Dragging this out for the holidays-The 12 Days of Christmas according to EMS Supervisors

Many of you will remember this post from June. I thought I would drag it out for the holidays. Don’t forget to sing !

I would like to share a little song Tina and I ‘wrote’ during a particulary hairy WEEK at work. We ended up hanging a printed copy on our bulletin board. The job of a Supervisor is underappreciated, and definately not envied at times.

The Twelve Days of Supervising

 

 

On the 1st day of Supervising, my employees gave to me…

A note that said better you than me!

 

(Now this ‘note’ was more like a list of grievances that ended with “I am glad YOU guy’s are the one to deal with this mess, and not me.”

 

 

 

On the 2nd day of Supervising, my employees gave to me…

Two damaged rooftops

 

For some reason, NOT ONE PERSON knew how the giant dents, scratches and a HOLE suddenly appeared on the top of two rigs. Now, either the EMT’s were really oblivious, or the sound was drowned out by a mobile disco inside the ambulance. If the lightbar were mounted above the roofline, I am sure they would have disappeared.

 

 

On the 3rd day of Supervising, my employees gave to me…

Three missing Dispatchers

 

2 dispatchers went AWOL, and a new hire just never bothered to show up for her second day of work. We must have scared her off…

 

 

On the 4th day of Supervising, my employees gave to me…

Four weeks of Jury Duty

Poor Bryan, the Wheelchair Division Supervisor was sentance to Jury Duty. By the time Hell week had arrived, he was well into Week 4 of the most boring trial ever. A he said, she said landlord vs tennant dispute.

 

 

On the 5th day of Supervising, my employees gave to me…

FIVE missing backboards! (remember to ‘string’ this one out)

Backboards are not cheap! And without them, how are you supposed to immobilize someone? I guess it was too much to ask that the EMT’s follow protocol and RETRIEVE their equipment BEFORE leaving the ER. And in the case that this was not practical, a simple phone call to dispatch would have sufficed. I took this opportunity to leave the office in search of the missing equipment.

 

 

On the 6th day Supervising, my employees gave to me…

6 employees griping

There was so much whine going around the office about trivial crap, I felt like serving up a giant cheese log to go along with it.

 

 

On the 7th day of Supervising, my employees gave to me…

Seven Rigs to service

Oh, the joys of having half of your fleet due for service at once. Add a recall to the mix, and hilarity ensues.

 

 

On the 8th day of Supervising, my employees gave to me…

8 unstaffed stand-bys

With football season well underway, we scrambled for coverage. We were not above bribes of days off, Overtime, free tickets to the 49er game and first choice of scheduling for the next month. When all else fails, send the Owners of the Company to one event, and staff the other one yourselves.

 

 

On the 9th day of Supervising, my employees gave to me…

9 Absent Incidences… SEE YA!

It was company policy to fire anyone who had 9 unexcused/unacceptable absences. DUring this week of particulary low staffing we got to fire 2. JOY.

 

 

On the 10th day of Supervising, my employees gave to me…

10 late Wheelchair Transports

When one wheelchair transport is late, sure as shit, everyone else on that route will be late as well.

 

 

On the 11th day of Supervising, my employees gave to me…

11 County Turnovers

As I mentioned in previous EMS posts, sometimes the County Provider would be overwhelmed, and a general call out for available private ambulances would go out. I believe that we hit our record of grabbing 11 of such calls in one shift. It must have been a full moon. There were Multiple Car Accidents, an accident involving a schoolbus, and a commuter train VS a Soda Company truck stalled on the tracks. (I’ll have to remember to post more about that one later. It is a WHOLE story by itself.)

 

 

On the 12th day of Supervising, my employees gave to me..

12 more months to do it all again!

 

 

OK, so some liberties were taken with this, but it made Tina and I feel better

 

See FAQ’s” about The Corporal for more EMS shenanigans

~ by Renee on November 30, 2005.