By Sean Eddy
Throughout my years in EMS, I have found that partners are what make or break your shift. They are literally the one thing that can single-handedly turn a good day bad, or a bad day good. They are the glue that holds together your sanity.
Good partners are a no-brainer. When it鈥檚 good, you know it. Calls flow well, you laugh together, you complain about the same things, you match each other鈥榮 work ethic (or laziness), and you easily agree on what to eat (extremely important). When things aren鈥檛 going so well, it can be a bit tricky to figure out the cause. Are you just having a bad day? Is your partner a jerk? Or are you the jerk?
Here鈥檚 a little flowchart I created to help with assessing your partner situation. If you still need help, keep reading. I鈥檒l break it down even further.
Here are some example scenarios with conclusions:
1) You have to start off descriptions of your partner with phrases like 鈥淗e鈥檚 a good guy, but鈥︹�澛� or 鈥淥nce you get to know her...鈥澛�
There is no skating around this one. Your partner is a jerk and you鈥檙e just trying to convince yourself along with the rest of the world that you don鈥檛 spend a third of your life in absolute misery. Nice people aren鈥檛 that hard to figure out.
Conclusion: Your partner is a jerk.
2) You can鈥檛 seem to keep a steady partner
Every time shift bids come open, your partner jumps to a different shift and you can鈥榯 figure out why. You might make up excuses like, 鈥淚鈥榤 particular about how I run my calls鈥澛� or 鈥淚 just have high expectations.鈥澛� The truth is, you鈥檙e just difficult to work with. The only reason you keep getting stuck with new people is because anyone with more than five minutes of seniority has already figured out that your shift sucks and they avoid you at all costs.
Conclusion: You鈥檙e a jerk.
3) It鈥檚 nearly impossible for you to get your days off covered
Everyone else seems to have no issue doing shift-trades or getting days off. You, on the other hand, get responses like, 鈥淯mmmm, no thanks鈥澛� or 鈥淟OL, you鈥檙e joking right?鈥澛� when you text around looking for coverage. This is because your partner is absolutely miserable to work with and the only reason anyone would consider working in your place is because they are really hard up for money, all the other open shifts are taken, and McDonald鈥檚 turned down their application for part-time work.
Conclusion: Your partner is a jerk
4) Your partner seems absolutely miserable
Let鈥檚 be real here ... it鈥檚 3am and your partner is 5 charts behind with sleep being nothing but a pipe dream at this point. You haven鈥檛 stopped talking since you logged on, your driving was so bad that he hit his head twice while transporting to the hospital, and you said something stupid to the nursing staff, which resulted in a complaint. Give the poor guy a break, he鈥檚 using every ounce of self control to not beat you unconscious with an oxygen tank.
Conclusion: You鈥檙e annoying AND you鈥檙e a jerk.
5) You鈥檙e a supervisor
Sure, there are 鈥済ood鈥澛� and 鈥渂ad鈥澛� supervisors, but they all have one thing in common: No soul. That鈥檚 because you traded it in for your white shirt and your pay raise. You鈥檙e now known as 鈥渢he man鈥澛� and you exist only to appease the people who are so far disconnected from the field that they have to be reminded that we no longer run funeral home calls. You鈥檙e now one of 鈥渢hem鈥澛� and all you do is try to take down the little man. Jerk.
Conclusion: You鈥檙e a jerk until we need something from you. At that point, we will love you and think you鈥檙e the greatest thing to walk the floor of the ambulance bay. Then you鈥檙e a jerk again.
