JERAMEDIC

I’m finishing off this week of Best Practices with an Interview of Paramedic and author of the new E-Book  The Nonconformists Guide To EMS Success, Steve Whitehead.

This is a follow up to My review of  Steve’s book, which you can read Here.

It was wonderful speaking with Steve earlier this week. He is very knowledgeable, friendly and approachable. And  has two decades of experience in EMS, both as a field provider and an educator.

Steve very graciously made time for this interview and was supportive of the project. And I thank him for that.  So Lets begin.

Jer:   In the beginning of the book, you tell us that you were once very  irritated
and unfulfilled with your work. what made you decide to change your
attitude?

Steve:   It may have been one call specifically. I was working in a very high
crime and economically impoverished community in California. I was angry at
my job. Upset that it wasn’t what I expected it to be. I felt that nobody
understood what we were supposed to be doing as EMS professionals. I was
upset at the low pay, the bad working conditions, the long hours, all of
it. I was young and immature. Probably too immature to be a paramedic yet.

We worked 24 hour shifts and we were usually up all night dealing with
very sick respiratory patients (most of the community smoked), people who
were drunk, and people who abused methamphetamine. Most of are calls at
night were for the meth users.

We ran a call for a meth overdose and our patient was a combative,
out-of-control female. She injured my partner while we were restraining
her. By the time we had her in full restraints (We couldn’t sedate people
back then.) my adrenaline was in overload. My treatment of her after she
was restrained was totally inappropriate. It was what we might refer to as
“punitive medicine.”

Nothing I did was to really help her. I used my medical skills to punish
her. This wasn’t unusual for our service. Lot’s of the paramedics I knew
used their medicine to take out their aggression on their patients. But it
wasn’t normal for me. After the call I felt horrible. I wanted to quit. I
realized that nothing I was doing had anything to do with why I chose EMS
as my profession.

I decided to stay in EMS, but I had to ask myself some serious questions
about why I was doing this job and what I wanted to stand for as a
caregiver. Since that call I made the decision that I needed to always be
an advocate for the patient. Regardless of whom the patient is. Regardless
of whether or not we like them. Regardless of whether or not they like us.
We exist to serve the patient. If you’re not willing to serve people, you
have no business being in EMS.

My journey of success in EMS began the morning after that call.

Jer:   I can see how that must have been a very difficult time for you. I think it’s obvious by now that we are grateful you chose to stay in EMS.

You tell us about three types of people to watch out for. The critics,
the old guard and the bottom feeders. It’s possible that some of your
readers are these people, and it may be very difficult for them to apply
your principles. Can you offer any advice for them?

Steve:  Great question. I secretly hoped many of the readers would identify with
one or more of the archetypes. (To one degree or another.) I used to be
one for these people too. I used to be a critic. I defined everything by
what was wrong with it. It’s a very unhappy way to look at life.

You can’t talk people into changing. Changing the way you see the world is
phenomenally hard and it takes years of effort. When people decide they
want to be something fundamentally different than they are, they will. You
can’t make that happen for them. Hopefully, if they make that choice,
they’ll find my book useful.

Jer:  Yes they will.

But some may argue that conformism breeds uniformity. And that uniformity
is something we are lacking in EMS. how do you defend you point of
non-conformism?

Steve:   In my own selfish view, I’d like to see people be uniform in all the
things I advocate for and non-conformist in everything I advocate against.
That’s probably an unrealistic goal, but it’s a goal none-the-less.

It’s important to consider that the term non-conformity implies that I’m
rallying against something. I’m really not. I’m rallying for something.
Actually lots of things. I’m rallying for competence, personal
accountability, a servants heart, a willingness to contribute, and a
desire to make EMS better for the next guy or gal.

If we’re going to seek uniformity, we have to decide what we’re going to
unify around. I like my list. …And I think it would serve our profession
well.

Jer:   I agree very much with you Steve.

You also encourage readers to find a mentor. Who was your mentor, and how
did you meet?

I’ve had many mentors. from my first paramedic preceptor (Phil Rigardo)to
many members of my current leadership team and fellow paramedics and
firefighters.

I’d say some of the folks who most served to shape my career and who I
wanted to be were my father Ed Whitehead, Thom Dick, Jeff Forster, Twink
Dalton, Billy Kraft and Mike Taigman. All of them helped me decide who I
wanted to be in EMS and helped me on the path (In their own way.)

It’s impossible to relate how many people influenced me over the past two
decades. But it’s important to note that we never really know when and how
we are going to influence the people around us, for better or worse, but
it’s worth considering when we decide who we want to be each day.

Jer:   You say that for us to change and grow, we must  be willing to have
difficult conversations. What was a difficult conversion you have had,
and needed to overcome your fear about?

Steve:   As a supervisor, I needed to have difficult conversations all the time. I
had to tell some poor dude that his hygiene wasn’t up to par. That was a
tough one. All his coworkers talked about it, but nobody, I mean nobody,
was willing to talk to him about how bad he smelled. That’s a pretty
extreme example.

Every day we run into those conversations. The dude who always leaves the
ambulance understocked, the gal who’s always complaining even though
everyone’s tired of hearing it. If you come from a place of caring and
respect, those conversations can be powerful opportunities.

Jer:   Well said Steve, I have just one more question.  Many reader of your book and your website are New Providers.     if you could only give them one ideal to live up to in their new career, what
would it be?

Steve:   Be kind.

Jer:   Thank you Steve.

Weather you are a student or a seasoned veteran, an educator or administrator. I highly encourage you to go and download your FREE copy of  Steve’s E-B00k, The Nonconformists Guide To EMS Success.