EDITOR'S NOTE: Special thanks to Courtney Chumley, FACPE, for writing today's blog post. You can connect with her on LinkedIn.
Eighteen years ago, I was a brand new paramedic. My boots were un-scuffed and my uniform shirt was spotless. I was ready to be a hero. But then I made my first breathing problems call and my patient had both a history of CHF and COPD and I couldn’t hear her lung sounds. I picked the protocol I thought best and took her to the hospital.
On arrival, Dr. Robert Sheppard walked into the room as I was giving report and promptly starts ordering everything from the protocol I didn’t choose. He probably saw the look on my face and my heart sinking, and he said “come here with me.” He took me out of the room into the empty radiology hallway and told me “you missed it.” I told him I couldn’t hear her lung sounds and he responded, “You didn’t have to hear her lungs… you didn’t listen to everything else her body was trying to tell you. You were too focused on one thing. Don’t miss it again.” He smiled and he walked back into the room to take care of the patient. That two minutes he took out of his day to pull me aside and teach me instead of doing it in front of everyone in the room has impacted my life to this day.