A little something different...
Original Post Date: 5/18/08

We're going to try something new for this week…a multi-part blog. The usual dose of cynicism tempered with some current events and a personal note. Enjoy.

Blah, blah, blah…

After I quoted a line from a movie to a new friend the other day, she asked "Don't you have any lines of your own?" I said something about my talent being the ability to choose the best from wiser people, but that isn't all of what I believe. The truth is, I really wonder who is listening. Not just to me, but at all.

Of course, you need only watch a campaign commercial to understand the majority of why that is, but it's not all political. A lot of it is plain rudeness and ignorance.

I am an exceptional listener. Letting people talk is a big part of my job, and I've learned that you can extract all sorts of useful information from a single simple question if you'll just ask it and shut up. Usually, folks can't wait to tell you 100 things they screwed up if you'll only get out of their way.

The Pareto Principle states that 80% of the effects come from 20% of the causes. You can further extend this to simple conversation: Do 80% of the listening and 20% of the talking. Believe it or not, this is vital to EMS success.

In education, the teachers and students both usually fudge the ratio. It isn't necessary for the instructor to do all the talking. Most times, the students understand where he's trying to lead them and can probably get their on their own if they just had the chance to say it out loud. So many times I've talked to students who understood something very complex, yet they had allowed themselves to be talked out of it because the instructor read the whole thing to them in some sort of convoluted terminology that the student didn't grasp. Learning takes a lot longer this way and is not nearly as effective.

Paramedic school is all about learning to ask the right questions. Honestly, you could teach an 8th grader to do most paramedic skills in a weekend, so why spend 14 months in school?

Complaint-centered assessment.

In order to treat patients, you have to know where it hurts. And, unless they have an arrow sticking out of their chest, this usually requires a properly worded question or two and the patience to let them answer. A common failing, especially with new technicians, is to spew forth their newly acquired knowledge like a bad Mexican meal stirring around inside of them just waiting for the right place to spill. The truth; however, is that most patients prefer empathy over the display of adequacy, and empathy requires honest listening, not just waiting to speak. If you have to prove to everyone that you know your business by speaking it out loud, you probably don't.

So, for those who wonder if I have an original line, here's one:

Shut your mouth.

This week in sports.

The Cubs are off to a great start, holding a 2 game lead in the NL Central at press time and just finishing up an 8-2 homestand. It's only May, but things look really good if we can just keep the injury bug away.

In other sports, is it just me or are the NBA playoffs the longest, most useless waste of network airtime on TV today? How about we cut a few games out of this thing, eh? As it is, the new season will start about 45 minutes after the last playoff game.

This past week, I was reminded yet again what good technicians we have where I work. I've very pleased to say that little of the ranting I do through the blog is about the folks I currently work with.

The week to come looks to be fun. Only three days to work before I head off to the mountains for some much needed R & R. Hopefully by the time my birthday rolls around on Friday I will be waist-deep in a mountain stream looking for trout. Wish me luck....turns out I'm a far better medic than I am fisherman.

Oh, and for those wondering about my profile picture. Somebody recently referred to me as short and fuzzy, so I wanted to find the best possible example. He shoots...he scores.

To borrow a line (there I go again) from Garrison Keillor, "Be well, do good work and keep in touch."