Overcoming burnout, having purpose, showing grace for patients while also having healthy boundaries

Practical EMS

Keep asking “why” do get to a full understanding of what is going on

As providers we do want questions asked of us if someone is not sure about something we ordered

Tracey has found techniques to avoid burnout despite 24 years in emergency medicine, she says it is very individualized how you overcome burnout

Belligerent patients do cause burnout and the job to be very difficult in general

Taking intentional time to connect with your patients will help overcome burnout

Tracey has advice to give patients grace

Adam: purpose in life is important to avoid burnout. He believes he is called to be here.

Exercise, spend time with family, move your body, work less or even work more now to work less later

Force yourself to be social on days off, even if you might not feel like it. This will often help your mental well-being.

Owning your mistakes is key to avoiding burnout

Understand we will make mistakes and even when everything goes perfect, we cannot save the patient every time

We really aren’t built to see a lot of the things we have to see in emergency medicine

Be patient with the patients we deal with. They are going through something that we are not and have concerns we may not know about. They are scared, they are frustrated.

You need to have a sense of humor and the ability to compartmentalize

Compartmentalization helps to move on to other tasks that need to be done

Kate tells a story about compartmentalization

It is okay to set boundaries with patients that push on the limits

Deescalating belligerent patients is a skill that can be learned

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Full show notes can be found here: Episodes - Practical EMS - Content for EMTs, PAs, Paramedics
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Everything you hear today from myself and my guests is opinion only and doesn’t represent any organizations or companies that any of us are affiliated with. The stories you hear have been modified to protect patient privacy and any resemblance to real individuals is coincidental. This is for educational and entertainment purposes only and should not be taken as medical advice nor used to diagnose any medical or healthcare conditions.