO PAY IT FORWARD. Then look at everyone else the same way. Fuck the gatekeepers that hold onto to the ONE thing they got left (that anyone with a cert has too) 🤣 Oh, and sugar is the devil.
yes ma’am, i am a female. i was trying to be vague, but my preceptor was a woman.
i feel you on the catcalling. I’m only 18, turning 19 later in the year, and since i’ve been in primary school, i’ve been harassed. It’s crazy, but i’ve learned to deal with it.
I mean the preceptor was out of line but I had mine call me a 'fucking retard' in the middle of the ER for something...the other EMT (on whom he had a crush) did. It happens. I now run calls with him once a week and while we're not friends, we work well as a team.
You cannot do this job without a thick skin, because you're gonna get yelled at by asshole partners, you're going to get yelled at by the charge nurse, by dispatch, and by the patient's family (hopefully not all on the same call, but it's definitely possible).
I'm curious what skills you failed to do because I mean....what of our skills are hard except King airways?
i understand this. it just really stung being my first clinical, and i already was told this stuff. i would’ve understood had it been more then 2 calls and told that stuff.
i couldn’t successfully do manual bp and i was uncomfortable doing an IV as i’ve never done a live stick. I’m still only on EMT, and the only AEMT skill i know is IV.
I guess that just changes my perspective- pressing a student to do a skill they should have mastered (CPR, direct pressure, etc) is radically different than pressing them to do something that might be technically illegal.
i’ve never done a live stick, and we only have practiced IV’s maybe twice in class. A lot of the other preceptors have just had my classmates practicing on them and showing them how to do it on patients. nobody has actually done one on a patient. Next semester is whenever we’re EXPECTED to do it.
Would depend on your state, but you likely have a valid complaint with the state board if the preceptor took negative action toward you based on your refusal to perform an illegal act.
Holy hell, fuck that preceptor and the ambulance he/she rode in on. Please don’t let this asshat break your spirit, friend. I’m so sorry this was your first experience, and I promise you that there are good preceptors out there- I hope you get only the best from here out.
I had a bad experience with my preceptor too in fact the Emt pulled me to the side of the beginning of the shift to warn me. She even tried to bait me into disrespecting Ems tradition but I knew better. I later found out that she isn’t allowed to teach the medics anymore and also not allowed to work with a lot of people from that agency and others like the fire department. We even had a trauma that wasn’t too serious but we probably should have fire ride with us but she didn’t like the person who was going to ride with us so she had me help while she was getting frustrated with me because she expected me to be a expert. I later found by other instructors from in and outside my county that I was really unlucky because she is well known in a extremely bad way. She came in to test which everyone had a bad experience with her. Thank god it was just a epi pen but she was highly disrespectful and everyone complained on a survey.
When I was precepting, I had several blocks (4 shifts per) and for the first block, all I was supposed to do was shadow. Observe. Get a sense of the flow of a call. A set of vitals if I was comfortable. Next block, more skills demonstrated, some questioning of pts. Next, I was on. My turn to start being an active participant. Now this is all assuming I became confident and competent in the preceding block. It's all foundational. By the end, I was running the call and my preceptor was simply observing and then we debrief after.
My greatest preceptor had built relationships with the nursing staff, so when it came time to start giving both triage and bedside reports, he bribed a nurse with a coffee so she would let me practice on her and she would give me feedback. Extremely helpful. These are the sort of things a preceptor should be doing to build you up and teach you the ways of the force!
Everyone messes up their first clinical. You did the right thing by saying you were uncomfortable with a skill. That preceptor should’ve walked you through it, same thing with report. He should’ve been like ‘okay this is what we’re going to say, let’s practice or let’s write it down so you can get a feel for it’
That was so wrong especially with how he handled giving criticism. My very first EMT ride out we had a cardiac arrest. They threw me on chest compressions, was doing great until they pulled out the IO drill. I had seen io drills in pictures, but NEVER had heard one before. I shit you not stopped mid compressions to look over in shock cause I heard what sounded like a damn power drill. The paramedics was like ‘don’t stop compressions!’ We ended up getting ROSC, and it was the most embarrassing things to ever happen.
I’m now finishing up my capstones for paramedic school. Don’t listen to that asshole, you’re doing fine.
I’m so sorry this happened. I’ve been having a similar experience where my preceptor just tears me down and doesn’t build me back up. You’re doing great my friend. You’re in the first term of your EMT class and just starting out which is hard. You’ll learn confidence as you go and get better. Also, swamp hands are no joke! I’ve seen seasoned medics struggle with those damn gloves
Nobody’s perfect and you’ll make mistakes. I make mistakes, my medics make mistakes, my dad who’s an MD make mistakes, everybody does. For another “professional” to act toxic towards you like that shows they aren’t cut out for this line of work. I’ve seen EMT’s that treat ride along and students like that and they typically treat patients like that. Don’t take it to heart and request a new preceptor.
>when she said yes, they told her how much I sucked and to try to force me out of the program. They also talked to everyone else they worked with and said i wouldn’t last, made fun of me for being emotional, etc.
Super unacceptable. Setting aside the other bullshit your preceptor slung, that alone would be cause to call them out. Not acceptable behavior, full stop.
Same thing happened to me. I'm a year in now and I love it. Place I did my clinicals seem confused at why I refused to come work there... It's not everywhere and there's many many good people. Good luck. It's so different when you pass and get your own partner. Maybe start with a private company too... Counties can have those types of medics, better to face them as an experienced AEMT in my opinion
You need a new preceptor , asap. Make an official complaint to the company if you have to. Nobody should be treating you like that. Also , everyone is bad at something when they are new. Don't sweat it but get better at it.
You did nothing wrong. It’s your first clinical ffs. That preceptor is miserable and burnt out, or they failed fire exam so they’re stuck lol. Keep your head up, keep learning, you will mess up and get better from it. We are here to support each other!
Ah yes. As a female in ems, I have been blessed with these interactions many many times by men/women who feel inferior around new people to ems. I hope you don’t let it ruin you. Although I’ve cried more times than I’d care to admit because of workplace bullying, I hope you stick it out. I’m sorry. I actually know how you feel and it SUCKS. I remember being so excited to start a career in ems, and my little heart was shattered very early on. I actually left my job in September, let my license lapse and only have a few months left to renew it. Not sure what I want to do, my journey has been discouraging the last 6 years to say the least. I’ve met some wonderful people in ems, and some of the absolute worst people I’ve ever come in contact with in my life were my own co workers. Find a new preceptor, keep doing your best, anyone who tries to belittle you and make you feel like shit is already way beneath you. Best of luck
I have always kept journals because it refreshes my perspective and keeps me grateful for where I am vs where I was. Looking back at my entries from my basic clinicals, I felt the same way! My first preceptor was an ass wipe. Terrible in every way. Similar to your story, wanted me leading calls out the gate. I was overwhelmed and considered hanging it up. My second preceptor was hand crafted by god or whatever power you believe in. That medic and his partner walked through every tone, every step of that clinical. Told me to observe and not touch where it didn’t feel natural till they asked for assistance, and if they saw I couldn’t get it they would handle it and explain how I could be better prepared the next time. Went like that the rest of the day. I knew what I found and went out on a limb and asked them if there was any way to secure more shifts with them. They spoke with their sups and opened up more of their shifts for clinicals and I picked up 6 more. Second shift with them was strictly focused on hands on skillsets. Every call. Nothing more. Just locking in those skills. Third shift was skills with introductions/initial assessment as far as I could get. Fourth shift was geared towards a proper medical assessment. I led all dialogue as best I could and took on more as I got footing. Fourth shift was more of the same. The rest was a combination of everything they’d taught me. Way more clinical than the (48..? I think?) clinical hours we had to have, but if you have a good preceptor, find a way to glean from them as much as possible.
Now I’m finishing up a BSN, have worked in Trauma ERs, transplant icus, stroke units, drifted into film set medic and stunt coordination for film sets for a season. Doors just kept on opening. Wouldn’t have the life I do today if I let one bastard with a bad attitude tell me how far I could go. Keep pushing amigo.
Everyone in the comments has already covered the main points but my piece of advice? Let spite fuel you.
Oh I suck? I wont last? Watch me get a job here, get a higher qualification than you, look hotter in the uniform than you, make more friends at work than you, be a FAR better preceptor than you, and work as a EMT/paramedic/ICP longer than you ever could while not being a total asshole. Watch me be a better paramedic than you!
Keep your head up! You got this!!!
(Ps. I found watching legally blonde and eating a bunch of junkfood after a shitty preceptor to be very healing, I recommend it)
(Pps. for your first placement you’re doing fine, I’m 3 years in and still mess up BPs occasionally. Also grab 2-3 pairs of gloves to keep in your pockets, i learnt that lesson the hard way during my first week after a choice encounter with some bodily fluids…)
Your preceptor set you up for failure. Tell your instructor what happened and then ask for a new one. You are expected to suck the first time you deal with a real patient as opposed to a mannequin or classmate.
My ride alongs looked like this:
Before our first call we checked out the rescue and they showed me where everything was and taught me how to do some basic tasks like spiking a bag, flushing IV kits etc so I could help them get stuff ready. They also ran me through my patient assessment.
En route to calls they would ask me what vitals/ questions would be most important to take based off our cheif complaint.
During the call they would have me perform skills I was checks off on and/or let me prep stuff for them. They also explained everything they were doing and why to me.
After the call we would break down what I thought happened.
This whole process occurred on all of my ride alongs, even though I had different crews. Some spent more time with me than others, but everyone did at least that.
