Guest Editorial: When `We` Need `Us`

Ed's Note: This editorial piece, authored by American Medical Response Chief Medical Officer Ed Racht, MD, was sent to all American Medical Response employees. Dr. Racht's message about recognizing the signs of stress among our colleagues is such an important one, we are sharing it here.

I want to have a tough discussion today. This is perhaps the most important communication I’ll have with you all year.

This is about us. You & me.

Our organization, our AMR family, has embraced a mission to make a difference by caring for people in need. Everything we do, regardless of our role, our profession or our location is focused on doing as much as we possibly can to make people’s lives better. Whether we work directly with patients or provide the crucial support to make the patient care happen, our goal is aligned. We are in the make-people-better business.

It’s not an easy commitment. Any of us could have chosen to help people in different ways by providing support for them in something like retail, entertainment or education, for example. All vitally important, but so much different than healthcare. We’ve chosen to help people when something goes wrong. When a small clot suddenly stops circulation to a loved one’s brain, and they can no longer speak or recognize their family. When a kid is tragically struck by a car and lies motionless in a street. When an elderly person vomits blood and wonders if it signals a catastrophic life-ending event. We even help when there’s no real significant health risk, but we have the tools to provide information, guidance or just reassurance.

I’m writing this today because we have recently lost members of our AMR family who have taken their own lives. It makes me so unbelievably sad. What our organization, our AMR family, does is the most admirable of work. We help to bring order to chaos, relief to fear and security to the unknown. We collectively have both the desire and knowledge to help – especially in the toughest of circumstances.

The intensity of those efforts and the emotional strain they can cause are significant. When you pile on the physical demands of a 24/7 requirement to care for our patients, and the personal impact on our friends and family, the pressure can become overwhelming. While all of us as caregivers are taught to recognize this pain and use our compassion and skills to help our patients, we don’t reach out for help ourselves or we’re reluctant to “get into someone’s space” if we sense they’re going through tough times.

One of the hazards of our chosen profession is the acute or chronic impact of what we see and what we do every day. While we try as hard as we can to minimize the personal impact (we’re taught from Day One to stay strong—“it’s part of the job”), sometimes those challenges—that deep personal pain—becomes so overbearing that it creates a real sense of despair.

That’s when we need us.

I think one of the most important cultural traits we should cherish as an AMR family is our ability and our drive to look out for one another, embrace those that need our help and always remember that the tools we provide for our patients work for us as well. It’s tough for us to reach out (remember, we’re taught from Day One to stay strong). While we may feel like it’s a weakness, all of us know those that seek help have demonstrated significant strength. How many times do we say to our patients – “I’m proud of you for reaching out.”?

There are many really good ways to connect with people and programs that have the tools to help us navigate tough times. One of the components of those programs is a commitment to privacy. AMR has a robust Employee Assistance Program (EAP) that’s available to all of us. There’s also a wonderful organization called Code Green founded and managed by EMS providers specifically for our profession. They have a tremendous list of 24/7 options that can provide help, whenever we need it most. I’d encourage you to look at their website—it’s nice to know that help is there. I suggest putting this number in your contacts: 877/230-6060. I did. There are several more on the site that you may be interested in as well.

It’s difficult, if not impossible, for most of us to know how much pain these folks who took their own lives must have had. Our colleagues in mental health remind us that a sense of despair is extremely powerful and can dominate everything in a person’s life.

They also remind us that there’s one thing that’s more powerful: Our ability to intervene, provide support, carry our fellow human beings through tough times and help craft a future that’s free of that despair and allows them to live a fulfilling, happy life.

Tragedies like this cause us to pause and think. Perhaps the most important part of my message is to remind ourselves of the tremendous comfort and importance of looking out for one another and to open our arms, our hearts and our expertise in recognition, treatment and support for each other. If we’re worried that one of our AMR family needs some help, let’s do what we do best: Make that difference by caring for people in need.

That’s what families do. It’s when we need us.

Ed Racht, MD, is the chief medical officer for AMR.