I’m sure most everyone in EMS has a certain type of patient that they have a deep empathy for. As medical practitioners, we’re charged to give the best possible care to everyone regardless of whatever; however, if we’re honest, I think we all have a certain type of patient that we go out of our way to make sure are well taken care of. Some EMTs and medics feel that special empathy for the elderly or the disabled. Ms. Paramedic, one of the awesome EMS bloggers I follow, has said that she feels that way about OB patients because of some events that hit close to home. For me, that type of patient is those dealing with anxiety, panic attacks and depression.
Like MsP, my reason is one that hit close to home. Very close to home.
It was August of 2007. It had been an eventful year but I wasn’t really thinking of that at the moment. By that time I had move back home after losing a job that I moved to Fort Wayne, Indiana for. This was when I was a full time radio personality. I was back at my “home” station and was back to doing my old job (night show host and music director), where I thought I belonged. I was in the conference room eating a salad from Quizno’s. It was some kind of chicken chopped salad (don’t ask me why I remember that, I have no idea). After I ate lunch I went back to my office to work on getting ready for my show. I then felt a twinge in my pecs. Then I started freaking out. I thought I was having an MI and so did my boss, to the point that he was about to call EMS for me. I told him not to but the office manager was insisting that I go to the ER. She and I left but I calmed down, felt OK and convinced her that I didn’t need to go. Somehow I got through the rest of the day. I also realized what I had experienced was a panic attack.
From there it all tumbled out of control. Soon I was constantly having panic attacks. The littlest thing would set me off. It got so bad that I couldn’t even stand to be in the radio studio because it would set me off. It was soon after that I made the decision to leave my job before it truly drove me over the edge. I started getting counseling. Prior to that I had gone to see my GP and he felt that I might have a touch of depression and he wanted to give me something to help control the anxiety. I was put on Welbutrin and Tranxene (he meant well but I later insisted on being taken off of that – as the NP at the counseling place put it, Tranxene is like popping a pill and it hitting you like a beer). As I said, I got help and it worked wonders in me. When I started talking about things, issues that I had buried came out. Pretty much, I was overloaded with things from the past that I hadn’t let go off. In less than a year I was released from counseling and taken off medication. Truthfully that was more my doing because I never really wanted to be on them in the first place.
It was during the process of “getting right” that I decided to follow my dream of getting into EMS. However, I made sure I was truly OK before enrolling in a EMT class because I didn’t want to be a hindrance on the truck, both to my patients and to my partners. Today I’m fine. When I feel myself getting overwhelmed (which is thankfully rare) I know what to do about it before it gets out of hand. Deep breaths really do work.
It was thanks to this painful experience that I’m able to transfer the understanding of anxiety that I gained back then to my work in EMS today. Whenever I encounter a patient who appears to be having anxiety issues, I know exactly what they’re going through and I make sure I let them know that they’re not alone. A combination of my EMS education and personal experience help me to know the best ways to handle these situations. In a way I’m thankful that I went through what I did because it allows me to be able to better serve a part of the patient population that is often misunderstood and mistreated.
I don’t know many people in EMS who would actually admit that they’ve had these issues but I don’t mind doing so. As I said, I’m fine now and I know how to handle things. Experiencing issues with anxiety allowed me to develop that empathy for patients who are having issues with anxiety. Hopefully I’m able to say or do something for them on the call that will encourage them to get the help they need. When I become a paramedic I know that I’ll have other tools (drugs) that will be of use on anxiety calls and I’m sure I’ll encounter times when their use will be more than indicated. However, just on my experience, sometimes the best medicine for a patient having anxiety issues can be a conversation with someone who gives a damn.
I hope and pray that I never forget that.
So let’s be honest with each other. What’s a type of patient that you feel a special empathy for? Why do you feel so strongly for them? Do you even have a type of patient that you feel a little something extra for?
Jonathan