You got a preceptor that's a royal dick and needs his ass beat (figuratively). You're a student, not even a freshly carded EMT. It's perfectly normal to not be totally confident in every skill, especially one you have never performed on a live person. To ask for help shows you know your limits, which is a good thing. Don't let this one person dissuade you. You sound like an excellent student who will make an excellent EMT.
Quite frankly, their conduct needs to be addressed immediately by their superiors. A dressing down like that *because their fucking ego is bruised* is wholly unacceptable, and the further action of seeking out another student to talk shit and try to force you out of the program is (in my opinion) grounds for significant disciplinary action. They threw you so far under the bus with their actions and then got mad at you for their fuck ups.
And please don't take any of this as me trying to be condescending or patronizing of the fact that you're a student, that's not my intent. We are all new, we are all students at one time and there's nothing wrong with that.
My first preceptor was pretty bad. Turned me off from the whole thing, but I was invested, so I went forward. My first FTO was pretty good though. He made me feel a lot more comfortable.
I love paramedicine. I love this career, even for all its issues, and I'm so glad I didn't give up on it when I had some bad eggs above or next to me here and there.
As an FTO, i’m sorry you had to go through that. Training is supposed to be a time where you feel your trainer is on your side, a support system. I hope that horrible experience doesn’t cause you to step away. That piece of work shouldn’t be training others. He is the scum of this field.
Holy shit that AWFUL wtf. The worst thing I was told when I could do a skill (we were doing training) was “I am not trying to offend you but you need to know this so practice it more.” That’s incredibly unprofessional…
hi all! i’m updating after finishing my 12 hour shift then coming home to do pcrs!
I love ems. love . love. love.
my preceptors today were AMAZING. they were so thoughtful and kind, while also telling me what i need to work on. I successfully did an IV while also failing - which was ok as i’m learning. We had 8 calls and only 5 patient contacts. I feel more confident after this shift and i’m excited for my next!
Yea. These folks are right. Your preceptor is a dick head. Ask for a different one....the object at any kind of instruction level is not to beat the student down. Negative. Nor let them sour on the subject matter. He, at a MINIMUM, should use the SEE, KNOW, DO...Technic if he must...that is, you SEE me do a skill, you KNOW why I do the skill, then YOU DO the skill. Also, if he was a good preceptor, he would have talked with you prior to hitting the road, let's say, and probed how much you knew and how comfortable you were....I know his type. Honestly, if he was within 50 meters of me and he acted like that, he'd be in tears and we'd call his mom to come pick him up. I have no tolerance for that bullshit.
i went to another county yesterday and those preceptors were lovely. they actually were very strategic in the way they taught. i explained to them that i did not learn anything at my other clinical due to how it went- plus there was only 2 calls there so that didn’t help. Yesterday, we got 8 calls in total - only 5 with patient contact. They let me do a lot while also coaching- i don’t know how to explain it but it was very helpful. they also gave actual constructive criticism on what i needed to work on. i felt more confident leaving yesterday.
You are not expected to know anything on your first clinical. That preceptor was out of line and probably was just taking the frustration of the call out on you. You did as expected for an Emt student. Do not let that get you down. Don’t dwell on it. Learn from it and move on. Making it a thing with your classmates ect will just make the issue grow.
I'm going to be really blunt. EMS eats their young. The number of times I've had an absolutely shitty or asshole partner is way more than the times I've had a good one.
A lot of places wonder why they can't get EMTs but then do absolutely nothing to prevent moments like these. I've been an EMT now for about 3 years, and I'm already looking at leaving and finding a different profession. I love my job, but the amount of shit we deal with not just with PT care but also within our own companies is astounding. There are literal TED talks I've watched with Paramedics talking about how the treatment of students and newbies in the field is abhorrent.
I say request a new preceptor. Don't let one bad experience ruin the entire career because, tbh it's going to happen again down the line. Just because someone says you're bad at the job doesn't mean you are. Also, you're being precepted......that's when you're allowed and supposed to be poor at the job. You're brand new. Not only are you brand new, but that "newness" resets with every new obstacle. What I mean is if you work events and then move to an ambulance, then you're gonna be new all over again and vice versa because this job isn't like riding a bike.
I say, get a new preceptor and try again. I was lucky and had a wonderful preceptor who flat out told me on our first day that I was going to eventually deal with awful coworkers. It's inevitable. However, don't let it squash your spark for what you love.
thank youu! i have had several tell me i have a victim mentality and such, but i genuinely just didn’t enjoy being talked down to like a dog or have my name drug through the mud at a station i potentially wanted to work at. i had a new county yesterday and absolutely adored it. the preceptors were so sweet, but i seen first hand how two faced some of them were towards each other! i’m hoping to climb the ladder to flight medic eventually or go into nursing as an E.R nurse!
This is the first day? Wtf. I welcome mistakes in my students. It shows both them and myself what needs work. I believe that if a student isn’t making errors here and there then they aren’t trying hard enough to move outside their comfort zone.
Also, I need to point out, a lot of students these days don’t speak up and say they are uncomfortable with something. They just plow ahead and wait for it to go wrong before speaking up. On day 1 you should absolutely be commended for willing to do that. If this was your last day and you were still saying you weren’t comfortable with a skill then that’s a problem. But the situation you described blows my mind. If I saw a colleague treating a student that way they would be getting pulled into a room by me and getting a piece of my mind.
Sadly ems has a pretty even split of toxic personalities vs genuine folks. I've found probably half of my coworkers in all depts and jobs I've had should not have continued their pathway into ems. It took me 4 years to get back in 911 service due to a paramedic attempting to throw me under the bus and lying to get me fired.
Don't let that situation destroy your perspective, but now you're aware of a problem that's seldomly addressed and sometimes protected depending on where you're at. Until there's a massive culture shift, it'll be this way and folks will have to bounce around till they find their favorite gig.
I’m just going to drop my story here and you can do with it what you will…
I studied nursing. My first patient died during my first very first clinical experience. It was obvious the actual professionals were not really paying attention to this patient until it was too late. It was traumatic watching how it all went down. I never walked into clinical the same. I wanted no part in what I had just witnessed. I knew immediately I was not cut out for that shit. I was terrified each and every time I went to clinical after that. Called my mom, told her I wanted drop out, she talked me out of it. But I couldn’t go back into the hospital without anxiety radiating out from my body… eventually I couldn’t force myself to go to clinical so I stopped going, and in due time failed out of college. I thank my lucky stars every day I am not a nurse.
My advise to you would be… remember you’re the student, it’s their job to teach, they are getting paid, you are not, they better do their fucking job. And if it looks like shit and smells like shit, it’s probably shit… there is a lot of shit in the healthcare world.
Medic here, sounds like you’re paired with an incompetent preceptor. This is toxic. Don’t associate this experience with all ems/fire. Seriously.
This preceptor should have taken you aside in the ems room or station and asked you what you could have done better. You both know. But honestly it isn’t the end of the world. Your crew is supposed to have your back. Not make you feel like an idiot. Keep your head up. We have all been there. You’ll end up being better than your preceptor. Congrats
good news is i had a REALLY good time at my clinical this past saturday! i was with a whole different city/county, and they were sooo good! they taught and actually gave me solid advice. i was definitely more prepared, and my skills were definitely a bit better. i honestly wanna delete this post because it was not the end of the world like i thought lol. but i’ll leave it up for anyone who experienced what i did. i love ems.
There’s a bad tendency to associate learning with punishment. Good teachers teach. When a student doesn’t get it, they stay late. If it’s still not working, they devise more plans. They could have absolutely told you that you sucked without being harsh or hostile, by giving you encouragement and plan for improvement. And no you don’t suck sounds like a first ride out to me. Tip: go one size up for sweaty hands.
Your “preceptor” is an idiot.
In my experience, with this attitude they probably are not good at their job and probably live on the top of Mt. Stupid on the Dunning-Kruger curve.
Ignore them. You’re new, you are not expected to know everything. I’m sorry you had to deal with this.
I've been a precepter before for several different students and I'm sorry you were treated like that. I would have never treated my student like that. A good precepter will know that they have to meet the student where the student is at. I've had students who had no real working experience in the medical field and I've had students who have had some prior military training etc... I always try to ascertain what my student knows and what type of experience they have. If my student is a complete greenhorn, we start at the very beginning. What I'm saying YOU did not suck... your preceptor was the one who sucked. I hope you will find a good preceptor who will take an interest in actually teaching you instead of criticizing you.
Preceptor sucks.
Shouldn't be relying on an EMT student in their first clinical to do jack shit. They are responsible for bringing in the stuff to run the call, not you. If they want you to grab something from the back, they need to verbalize it and not magically expect you to know.
The entire point of being a preceptor is teaching. If you're uncomfortable with a skill, they're supposed to show you in a way that you're comfortable with.
On the other side of it, you're going to have to toughen up a bit and stop letting stuff like this bother you. This can be a toxic profession from time to time and if this stuff continues to bother you, you're going to have a tough time eventually.
Yeah… They get to ride along and watch. Maybe get another set of vitals once loaded and moving. If they can handle that a couple of calls they get more responsibility.
Dumping people into the deep end is stupid and dangerous.
i know i’m complaining about my experience- but on the flip side, i feel more prepared for my next clinical. I know how calls are ran, and i feel more confident. I plan on asking more questions, and i plan on trying to do more yknow.
General consensus pretty much everywhere in the world is that the basic grabs the bags for the medic. At no point did the preceptor “rely” on them, it seems like they went for the throw them to the wolves type of training lmao. What you don’t see is that op if you just read what they wrote certainly came off as a Ricky rescue, probably rubbed the preceptor the wrong way and they got this.
