Stuff I Wish They`d Taught Me in Class Part 5: Tunnel Vision
We've all likely heard the phrase: "It's not your emergency, it's the patients' emergency."
It's true! We are not the ones--at least at that moment in time--who are delivering a baby, having trouble breathing, or were just in a car accident.
At the beginning of my career, I would run at top speed to the ambulance the minute the tones dropped. I was also the one who--the minute the truck stopped--could be seen flying out the back, my legs carrying me as quickly as possible to the patient.
It wasn't because I was trying to be the first person there, I was just personifying the emergency. I made the situation my emergency the same way someone would if he or she was the one who needed help, or if the patient was a close family member. I felt if something wasn't done IMMEDIATELY, then no matter what, the outcome of the patient would have been poor.
However, this meant I was rushing into scenes I had no right to run into. I hadn't learned to open my eyes to the entire scene. I had tunnel vision. I was told once, early on, that if someone pointed to a house and said someone inside wasn't breathing, I'd run in with oxygen tanks and non-rebreathers blazing, not noticing the fact the house was burning down around me.
It was true.
I never looked at what was going on around me. I was so focused on the emergency, I couldn't see anything else.
I remember one big incident nearly cost me and my crew our lives. It didn't seem like a big deal at the time. So what if I walked into a psychiatric emergency? It was no big deal to me. So what if there was a weapon within easy reach of the mentally disturbed patient? I was so focused on the patient I never even noticed the gun.
It wasn't until later, when I inquired why the crew was giving me the silent treatment, I found out what I had done. That was a long night. I had very quickly realized just how much I still needed to learn about the job. Tunnel vision can be a good thing. Now it helps me treat my patients without distractions, especially when it comes to treating children.
These days, I'll admit I still have moments of complete tunnel vision. It's something that, until the day I am a little old medic sitting on my porch in a rocking chair reminiscing about the 'good-ol'-days,' I will have to work on. The bonus is, I now know what it is and I can work on it.
Until next time, have fun and be safe out there.
Shao Trommashere completed paramedic class in 2007 after working as an EMT since 2002 in the Northeast corner of the United States. She also has a blog called Looking Through A Pair of Pink Handled Trauma Shears.
