Kelly Grayson is a very experienced paramedic, educator, speaker and author that serves the EMS community.
You can follow him here:
(10) Kelly Grayson (@AmboDriver) / X
You can find his books on Amazon
Kelly talks about how he was cocky for many years when he first started as a paramedic. Paramedics often go one of two routes: God’s gift to paramedicine or bringing their text books around in fear every day
Kelly re published En route and On Scene the way he meant to release them in the first place in 2023
A lot of us go through the “God’s gift to paramedicine” phase of our career when we are overly-confident when we are new
Kelly tells a moving story about an elderly woman that had given up on life after the loss of her husband and how he was able to break through to her and get her to talk anyway. But not everyone wants to be saved
It is not for us to decide what is right for other people. Sometimes the only good you can do for a patient is to smile and hold their hand
Sometimes we are too focused on the high-level skills rather than the small meaningful moments
Kelly talks about a partner that did some crazy rescues on scene far above the normal expectations in EMS
We don’t always have happy endings in EMS, but we do the best we can and try to move on
Kelly talks about the “acid” in your mind after truly toxic calls. Like caring for the perpetrator of a horrible crime. Our care remains the same regardless of the patient story, but our thoughts can negatively impact us anyway
How do we get rid of this acid? We must share our stories and our thoughts with family and friends that can just listen without judging
Grief and trauma are like cockroaches, shine a light and they scatter
Kelly talks about a call that caused him nightmares after a difficult pediatric intubation and how talking about it in keynote speeches actually helped him heal from it
Pediatric calls are the hardest to deal with. We often see those that have lived their lives pass away and death can be a mercy but that not true with kids
It is very hard to reconcile
Kelly talks about a pediatric trauma arrest and how law enforcement did the best they could but sometimes you just can’t do anything. And booze isn’t going to be the solution
Your patients, your partners and others on scene are debtors to your emotional bank account, they make withdrawals. You must take deposits, or you will end up bankrupt
Drinking in and of itself isn’t terrible. But wait to drink until you are in a better mental state, this may prevent it from becoming a go-to vice when you really need a healthier strategy
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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.
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