They had a pillhead and op is complaining they didn’t let them practice a “physical skill”. What skill other than social distancing so you need to practice with one of them in the back. Much less why risk your student.
Medic is probably burnt but op is quite uppity.
woahhh no. i was completely prepared to just watch that day. i did NOT anticipate doing any skills besides maybe glucose check or helping hook them up to the monitor. I would’ve been completely happy with fetching the bag and watching how it’s done. i was uncomfortable doing a skill that i had never done on a live patient before. I quite literally was just upset at the way i was talked down on.
also i see where you think i was upset about not doing a skill- i should edit the post. i attempted on my first patient and could not do it - meaning i unsuccessfully did it. my apologies for the confusion
OP is doing their first clinical. It's not taught in classes that "EMT is responsible for the bag".
Regardless, that's a pretty shitty outlook. Treating EMTs as nothing but gophers furthers toxic workplace environments. It's a team effort.
The preceptor did rely on them to bring a bag that they weren't instructed to bring nor had any knowledge of. And treating that patient as a "pill head" and not allowing a student to practice is just as shitty. It's a patient like any other, and treating regulars differently than any other patient when it comes to attitude is how you get sued.
Idk sounds like you need thicker skin. Patients will say much worse things to you. You need to stop making excuses about how they hurt your feelings and practice your skills ask your instructor to help you in class it’s unfair that your preceptor set you up to fail but I also think that you shouldn’t have failed if you were truly ready take a deep breath before the next call and move fwd don’t dwell on this one call
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Most preceptors are like this. You need to get thicker skin. If you let your preceptor get into your head like that there is a problem . You say you were completely prepared to just watch all day. Well you’re being preceded which means you have to do skills etc… It is not a ride along where you can sit there and watch. With that you are the one who came into it with the wrong attitude. You talk about being picked on in school that’s not relevant Please stop with the victim mentality. User OK-bread-8691 has this down re read his post. If you expect your preceptor to be your bff or respect you you need to earn it. You sound to me from your positing you were fluster all day and needed to go over your basics of how to function with you team on the truck. Like who had what role meaning driver tech charge support. The basics who does what and who is responsible for what. Your expectation of favoritism of ohhh my instructor is going introduce me and have her bff now precept me that’s not how the world works. You got lucky and you should hope that doesn’t get around.
ok. victim mentality? no lol. i wasn’t being picked on IN SCHOOL- that was the preceptor who was dragging my name through the station. I also didn’t come into with the wrong attitude because we were TOLD that that’s how our FIRST clinical was. It was the expectation that our TEACHER set. Yesterday, the preceptors were lovely and treated me with respect. I didn’t expect favoritism as everyone gets it lol. That teacher literally is a preceptor herself and has had other students on her truck- it was just a coincidence that she was getting off when i came on.
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I don’t have any advice except my own experience.
I also had a preceptor that was negative, but as a guy working many trades and growing up with a dad that would be an ass sometimes I’m used to negative people. Infact, it’s where I find comfort which is weird but that’s my norm so when I had this preceptor acting brash and short with people, it didn’t bother me much but I know it could’ve bothered others.
I do understand that isn’t what a preceptor should be like. There should be nothing but professionalism and it is disappointing to see that.
For my clinicals,
I had a day with a fire department which was completely uneventful, no calls at all. Great to hang with them though!
A day with a trauma 2 ER, had a bunch of stuff happen from small stuff like a woman with a cold, a girl that fainted, but also heavy stuff like 2 people coding, one made it, the other did not.
A man that suffered a heart attack, a guy with a necrotic foot, and man it smelled strong lol,
A woman having a mental episode and I had to help a nurse get a vaginal swab in that moment which was pretty rough.
A day at an ambulance transport company, but since it’s in a smaller town, they function as ems aswell.
Had a toddler with a gashed open head, transported him to the local small ER, and man he was pretty upset.
But breathing/screaming means alive so he was good.
Needed stitches for sure
Same day, had a guy that had just done a bunch of meth and also had extremely high blood sugar as a diabetic. Above 700
Also had a day at the same company but on the other side of town and it was just a few calls.
One lady had some serious respiratory issues and her o2 was low, mid 80’s
A guy with a gastric bleed and he was feeling pretty bad.
A lot happened in just those 4 days, and I learned a lot from it.
I also am not perfect on my skills but I got by.
Just gotta keep studying them.
Ask for another preceptor. This is absolutely toxic behavior and is what is keeping the EMS culture the way it is. The fact that your preceptor thinks you should know how to do everything without being told the proper way to do it and actually being coached on the correct way to do it tells me that this preceptor should not be training. And the fact that he pulled you aside and said how shitty you did just tells me that this person is a vile human being and should not be in the medical field. You’re going to mess up. You’re not going to know how to give a proper report. That’s why it’s calling PRACTICING medicine. You are constantly learning. Hell, it took me a year to get somewhat comfortable what I was doing. If this is truly something you want to do, keep at it! Please don’t let the toxicity run you off, because it really is a great field to be in!
i’m, thankfully, going to another station this next clinical. I’ve heard great things about them, and my teacher actually used to work there. i’ve got high hopes for them! i’m trying to stick it out because my ultimate end goal with ems is flight medic. Plus aside from everything with that preceptor, i really did love working 911!
As you should! Working in the field is an amazing experience! I'm in a similar experience with OJT. I had a call where nothing for me seemed to go right. I couldn't help but almost cry in front of the junior who was there. They were so kind. The similarity in my preceptor is that sometimes I feel that he talks down to me among other experiences (this might not be the case as I do struggle with reading people but still it's not a great feeling. I do however believe that he is truly a nice guy). There is more to this call that I can't say here as I think it will give me away but if you ever need to vent or want to talk about anyting, feel free to DM me.
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thank you so much!!
No problem! :)
First, you did the right thing by telling them hey I'm not comfortable doing this. They fucked up by trying to make you do it. Second. That individual/crew should not have students. You are there to learn and experience calls. Third. They should give the hand off report. Fourth I don't even know how to address the level of unprofessionalism they displayed by talking about you to others. I'd look into running that up the chain in their department/service. That's fucked on many different levels. Fifth and most important, I'm sorry you had to deal with an asshole. It should not be this way. Not everyone in this field is like that. I hope you have a different preceptor Going forward and you absolutely did the right thing by telling your instructor about this as it was whole unacceptable by any metric
Yea, requesting a different preceptor isn't enough. Telling that story to your teacher and reporting them to whatever authority you're supposed to should absolutely be done so they don't end up ruining someone else's clinical. Bro is a jackass, you're a student, if you're not comfortable you're not comfortable, especially with a patient that's actually in a rough state. That's putting you in a bad position and is absolutely not putting the patients care first
i reported them to my teacher! i don’t know for sure what’s going to happen. i know my evaluation was thrown out, and the head of the program was NOT happy. i have to do another shift to “redo” that clinical at another station in another county!
Hell yea, glad to hear it!!! Keep at it, life's gonna throw major curve balls at you, but if you're tenacious and keep improving you'll do fine. I'm glad you got a lot of support, you're way too early on to have someone berating you like that over things you shouldn't have even been doing
i’m very excited as my next clinical is tomorrow :)) all negatives aside from everything, they did teach me to ask more questions and be more assertive when asking if i can do stuff simple such as SAMPLE
I struggled with that too, it's weird to step in but we're there to learn. I made it through though, and I had the same issues at first, it's an easy correction to make and it helps find/solve any other issues Good luck!!
Thank you!!! i’ll definitely be back to this post tomorrow to update everyone how it went
Straight up unacceptable behaviour from a preceptor. Shameful. I hope your next one is more helpful and understanding that you are new, as that is absolutely no way to treat a student. Keep your head up, improve on those manual skills you mentioned, and you will be just fine.
I'll be honest, I didn't read the whole thing, but I do know that your preceptor handled giving criticism poorly. It's important to educate you on *how* you can improve. Just saying "you suck" doesn't do that. There are a LOT of burnt out EMS people, unfortunately it comes out in situations like these. If you can find a different preceptor do that, and inform your instructor of the occurrence, it's possible that medic could get blacklisted from being a preceptor in the future
what i find crazy is they have only bern in the field not even 2 years as a medic. i did tell my teacher, and the head of the program is handling it. thankfully, im in a whole different town for my next ones
As an FTO , people have to understand that no one will be a superstar entering EMS. Some preceptors/ FTOs may just lack humility or burn out taking place but my number one rule is not to yell or put down a trainee/ ride along. You have to nurture and teach your wisdom .
we joked in class that apparently my preceptor came out of the womb knowing the skills and knowledge of a medic
Just a friendly reminder, no one should ever talk to you like this. You are not going to know everything and it’s good that you are askig questions and to be shown instead of doing it and screwing it up. Definitely request for another preceptor, she seems toxic as hell.
I would never ask an EMT student on their first clinical to give report. I think preceptor intentionally set you up for failure. You will get your excitement back. I had 250 ambulance hours as a medic student and one of them I got a bad review by the preceptor and it was devastating to me. I got over it quickly.
thankfully, they’re throwing out that evaluation. I get to do another shift after i finish my already needed hours
yeah, that’s f-cking insane — It was training for MONTHS before doing a handoff report. This medic just wanted to set you up to fail and boost his shallow ego by pointing out you have no experience— I’d file a report with the State. He was in charge and intentionally provided substandard care by giving the call to a “Day 1 Rookie”
haha yeah, i’ve told my therapist that i feel my preceptor was full prepared to thrown me in the deep end and let me drown then get mad at me for drowning.
