The A Team - Part 1

Part 1: The EMT Partner

Hope you had a great Thanksgiving! With Christmas right around the corner most of us are preparing for another family holiday; decorating the house, planning out the Christmas day feast, gifts from Santa, or how much alcohol you'll need to get thru the holiday (just kidding). Planning for our next shift at work with a new Paramedic or EMT partner is not all that different. We wonder about our partner's experience, where do they prefer the limb leads, what type of blade do they use for intubation, will we work well together as a team? So lets dive into how we can be an efficient EMT partner today and for years to come. This is one Paramedics opinion with five years prior experience as an EMT.

Get to know your partner! When you start at your new company or are placed with a new partner ask some of those questions you have been pondering. Ask about experience, what they feel their strengths are, what calls they are most uncomfortable with, intubation preferences, hobbies, family, and so on. This starts the process of understanding expectations and team building.

Ask questions! About equipment, patient care, protocol, or even about the call y'all just ran. This is part of continuing to expand our knowledge and perfecting our craft.

Know the equipment you carry! I am a firm believer that as an EMT we should work towards knowing every piece of equipment on the ambulance. Know when to use it, how to use it, and train on it. Yes even intubation, the IO, needle decompression, pacing, synchronized cardioversion, epinephrine drip, and other Paramedic specific skills. This is not so we can perform the skill, I AM NOT ADVOCATING THAT, but so we can assist our Paramedic in setting up the equipment needed when the time comes without prompting. Do not be THAT EMT who says "I don't need to know that, it's my medics job."

Know the protocol! This seems self explanatory but is very important. Some EMTs say "I don't need to know the protocol that's the medics job." There is nothing better than having a partner we can do medication checks with, bounce ideas off of, or ask about a medication dose when we are having a brain fart! Knowing the protocol in its entirety will take time, ask questions to understand the why. This is something that must be repeated and revisited. This will expand our knowledge and help with team efficiency. EMTs save Paramedics!

Train together! Every shift go thru a scenario, procedure, skill, or medication. Get hands on and discuss afterwards. Brainstorm ways to improve or new techniques learned from the latest podcast or EMS conference.

Plan for the call while en route! You know those crews, the ones who show up on a call and are hitting on all cylinders; it is a beautiful thing to see! Part of this comes with time; however, planning for a call while en route makes sure we are on the same page. Talk about what equipment to bring in, differential diagnosis (watch out for those zebras), or what the possible treatment plan will be. Y'all will look like the A team!

Speak up! As we start to gain experience and knowledge on the items mentioned above we will be more likely to catch potential errors in patient care. When your partner does a medication check at three in the morning and says "50 mcg of fentanyl IV" and you see that the vial says "midazolam"....say something. When your partner is going to synchronize cardiovert a patient and you notice the monitor has not been synced....say something. When we are tired, hungry, stressed, or rush we are at risk of mental mistakes; we have a better chance of catching mistakes as a team. If you are not sure if something is right then speak up (In a professional manner).

Don't step on each others toes! One thing that will kill your teamwork, delay patient care, and cause rifts is what I like to call the "double trouble crew." This crew ask questions to the patient at the same time, you can't tell who is leading the call, and the patient gets frustrated because your freaking partner asked that question already! Working on an ALS truck our Paramedic is the lead, we as the EMT are the wingman/wingwoman. If on an BLS truck decide who is leading. Of course, there are times when the Paramedic may let us lead the call based on the nature....... What? are you saying I can't talk or ask questions!? Not at all! Just because we are not leading the call does not mean don't ask questions. Wait for the right time, a pause in the questioning, unless we notice something life threatening/critical to patient care. Our partner is human and will forget to get information that is important, so when that pause comes ask away. They will appreciate it!

Experience, knowledge, and training are all equally important, as we go thru our career continue to build on each. Our patient's deserve our best and we do that by not staying stagnant, always looking to improve, and staying humble. We will never know it all and we cannot be perfect, but if we strive for perfection we can achieve excellence!

Stay tuned for Part 2: The Paramedic Partner. We are interested to hear you thoughts on team dynamics and efficiency and what it means to you to be a good EMT partner. Please comment below!