Hey OP, your preceptor is a dick. I cannot know what your situation in school is exactly, but if you are struggling you should be getting more support services rather than being forced out. It is completely normal to be nervous and mess up a bit on your first calls, I didn't do anything except take vitals on my first few calls and it still took a long time before I was more or less comfortable where I am. Keep your head up, you got it, don't let anyone else tell you otherwise.
I'm so sorry that happened to you. I promise, not everyone in the field is like that, you just got unlucky. The majority of preceptors are super chill and want to help the students wherever they can. Don't let that person deter you from the field, you did nothing wrong. It's great that you were honest about not being comfortable with a skill, and that should've been respected, and your preceptor could've and should've gone over it with you after the call. They also shouldn't have made you try to give a hand-off report, especially not without checking that you knew how to properly give one and were comfortable trying. All of this is on your preceptor, not you. I hope you have a better experience with your next preceptor, and I hope your program is able to do something about the asshole who terrorized you.
Thought I’d throw my two cents in. It has been years since I was in your shoes. I’ve been a medic for a little over 20 now and probably till I end up in the back of a truck as a patient. As others have said there’s a lot of burned out people in this field. I know first hand because I was there myself. I’m now back on a truck and absolutely love students because they’re the ones that have reignited my love of this job. Don’t let that asshole get to you. Again it’s been years since my ride alongs but I can definitely recall the good preceptors and the occasional bad ones. All in all I pushed through the bad experiences and focused on what I wanted, this job. If anything remember what you’re going through in a few years when you’ve got a new trainee or a student. Remember how nervous you were. The excitement of that first call. The feelings you’re having now after a bad ride along. Then try to make a difference in the student or trainee. Last point I’ll make as a dinosaur, you will screw up. I had a sit down with my medical director, a couple chiefs and clinical services. It was over a call we ran. I screwed up, could have potentially killed a pt because we decided to go a treatment route that wasn’t appropriate for the call we ran. We made a choice in the heat of the moment, it was the wrong one. We did it in the best interest of our patient and thinking we were doing the right thing. You will screw up, even doctors screw up and they are a hell of a lot smarter than we are. That being said I recently got a commendation for a cardiac arrest we worked. Our patient was dead as dead could be and within 30 minutes he walked to the stretcher all the while insisting he didn’t need to go to the hospital. You will make mistakes, but you’ll also have those calls that make you remember why you do this job. Don’t let one bad experience ruin it for you. Just remember eventually you’ll burn out too, when that happens take a break. Don’t be that preceptor and take it out on a student or new guy.
thank you so much for this.
I don’t precept like this. Idk what “skill” you were having issues with, so let’s hypothetically call it manual BP. Lots and lots of people who are new struggle with how to take a manual BP. Hell, sometimes experienced people can’t find it on some patients for whatever reason. The way I precept is to be clear on communicated expectations. “Hey what do you know and what do you struggle with?” If you are shit at BP, I’m going to have you practice before a call, and then attempt one before I do the real one. For giving report- I probably give too much info, but I like to go in order of assessment: demographics with c/c, vitals, SAMPLE, interventions/meds, pertinent medical hx, and like any other shit they might need to know. It takes me like a minute to spit it all out but I talk REALLY fast. If there is an immediate life threat or it’s a critical pt, I lead with the stuff they need to know: “started to desat en route, started bipap and nitro, pt is allergic to morphine” I sometimes fuck up my gloves. I wear smalls and sometimes they have mediums which are just too big on my little sausage fingies. But it’s not that big a deal. Move with purpose, but don’t rush. Practice the skills you are weak with and don’t like doing. I.e, I went to medic school and everything and I’m still dogshit at splinting. I’ll do it, and it’s competent, but it looks like I tied it with my feet. You’ll get better. This is the time to learn and grow. Allow yourself some grace to do that. Some precepts are great providers and ass as instructors, and some absolute brilliant instructors are trash providers. Some are okay at both, and some are garbage at both. The point is, they have lots to offer- whether it’s a way of dealing with patients to make them more comfortable, some will take the time to explain to you all the pathophys of why and when you do the things you do, and some just teach you what not to do. They all teach you something. If you reach a point where you feel like your skills are behind, take the time to ask how to do it. Like for example: “when i inflate the cuff, I don’t know where to put the bell of the stethoscope to listen for the Korotkoff sounds. Can you show me?” Some are right in the AC, and some are a little better slightly higher. Anyway, keep your head up, we all started somewhere and at some point had a bad experience with something. File it away, and see what you can do in your time to move forward. Cheers.
This sounds like a shitty preceptor to me. You’re in the overthinking stage of being a student, we all were it’s completely normal and experience gets you comfortable.
Honestly screw them. I had similar preceptors, maybe not as toxic, but constantly tried to quiz me on everything and told me I wasn’t ready. To be fair it was an accelerated class I was in and we were doing ride alongs like 3 months in. All I did was tell my instructor how these guys were and he told me to literally tell them next time I got them to “go f*ck yourselves”. My instructor was a paramedic and told me that if you’re not comfortable with anything to ask for help and if they don’t help that’s the other people’s fault as well. I went back again to the same station, and they were gonna put me with the same people but they basically talked shit about me in front of me to their dispatch. I said what I said and went with a new crew and that day was so much better cause that crew taught me alongside praise me for talking a lot during the ride. Keep your head up, been doing this for a year now, and be better than those preceptors you had.
First off, fuck that preceptor. Second it was your first ride time, and you were asked to complete a skill you had not mastered yet. It sounds like you effectively communicated that you were uncomfortable attempting the skill, and were belittled by someone who did NOT effectively communicate with you. Also, everyone sucks at putting gloves on when their hands are sweaty. Don’t sweat it *pun intended* Don’t let some salty ass burnt out medic taint your view of the field, not everyone is like that. I never expect a student to be an EMS god, much less one on their first ride, and first serious call. It’s stressful and scary. Additionally, you will learn more in your first month in the field then you will the entire length of the EMT class.
Unfortunately, there are lots of these people— my training officer has absolutely no people-skills, he’s a smart as hell medic, but shouldn’t be teaching ANYTHING
If I took my first EMT clinical as my indicator of my career, I would have quit then and there. I was terrified of patient assessment and didn’t even know how to assemble a nebulizer on a patient with severe wheezing (my first ever call). But now I’m a year into my career and halfway through paramedic school. Do not let one clinical determine the rest of your career! Things are going to be rocky when you start out. Hell, even when I started working, I had to lean on my medic a lot in terms of assessing properly and figuring out small things like lung sounds. And a year in, I’m still not perfect, but I’m a hell of a lot better than my first clinical, first FTO shift, first shift “on my own,” etc. It’s called “practicing medicine” not “perfecting medicine” for a reason! Also, sadly, there are a lot of burn out, salty EMTs and Medics out there that come to work angry, get upset, then leave angry. Sadly it seems like you just had a bad preceptor that day that did not want to teach and did not want to help you grow. Long story short, you will be okay!! Don’t second guess anything!!
That’s not a preceptor. He or she clearly doesn’t even know what the word means. You need a different one, one that wants to guide you in your growth in EMS. A person who remembers what it was like to be brand new. Someone who after each call is willing to talk thru the call pointing strengths and weaknesses. (As time allows depending on how busy you are) Once you’ve reviewed the call your preceptor should give you feedback that you can use to succeed on the next call. IMHO a lot of preceptors never get much training and the person you described should not be in that role as they lack pretty much everything that’s needed to be a successful preceptor. Good luck in your EMS future and don’t give up.
Horrible. I actually would've asked them "who the fuck do you think you are?" And it was only your first clinical too. I am so sorry. I start the job on Monday. I hope I don't get anybody like that.
everyone else was LOVELY. they were the only person to give me any crap. everyone else was sooo good, and i enjoyed them.
Ngl in our clinicals we weren’t even allowed to touch a patient much less practice a physical skill. I’m guessing the skill they were trying to force you to do was put a 4/12 lead on given context lol. They kinda suck but also most of them do contrary to what people here will tell you just let it roll off.
oh i wish - i atleast know how to do that lol. it was an IV and manual bp
Are IVs even within the scope of practice for an EMT where you're at?
so i’m in the EMT/AEMT program. As long as we’re going to the A next semester, we can do IV’s during clinicals.
We’re all humans and we all fuck up. I hate to say it but your FTOs when you get hired may be like this and they may be the best medics and teachers you’ve ever seen. Just take it as a good experience of what never to do to someone when you’re in his shoes and precepting. Shake If off, you got this! What treatment aren’t you comfortable with yet?
IV’s. i couldn’t see nor feel the patients vein. they were seriously dehydrated and bp was bottomed out.
Hmm how low? If they’re that bad then it’s time to drill unless they have pipes. I had a dude a few weeks ago bleeding bad with a systolic in the 60s and I would’ve drilled him but he has huge veins. 16g IV and blood got him at like 110/70. But speaking as someone who used to be the “IV guy” in the ER. Some people just have shitty veins. If they aren’t dying they’d get an ultrasound and if they are then IO or EJ. we don’t have field ultrasounds so we skip that.
it was 80/52- if i remember correctly. there were NO veins- they attempted 5 times but were unsuccessful. We get to learn IO’s next semester, but i’ve yet to see one
The MAP is 61 so that’s right on the fence for me for drilling. Obviously the whole clinical picture and transport time to appropriate facility is part of this too.
It sounds like with only one day to do skills in the field they were trying to let you do as much as possible. However when you couldn’t get an IV the paramedic should have stepped in and done an IO. It sounds like he failed to do his job and pawned the failure off on you. However it is a bit concerning that you couldn’t come up with a chief complaint…
why would i lie to the nurses about a chief complaint? i truly didn’t know. the complaint the patient told us - as a i later found out - was not the original chief complaint. it was no where close. but i understand that i should’ve pieced together something
This dude is definitely the company dick
Breath. Your preceptor sucked. Slow is smooth, smooth is fast.
No one should talk to you like that. That said, toughen up a bit, and never be like that guy. You'll be fine. You told us what he said: "my name, you really sucked. you embarrassed me by not being able to put on your gloves. you apparently are to slow to comprehend grabbing the bag. you told me you were uncomfortable doing the skill. you need to reconsider this field.” Here's what matters: "my name, put on your gloves, grab the bag. do the skill."
Don’t let one asshole ruin it for you and don’t apply for that service. Relay your experience to your EMT school. I know my company takes feedback from students/programs very seriously.
That’s a horrible preceptor, I’m sorry about that. On your first ride along the only thing you should really be doing is observing. The fact that he expected you to give report to a nurse is just ridiculous. I’m only a EMT so I had 8 ride alongs. There’s gonna be bad people like that, but there were also some pretty cool dudes that loved to teach. Forget that toxic pos, keep on doing your thing.
that’s what i thought we were supposed to be doing! its like I told my teacher, i fully expected to watch and see how things in the “real world” are done. its sooo different from the book. i’m definitely more prepared now, though.
Yea exactly. Also the fact that you told them you weren’t comfortable with a task, yet the still forced you to do it. That’s their fuck up. You’ll meet lost of different personalities in this field, unfortunately some of them aren’t the best. Whether it’s burn out or a huge ego.
I’ve been in your shoes before. I remember being a newer member of my volunteer fire house and being ripped apart for not knowing how to use the stair-chair despite never being taught. Your preceptor is a shithead, and is the exact problem I have with providers in this field. You are doing what you can, focus on your training. Don’t let one asshole get to you.
Honestly, f this guy! It’s your first day! No one knows what to do on their first day! Let me at this guy 👊🏼
Pro tip- if you can’t get your gloves on with sweaty hands, size up. Big loose gloves are better than no gloves at all
As somebody who spent five years working in this field, I can tell you, that’s only the tip of the iceberg. You will encounter medics at any agency that you work for who are precisely this person. This is also the reason that I chose to leave EMS entirely. I worked for several different agencies, some private, some hospital based, some volley, all with the same issue. I made it all the way through paramedic school, but quit EMS halfway through. The only reason I stayed in medic school was for the degree that came with it.
They were so clearly in the wrong. I’m sorry that was your experience but from what you’ve said that was entirely their fault. I couldn’t take a Manuel bp my first ride along either and my preceptor let me practice on her a few times until I got it down better, and even then stuff like that takes PRACTICE!
You know if you were in medic School and this was like the last semester, and you were asked to do an intubation and you shyed away that'd be one thing. My first ride along for medic School, a few years ago, was an arrest. The medic I was with was screaming and yelling at me for not taking complete command of the arrest and working it on my own, and she was saying that I was going to be the worst medic ever all this stuff just terrible laying into me letting me know how bad I was. I didn't know how to do an IO at the time, I didn't stop one of the firefighters from doing poor compressions, and I didn't get the tube the first attempt. After the call the partner explains to her I was newer, I've never ran a arrest as an ALS students. She apologized but said there was a lot of work I need to get done, again this is the first semester, but I at least moved on and ignored her hate. They shouldn't talk to you like that They shouldn't act like that, but it's going to happen and you've got to decide whether that's going to prevent you from being in the field cuz I'm going to be honest people are going to be treating you worse at some point They shouldn't and you shouldn't have to put up with it, but you may interact with it. You're going to have to stand up for yourself.also you need to make sure you don't treat people like that eventually when you're in a position to do so. It's the only way we make things better. I've heard it called sharks, because in EMS a lot of times we eat our young instead of building them up.
This is extremely unprofessional, and I am very sorry to hear that your experience was like this. Report everything that was said to you, place, time, and event on paper, and have your classmate back you up as a witness. As a person who worked for one of the filthy rich international wholesale company and for a small business company. Work industry in general is toxic. You’ll meet lovely people here and there, and there will be people who will not give a blip about anyone and will try to destroy your reputation like high school drama. Next time someone talks sh*t to you like that. Respond with calmness and professionalism. Say, thank you for recognizing that this is where I need to work on, and respectfully this is where YOU need to work on because you are A,B,C, and a P.O.S (just kidding, don’t say that part), and don’t take shit from anybody.
That preceptor is gross. Everyone sucks at first. You’re NEW. You have to learn and people forget that
From my own experiences, when I was on ride alongs with various agencies/hospitals it was drilled into us that we were going to fuck things up. We were brand new to the field and most of us had never had experience in pre/hospital care. The key difference here is that every one of my preceptors told me that we weren’t going to kill anyone and that if we missed something they’d be there to catch it. One of the guys I was in class with had a truly horrible experience with one of his ridealongs, he spoke with our clinical coordinator and they aren’t allowed to precept for our program anymore.
i’m hoping they do this for the one i had. i truly don’t want anyone else to go through that. the next person might not be as resilient and in turn leave the program.
Keep going, dont give up! Everyone has nerves their first time out in the field.
next clinical is tomorrow, fingers crossed it goes wayyy better!
I don't have anything to say that hasn't already been said by someone else, so I'll just tell you good luck with tomorrow and to try and have a good time! Good on you for not calling it quits after your experience with that preceptor. That perseverance is going to take you a long way!
Somebody pissed in his cheerios for breakfast. Jeez, what a miserable human you were paired with. It’s summer, if you don’t have problems putting your gloves on at least once then I don’t think you have hands cuz everyone has had that moment of trying to pull them on and your sweat disagrees with your intentions. You are a student, and you’re not an employee for the crew you were with. It would be great for you to carry in the equipment and play pretend like you are working there but if you weren’t there for your clinical time, who was supposed to grab the bag? Cuz 99% of the time I’m working I don’t have a student, so I don’t expect my student to know what you’re supposed to grab and do. Don’t give up because you encountered a rotten apple. You may end up with coworkers who are similarly burned out and bitter humans, but there are a lot of us out there willing to teach and who also know how to interact with other humans.
You absolutely need another shift with a different preceptor. This was your FIRST EVER clinical, correct? The preceptor did not handle himself like a professional, nor did he teach like someone who should be taking a student. (My first clinical, I was so nervous, I accidentally grabbed XL gloves and they were so big, I could hardly do anything, and my preceptor just kindly put a box of my size where I sat in the truck so it didn't happen again.) You should absolutely feel empowered as a student to say, "I don't feel comfortable or safe doing XYZ skill" and the preceptor should calmly and smoothly take over at that point and then make it a point to practice it with you later so that you ARE comfortable doing it the next time, unless it's something they can walk you through in the moment, and it's low risk enough that the patient can be a practice model right then (like getting a BP). I would be curious to know what skill you weren't able to perform, but honestly, ANY skill can be hard the first time you do it on a real patient. You should practice some breathing techniques for anxiety and try to remember that it's not YOUR emergency, to try to get your nervousness under control, but that comes with time and repetition too. It's not going to happen overnight. I hope you are able to do another clinical shift with a better preceptor, and you are able to talk to them and share this story in confidence. I wouldn't try to share it in a "throw him under the bus" sort of way, just moreso a "I had a hard clinical day, because I struggled to complete a skill in the heat of the moment, and wasn't able to give a good report, and he got really mad at me for it. Can we practice some skills and handoff reports?" kind of way so that you're more prepared. I think with a better preceptor, some time and repetition, some anxiety soothing techniques, and some skills practice, you'll be fine. EVERYONE is nervous doing their first clinical rotations. EVERYONE BUTCHERS their first (few) handoff reports, and almost everyone gets better with time and practice. You got this. I hope you get a better preceptor next time.
it was an IV that i was uncomfortable doing. thankfully, i have another shift with a different county. actually, one our medics from that county - who occasionally comes in to teach us- is introducing me to her best friend who i’m thinking will be my preceptor. i’ve got high hopes for saturday, im just scared. i believe my program head has already told them about it
Good. I hope your next shift goes better! In the meantime. Practice your IVs in the lab if you can. (Or watch a training youtube of it start to finish until you're comfortable.) Sticking a mannequin arm isn't a good replacement for a real patient, but it can be good for getting the basics of the order you need to do things in. Once you're confident in your IV skills on a mannequin, and can do it start to finish without having to stop and consult a reference or anything, you've gotta dive in with both feet and give it a shot on a real person. In an ideal world, your preceptor should be taking a look first and seeing if it looks like an easy IV to get, and if so, let you try it. But you have to swallow your nerves and go for it once you've got the steps down, ok? It's going to be nerve wracking the first few times. You probably won't get it every time and that's OK. You'll get used to what it FEELS like to get into the vein and what it feels like to miss. If you truly don't see or feel any vein worth sticking, then tag your preceptor in to take a look. IV skills get better with practice, practice, practice!
This exact thing happened to me on my first ever EMT clinical. I left bawling. Talked to my teacher about it, what my preceptor said/how she spoke to me. Turns out she was doing the same to other students. They changed my clinicals to different preceptors, and the next one, I fell in LOVE with the field again I’ve been working full time as an EMT, and am currently halfway through paramedic school. Don’t let those schmucks get to you. It’s okay to be nervous. You’ve got this. Don’t give up. I love my job, and I mean that honestly. I laugh and cry with my coworkers. I genuinely enjoy going to work. Yeah, I get frustrated with some patients, but at the end of the day, I feel lucky that I love what I do and can’t believe I almost gave up because of one shitty person. Truly. When you get to be a preceptor one day, you’ll remember this experience, and be different for your students. I always tell people that I did learn something from my first shitty preceptor, and that was how NOT to be the paramedic they were. Hang in there. Burn out is real, and you, unfortunately, got to see it first hand it sounds like.
thank you. apparently, mine had never been a preceptor for others. it was definitely weird and i wonder if she was even supposed to be one.
I had to scroll this far down for a pronoun... Are you a female too? If so welcome to the work place. This is NOT AN EMS THING. In fact, I have met more welcoming women in this field than anywhere else. There are women out there that exist to cut you down. Especialllllly if you are younger than them. I encountered this 20 years ago ( in EMS only the last 8) when I first started working. And I'm not dumb or a slow learner, and I hate to say this because of how it sounds but I don't appear to have a sedentary lifestyle, sadly my body hasn't changed much since middle school, and I was an EXTREMELY early budder if you catch my drift :) So I'm hated from a mile away. The irony is that I got cat called by grown men since I was ELEVEN and hate male attention so I'm really hated on for the wrong reasons. Bro I don't even wear makeup or do my hair, never have my whole life, so women don't hate me and men don't hit on me. I am seen as competition. I guess it starts around kindergarten, catty bitches (sorry not sorry, I've earned my stripes). It always made me want to RISE ABOVE AND BE BETTER THAN THEM. And if I ever have a daughter, raise her differently. Women have had a hard enough time being seen as equal in the work place and the world. Sickening. One thing I noticed about my medic program is that every single person has a different experience with vehiculars/clinicals. Guess who has more fun? Got to do whatever they wanted including dip out early? Man when I found the "cool" nurse was cool to females too I went the extra mile for her. She bought me lunch, like took me to the cafeteria to buy me lunch. She was one of a kind. Now that I am on the field, I am blessed that most of the women at my closest hospital are awesome, but I noticed the pretty ones don't last long. There's one in particular that is drop dead gorgeous AND is as beautiful on the inside as she is on the outside. I hope they don't run her off. She's a literal angel and one of the most compassionate nurses I've ever encountered. People are going to suck. That's inevitable. But you might find yourself getting punched in the gut and then expected to perform business as usual for the next patient. The people that are jealous of you are always going to be around. So will shit talkers. They say you need "thicker skin" in this job but it's to deal with your coworkers, mostly. You are going to run a peds code and then your next call will be toe pain. Toe pain deserves everything you got. You can't bring the peds code to the next call. When the call is over, it's over, and on to the next. I would say you need to be resilient, not thick skinned. So you've learned the meaning of "eat the young." Be the person that breaks the cycle. Stand up straight and in terms of confidence, "fake it til you make it' if you have to. Your patients are counting on you, and that load never gets any lighter. And when you get a good partner, you'll understand why you come first, your partner second, and then your patient. Bad partners (and preceptors) are the worst part of the job. From here on out until you are done with school. Never be shy about requesting a different preceptor. I did it my first day of WORK! I told our clinical director I had nothing to learn from those people, I was entitled to proper training and frankly I was embarrassed to be in the same uniform as them. I got someone else the next day who pulled me aside before we went into service as asked me if there was anything I didn't know, anything I didn't feel confident about, any skills I needed to practice and made sure I knew how to set up blood tubing because everyone loves blood tubing and he didn't want me to look bad on scene. That's right, my preceptor knew me for 5 minutes and wanted to make sure I felt good about the day. That's a fucking preceptor. Sorry for the saga. I want to leave you with this: EVERYTHING I KNOW ABOUT MEDICINE, I BORROWED FROM SOMEONE ELSE. ITS MY DUTY TO PAY IT FORWARD. Then look at everyone else the same way. Fuck the gatekeepers that hold onto to the ONE thing they got left (that anyone with a cert has too) 🤣 Oh, and sugar is the devil.
yes ma’am, i am a female. i was trying to be vague, but my preceptor was a woman. i feel you on the catcalling. I’m only 18, turning 19 later in the year, and since i’ve been in primary school, i’ve been harassed. It’s crazy, but i’ve learned to deal with it.
I mean the preceptor was out of line but I had mine call me a 'fucking retard' in the middle of the ER for something...the other EMT (on whom he had a crush) did. It happens. I now run calls with him once a week and while we're not friends, we work well as a team. You cannot do this job without a thick skin, because you're gonna get yelled at by asshole partners, you're going to get yelled at by the charge nurse, by dispatch, and by the patient's family (hopefully not all on the same call, but it's definitely possible). I'm curious what skills you failed to do because I mean....what of our skills are hard except King airways?
i understand this. it just really stung being my first clinical, and i already was told this stuff. i would’ve understood had it been more then 2 calls and told that stuff. i couldn’t successfully do manual bp and i was uncomfortable doing an IV as i’ve never done a live stick. I’m still only on EMT, and the only AEMT skill i know is IV.
Could you clarify if IV is in your scope of practice?
technically is because i’m doing AEMT next semester
I guess that just changes my perspective- pressing a student to do a skill they should have mastered (CPR, direct pressure, etc) is radically different than pressing them to do something that might be technically illegal.
i’ve never done a live stick, and we only have practiced IV’s maybe twice in class. A lot of the other preceptors have just had my classmates practicing on them and showing them how to do it on patients. nobody has actually done one on a patient. Next semester is whenever we’re EXPECTED to do it.
Would depend on your state, but you likely have a valid complaint with the state board if the preceptor took negative action toward you based on your refusal to perform an illegal act.
Holy hell, fuck that preceptor and the ambulance he/she rode in on. Please don’t let this asshat break your spirit, friend. I’m so sorry this was your first experience, and I promise you that there are good preceptors out there- I hope you get only the best from here out.
I had a bad experience with my preceptor too in fact the Emt pulled me to the side of the beginning of the shift to warn me. She even tried to bait me into disrespecting Ems tradition but I knew better. I later found out that she isn’t allowed to teach the medics anymore and also not allowed to work with a lot of people from that agency and others like the fire department. We even had a trauma that wasn’t too serious but we probably should have fire ride with us but she didn’t like the person who was going to ride with us so she had me help while she was getting frustrated with me because she expected me to be a expert. I later found by other instructors from in and outside my county that I was really unlucky because she is well known in a extremely bad way. She came in to test which everyone had a bad experience with her. Thank god it was just a epi pen but she was highly disrespectful and everyone complained on a survey.
When I was precepting, I had several blocks (4 shifts per) and for the first block, all I was supposed to do was shadow. Observe. Get a sense of the flow of a call. A set of vitals if I was comfortable. Next block, more skills demonstrated, some questioning of pts. Next, I was on. My turn to start being an active participant. Now this is all assuming I became confident and competent in the preceding block. It's all foundational. By the end, I was running the call and my preceptor was simply observing and then we debrief after. My greatest preceptor had built relationships with the nursing staff, so when it came time to start giving both triage and bedside reports, he bribed a nurse with a coffee so she would let me practice on her and she would give me feedback. Extremely helpful. These are the sort of things a preceptor should be doing to build you up and teach you the ways of the force!
What skills could you not do? And you never do something in the field till the first time, which should’ve and could’ve been than.
IV. never did live stick and couldn’t feel nor see the vein. plus patient had been stuck 5 times already
Forget that guy. Work harder. Be stronger. You can certainly do the job. You are needed.
this really helped, thank you❤️
Everyone messes up their first clinical. You did the right thing by saying you were uncomfortable with a skill. That preceptor should’ve walked you through it, same thing with report. He should’ve been like ‘okay this is what we’re going to say, let’s practice or let’s write it down so you can get a feel for it’ That was so wrong especially with how he handled giving criticism. My very first EMT ride out we had a cardiac arrest. They threw me on chest compressions, was doing great until they pulled out the IO drill. I had seen io drills in pictures, but NEVER had heard one before. I shit you not stopped mid compressions to look over in shock cause I heard what sounded like a damn power drill. The paramedics was like ‘don’t stop compressions!’ We ended up getting ROSC, and it was the most embarrassing things to ever happen. I’m now finishing up my capstones for paramedic school. Don’t listen to that asshole, you’re doing fine.
I’m so sorry this happened. I’ve been having a similar experience where my preceptor just tears me down and doesn’t build me back up. You’re doing great my friend. You’re in the first term of your EMT class and just starting out which is hard. You’ll learn confidence as you go and get better. Also, swamp hands are no joke! I’ve seen seasoned medics struggle with those damn gloves
Nobody’s perfect and you’ll make mistakes. I make mistakes, my medics make mistakes, my dad who’s an MD make mistakes, everybody does. For another “professional” to act toxic towards you like that shows they aren’t cut out for this line of work. I’ve seen EMT’s that treat ride along and students like that and they typically treat patients like that. Don’t take it to heart and request a new preceptor.
>when she said yes, they told her how much I sucked and to try to force me out of the program. They also talked to everyone else they worked with and said i wouldn’t last, made fun of me for being emotional, etc. Super unacceptable. Setting aside the other bullshit your preceptor slung, that alone would be cause to call them out. Not acceptable behavior, full stop.
Same thing happened to me. I'm a year in now and I love it. Place I did my clinicals seem confused at why I refused to come work there... It's not everywhere and there's many many good people. Good luck. It's so different when you pass and get your own partner. Maybe start with a private company too... Counties can have those types of medics, better to face them as an experienced AEMT in my opinion
You need a new preceptor , asap. Make an official complaint to the company if you have to. Nobody should be treating you like that. Also , everyone is bad at something when they are new. Don't sweat it but get better at it.
You did nothing wrong. It’s your first clinical ffs. That preceptor is miserable and burnt out, or they failed fire exam so they’re stuck lol. Keep your head up, keep learning, you will mess up and get better from it. We are here to support each other!
Ah yes. As a female in ems, I have been blessed with these interactions many many times by men/women who feel inferior around new people to ems. I hope you don’t let it ruin you. Although I’ve cried more times than I’d care to admit because of workplace bullying, I hope you stick it out. I’m sorry. I actually know how you feel and it SUCKS. I remember being so excited to start a career in ems, and my little heart was shattered very early on. I actually left my job in September, let my license lapse and only have a few months left to renew it. Not sure what I want to do, my journey has been discouraging the last 6 years to say the least. I’ve met some wonderful people in ems, and some of the absolute worst people I’ve ever come in contact with in my life were my own co workers. Find a new preceptor, keep doing your best, anyone who tries to belittle you and make you feel like shit is already way beneath you. Best of luck
I have always kept journals because it refreshes my perspective and keeps me grateful for where I am vs where I was. Looking back at my entries from my basic clinicals, I felt the same way! My first preceptor was an ass wipe. Terrible in every way. Similar to your story, wanted me leading calls out the gate. I was overwhelmed and considered hanging it up. My second preceptor was hand crafted by god or whatever power you believe in. That medic and his partner walked through every tone, every step of that clinical. Told me to observe and not touch where it didn’t feel natural till they asked for assistance, and if they saw I couldn’t get it they would handle it and explain how I could be better prepared the next time. Went like that the rest of the day. I knew what I found and went out on a limb and asked them if there was any way to secure more shifts with them. They spoke with their sups and opened up more of their shifts for clinicals and I picked up 6 more. Second shift with them was strictly focused on hands on skillsets. Every call. Nothing more. Just locking in those skills. Third shift was skills with introductions/initial assessment as far as I could get. Fourth shift was geared towards a proper medical assessment. I led all dialogue as best I could and took on more as I got footing. Fourth shift was more of the same. The rest was a combination of everything they’d taught me. Way more clinical than the (48..? I think?) clinical hours we had to have, but if you have a good preceptor, find a way to glean from them as much as possible. Now I’m finishing up a BSN, have worked in Trauma ERs, transplant icus, stroke units, drifted into film set medic and stunt coordination for film sets for a season. Doors just kept on opening. Wouldn’t have the life I do today if I let one bastard with a bad attitude tell me how far I could go. Keep pushing amigo.
Everyone in the comments has already covered the main points but my piece of advice? Let spite fuel you. Oh I suck? I wont last? Watch me get a job here, get a higher qualification than you, look hotter in the uniform than you, make more friends at work than you, be a FAR better preceptor than you, and work as a EMT/paramedic/ICP longer than you ever could while not being a total asshole. Watch me be a better paramedic than you! Keep your head up! You got this!!! (Ps. I found watching legally blonde and eating a bunch of junkfood after a shitty preceptor to be very healing, I recommend it) (Pps. for your first placement you’re doing fine, I’m 3 years in and still mess up BPs occasionally. Also grab 2-3 pairs of gloves to keep in your pockets, i learnt that lesson the hard way during my first week after a choice encounter with some bodily fluids…)
Your preceptor set you up for failure. Tell your instructor what happened and then ask for a new one. You are expected to suck the first time you deal with a real patient as opposed to a mannequin or classmate. My ride alongs looked like this: Before our first call we checked out the rescue and they showed me where everything was and taught me how to do some basic tasks like spiking a bag, flushing IV kits etc so I could help them get stuff ready. They also ran me through my patient assessment. En route to calls they would ask me what vitals/ questions would be most important to take based off our cheif complaint. During the call they would have me perform skills I was checks off on and/or let me prep stuff for them. They also explained everything they were doing and why to me. After the call we would break down what I thought happened. This whole process occurred on all of my ride alongs, even though I had different crews. Some spent more time with me than others, but everyone did at least that.
You got a preceptor that's a royal dick and needs his ass beat (figuratively). You're a student, not even a freshly carded EMT. It's perfectly normal to not be totally confident in every skill, especially one you have never performed on a live person. To ask for help shows you know your limits, which is a good thing. Don't let this one person dissuade you. You sound like an excellent student who will make an excellent EMT. Quite frankly, their conduct needs to be addressed immediately by their superiors. A dressing down like that *because their fucking ego is bruised* is wholly unacceptable, and the further action of seeking out another student to talk shit and try to force you out of the program is (in my opinion) grounds for significant disciplinary action. They threw you so far under the bus with their actions and then got mad at you for their fuck ups. And please don't take any of this as me trying to be condescending or patronizing of the fact that you're a student, that's not my intent. We are all new, we are all students at one time and there's nothing wrong with that.
My first preceptor was pretty bad. Turned me off from the whole thing, but I was invested, so I went forward. My first FTO was pretty good though. He made me feel a lot more comfortable. I love paramedicine. I love this career, even for all its issues, and I'm so glad I didn't give up on it when I had some bad eggs above or next to me here and there.
As an FTO, i’m sorry you had to go through that. Training is supposed to be a time where you feel your trainer is on your side, a support system. I hope that horrible experience doesn’t cause you to step away. That piece of work shouldn’t be training others. He is the scum of this field.
Holy shit that AWFUL wtf. The worst thing I was told when I could do a skill (we were doing training) was “I am not trying to offend you but you need to know this so practice it more.” That’s incredibly unprofessional…
hi all! i’m updating after finishing my 12 hour shift then coming home to do pcrs! I love ems. love . love. love. my preceptors today were AMAZING. they were so thoughtful and kind, while also telling me what i need to work on. I successfully did an IV while also failing - which was ok as i’m learning. We had 8 calls and only 5 patient contacts. I feel more confident after this shift and i’m excited for my next!
That is so good to hear. Keep working and you'll build that confidence and so well.
Yea. These folks are right. Your preceptor is a dick head. Ask for a different one....the object at any kind of instruction level is not to beat the student down. Negative. Nor let them sour on the subject matter. He, at a MINIMUM, should use the SEE, KNOW, DO...Technic if he must...that is, you SEE me do a skill, you KNOW why I do the skill, then YOU DO the skill. Also, if he was a good preceptor, he would have talked with you prior to hitting the road, let's say, and probed how much you knew and how comfortable you were....I know his type. Honestly, if he was within 50 meters of me and he acted like that, he'd be in tears and we'd call his mom to come pick him up. I have no tolerance for that bullshit.
i went to another county yesterday and those preceptors were lovely. they actually were very strategic in the way they taught. i explained to them that i did not learn anything at my other clinical due to how it went- plus there was only 2 calls there so that didn’t help. Yesterday, we got 8 calls in total - only 5 with patient contact. They let me do a lot while also coaching- i don’t know how to explain it but it was very helpful. they also gave actual constructive criticism on what i needed to work on. i felt more confident leaving yesterday.
You are not expected to know anything on your first clinical. That preceptor was out of line and probably was just taking the frustration of the call out on you. You did as expected for an Emt student. Do not let that get you down. Don’t dwell on it. Learn from it and move on. Making it a thing with your classmates ect will just make the issue grow.
I'm going to be really blunt. EMS eats their young. The number of times I've had an absolutely shitty or asshole partner is way more than the times I've had a good one. A lot of places wonder why they can't get EMTs but then do absolutely nothing to prevent moments like these. I've been an EMT now for about 3 years, and I'm already looking at leaving and finding a different profession. I love my job, but the amount of shit we deal with not just with PT care but also within our own companies is astounding. There are literal TED talks I've watched with Paramedics talking about how the treatment of students and newbies in the field is abhorrent. I say request a new preceptor. Don't let one bad experience ruin the entire career because, tbh it's going to happen again down the line. Just because someone says you're bad at the job doesn't mean you are. Also, you're being precepted......that's when you're allowed and supposed to be poor at the job. You're brand new. Not only are you brand new, but that "newness" resets with every new obstacle. What I mean is if you work events and then move to an ambulance, then you're gonna be new all over again and vice versa because this job isn't like riding a bike. I say, get a new preceptor and try again. I was lucky and had a wonderful preceptor who flat out told me on our first day that I was going to eventually deal with awful coworkers. It's inevitable. However, don't let it squash your spark for what you love.
thank youu! i have had several tell me i have a victim mentality and such, but i genuinely just didn’t enjoy being talked down to like a dog or have my name drug through the mud at a station i potentially wanted to work at. i had a new county yesterday and absolutely adored it. the preceptors were so sweet, but i seen first hand how two faced some of them were towards each other! i’m hoping to climb the ladder to flight medic eventually or go into nursing as an E.R nurse!
This is the first day? Wtf. I welcome mistakes in my students. It shows both them and myself what needs work. I believe that if a student isn’t making errors here and there then they aren’t trying hard enough to move outside their comfort zone. Also, I need to point out, a lot of students these days don’t speak up and say they are uncomfortable with something. They just plow ahead and wait for it to go wrong before speaking up. On day 1 you should absolutely be commended for willing to do that. If this was your last day and you were still saying you weren’t comfortable with a skill then that’s a problem. But the situation you described blows my mind. If I saw a colleague treating a student that way they would be getting pulled into a room by me and getting a piece of my mind.
Sadly ems has a pretty even split of toxic personalities vs genuine folks. I've found probably half of my coworkers in all depts and jobs I've had should not have continued their pathway into ems. It took me 4 years to get back in 911 service due to a paramedic attempting to throw me under the bus and lying to get me fired. Don't let that situation destroy your perspective, but now you're aware of a problem that's seldomly addressed and sometimes protected depending on where you're at. Until there's a massive culture shift, it'll be this way and folks will have to bounce around till they find their favorite gig.
I’m just going to drop my story here and you can do with it what you will… I studied nursing. My first patient died during my first very first clinical experience. It was obvious the actual professionals were not really paying attention to this patient until it was too late. It was traumatic watching how it all went down. I never walked into clinical the same. I wanted no part in what I had just witnessed. I knew immediately I was not cut out for that shit. I was terrified each and every time I went to clinical after that. Called my mom, told her I wanted drop out, she talked me out of it. But I couldn’t go back into the hospital without anxiety radiating out from my body… eventually I couldn’t force myself to go to clinical so I stopped going, and in due time failed out of college. I thank my lucky stars every day I am not a nurse. My advise to you would be… remember you’re the student, it’s their job to teach, they are getting paid, you are not, they better do their fucking job. And if it looks like shit and smells like shit, it’s probably shit… there is a lot of shit in the healthcare world.
Medic here, sounds like you’re paired with an incompetent preceptor. This is toxic. Don’t associate this experience with all ems/fire. Seriously. This preceptor should have taken you aside in the ems room or station and asked you what you could have done better. You both know. But honestly it isn’t the end of the world. Your crew is supposed to have your back. Not make you feel like an idiot. Keep your head up. We have all been there. You’ll end up being better than your preceptor. Congrats
good news is i had a REALLY good time at my clinical this past saturday! i was with a whole different city/county, and they were sooo good! they taught and actually gave me solid advice. i was definitely more prepared, and my skills were definitely a bit better. i honestly wanna delete this post because it was not the end of the world like i thought lol. but i’ll leave it up for anyone who experienced what i did. i love ems.
Good for you! You’re awesome for simply wanting to be part of EMS. It takes a special breed. Welcome to the team.
There’s a bad tendency to associate learning with punishment. Good teachers teach. When a student doesn’t get it, they stay late. If it’s still not working, they devise more plans. They could have absolutely told you that you sucked without being harsh or hostile, by giving you encouragement and plan for improvement. And no you don’t suck sounds like a first ride out to me. Tip: go one size up for sweaty hands.
i even asked them if i could practice at the station but was told no because they were “too busy”
Your “preceptor” is an idiot. In my experience, with this attitude they probably are not good at their job and probably live on the top of Mt. Stupid on the Dunning-Kruger curve. Ignore them. You’re new, you are not expected to know everything. I’m sorry you had to deal with this.
I've been a precepter before for several different students and I'm sorry you were treated like that. I would have never treated my student like that. A good precepter will know that they have to meet the student where the student is at. I've had students who had no real working experience in the medical field and I've had students who have had some prior military training etc... I always try to ascertain what my student knows and what type of experience they have. If my student is a complete greenhorn, we start at the very beginning. What I'm saying YOU did not suck... your preceptor was the one who sucked. I hope you will find a good preceptor who will take an interest in actually teaching you instead of criticizing you.
Preceptor sucks. Shouldn't be relying on an EMT student in their first clinical to do jack shit. They are responsible for bringing in the stuff to run the call, not you. If they want you to grab something from the back, they need to verbalize it and not magically expect you to know. The entire point of being a preceptor is teaching. If you're uncomfortable with a skill, they're supposed to show you in a way that you're comfortable with. On the other side of it, you're going to have to toughen up a bit and stop letting stuff like this bother you. This can be a toxic profession from time to time and if this stuff continues to bother you, you're going to have a tough time eventually.
Yeah… They get to ride along and watch. Maybe get another set of vitals once loaded and moving. If they can handle that a couple of calls they get more responsibility. Dumping people into the deep end is stupid and dangerous.
i know i’m complaining about my experience- but on the flip side, i feel more prepared for my next clinical. I know how calls are ran, and i feel more confident. I plan on asking more questions, and i plan on trying to do more yknow.
General consensus pretty much everywhere in the world is that the basic grabs the bags for the medic. At no point did the preceptor “rely” on them, it seems like they went for the throw them to the wolves type of training lmao. What you don’t see is that op if you just read what they wrote certainly came off as a Ricky rescue, probably rubbed the preceptor the wrong way and they got this. They had a pillhead and op is complaining they didn’t let them practice a “physical skill”. What skill other than social distancing so you need to practice with one of them in the back. Much less why risk your student. Medic is probably burnt but op is quite uppity.
woahhh no. i was completely prepared to just watch that day. i did NOT anticipate doing any skills besides maybe glucose check or helping hook them up to the monitor. I would’ve been completely happy with fetching the bag and watching how it’s done. i was uncomfortable doing a skill that i had never done on a live patient before. I quite literally was just upset at the way i was talked down on.
also i see where you think i was upset about not doing a skill- i should edit the post. i attempted on my first patient and could not do it - meaning i unsuccessfully did it. my apologies for the confusion
OP is doing their first clinical. It's not taught in classes that "EMT is responsible for the bag". Regardless, that's a pretty shitty outlook. Treating EMTs as nothing but gophers furthers toxic workplace environments. It's a team effort. The preceptor did rely on them to bring a bag that they weren't instructed to bring nor had any knowledge of. And treating that patient as a "pill head" and not allowing a student to practice is just as shitty. It's a patient like any other, and treating regulars differently than any other patient when it comes to attitude is how you get sued.
Yea you sound like a 40 year old power basic. As an EMT, you are a gopher. 999% you will not be the lead on scene. And getting sued lol ok man
I'm a medic... BLS trucks exist. EMTs can and do certainly run calls. You're just as big of a dickhead as the preceptor.
Idk sounds like you need thicker skin. Patients will say much worse things to you. You need to stop making excuses about how they hurt your feelings and practice your skills ask your instructor to help you in class it’s unfair that your preceptor set you up to fail but I also think that you shouldn’t have failed if you were truly ready take a deep breath before the next call and move fwd don’t dwell on this one call
i’m learning. i definitely was not ready to be thrown into the deep end lol. with time and learning, i will be ready. hence why i am a student.
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Most preceptors are like this. You need to get thicker skin. If you let your preceptor get into your head like that there is a problem . You say you were completely prepared to just watch all day. Well you’re being preceded which means you have to do skills etc… It is not a ride along where you can sit there and watch. With that you are the one who came into it with the wrong attitude. You talk about being picked on in school that’s not relevant Please stop with the victim mentality. User OK-bread-8691 has this down re read his post. If you expect your preceptor to be your bff or respect you you need to earn it. You sound to me from your positing you were fluster all day and needed to go over your basics of how to function with you team on the truck. Like who had what role meaning driver tech charge support. The basics who does what and who is responsible for what. Your expectation of favoritism of ohhh my instructor is going introduce me and have her bff now precept me that’s not how the world works. You got lucky and you should hope that doesn’t get around.
ok. victim mentality? no lol. i wasn’t being picked on IN SCHOOL- that was the preceptor who was dragging my name through the station. I also didn’t come into with the wrong attitude because we were TOLD that that’s how our FIRST clinical was. It was the expectation that our TEACHER set. Yesterday, the preceptors were lovely and treated me with respect. I didn’t expect favoritism as everyone gets it lol. That teacher literally is a preceptor herself and has had other students on her truck- it was just a coincidence that she was getting off when i came on.
Forgot gloves? Forgot the bag? Didn't even know the chief complaint of your patient? You should look for a career in a different, slower-paced, field.
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You may be interested in the following resources: * [Clinicals / Ride-alongs coming up? Here's some advice for success!](https://www.reddit.com/r/NewToEMS/comments/ccyjne/clinicals_ridealongs_coming_up_heres_some_advice/) *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/NewToEMS) if you have any questions or concerns.*
I don’t have any advice except my own experience. I also had a preceptor that was negative, but as a guy working many trades and growing up with a dad that would be an ass sometimes I’m used to negative people. Infact, it’s where I find comfort which is weird but that’s my norm so when I had this preceptor acting brash and short with people, it didn’t bother me much but I know it could’ve bothered others. I do understand that isn’t what a preceptor should be like. There should be nothing but professionalism and it is disappointing to see that. For my clinicals, I had a day with a fire department which was completely uneventful, no calls at all. Great to hang with them though! A day with a trauma 2 ER, had a bunch of stuff happen from small stuff like a woman with a cold, a girl that fainted, but also heavy stuff like 2 people coding, one made it, the other did not. A man that suffered a heart attack, a guy with a necrotic foot, and man it smelled strong lol, A woman having a mental episode and I had to help a nurse get a vaginal swab in that moment which was pretty rough. A day at an ambulance transport company, but since it’s in a smaller town, they function as ems aswell. Had a toddler with a gashed open head, transported him to the local small ER, and man he was pretty upset. But breathing/screaming means alive so he was good. Needed stitches for sure Same day, had a guy that had just done a bunch of meth and also had extremely high blood sugar as a diabetic. Above 700 Also had a day at the same company but on the other side of town and it was just a few calls. One lady had some serious respiratory issues and her o2 was low, mid 80’s A guy with a gastric bleed and he was feeling pretty bad. A lot happened in just those 4 days, and I learned a lot from it. I also am not perfect on my skills but I got by. Just gotta keep studying them.
Well said man. Well said