Routines

 

My wife and I were coming back from a medical call yesterday. We were working as part of our local VFD supporting our county EMS agency. She also works for EMS part-time as a paramedic, and was telling me about how one of her partners had said how much she liked it when my wife was driving the ambulance. She admired that my wife has a methodical approach to checking the ambulance before moving — lights, controls, etc.

Since Mrs Tex was a pilot for so many years, of course, that sort of checklist-driven approach is second nature. But I believe that, in general, that’s a more personality-type-driven approach to things.  I’m a type A personality (I sometimes joke I’m type A squared), as is the Mrs. While operating dangerous machinery certainly would reinforce those personally traits, I think it’s more an intrinsic approach than a learned behavior.

I know one can become too wrapped up in routine behavior; my daily coffee-making probably looks like ADD to others, but I find it reassuring.  Maybe comforting is a better term.  Is it a drive to reduce surprises?  Maybe it reduces the joy of spontaneity, but spontaneity can be right on the border of unpleasant surprises.  One interesting thing is that fire and EMS calls are almost never routine, and one common mistake is assuming that you know what’s going on after the first couple of minutes (sometimes even seconds) on scene.

As an example: probably three-fourths of the calls we get for suspected strokes end up being hypoglycemia, which we can usually fix right there without needing to transport someone.  But if you wrongly assume it’s hypoglycemia and you have neglected lining up rapid transport, suddenly you are way behind the curve.

Despite my belief in using routines, I really enjoy the fact that these emergencies are always different.  It’s hard to reconcile, but I guess that’s like everything else that makes life worth living.

Published in General
This post was promoted to the Main Feed by a Ricochet Editor at the recommendation of Ricochet members. Like this post? Want to comment? Join Ricochet’s community of conservatives and be part of the conversation. Join Ricochet for Free.

There are 11 comments.

Become a member to join the conversation. Or sign in if you're already a member.
  1. Douglas Pratt Coolidge
    Douglas Pratt
    @DouglasPratt

    I’m with you, routine is comforting; I’ve felt that way since I was a kid. Maybe the variation during “events” just serves to remind us how comforting that routine is.

    I think I got my love of routine living from reading the Nero Wolfe novels at an early age. Wolfe and Archie permit nothing to interfere with the daily routine: breakfast in his bedroom for Wolfe and in the kitchen for Archie, two hours in the plant rooms while Archie dusts the office and opens the mail, lunch at 1:30, the afternoon session with the orchids from 4 to 6, dinner at 8. It takes a life or death situation or something extremely irritating to Wolfe to vary the schedule. When you make your living solving murders, the comfort of a regular life is important.

    • #1
  2. John H. Member
    John H.
    @JohnH

    I have a preternatural inability to follow, indeed read, checklists. I take ’em out, I look at ’em, you just never know what will get past the back of my eyeballs. Item #1 could be “Sit in the seat” and I’d probably miss that.

    • #2
  3. EODmom Coolidge
    EODmom
    @EODmom

    It’s part of the “control what you can so you’re able to manage what you can’t control” approach to real life. Some parts of your day are controllable. Otherwise expect a surprise.  Practicing controlling the controllable helps limit panic when faced with the uncontrollable: you have confidence that there are things you can do. 

    • #3
  4. Tex929rr Coolidge
    Tex929rr
    @Tex929rr

    John H. (View Comment):

    I have a preternatural inability to follow, indeed read, checklists. I take ’em out, I look at ’em, you just never know what will get past the back of my eyeballs. Item #1 could be “Sit in the seat” and I’d probably miss that.

    Mrs Tex used to say that the first two unwritten steps in aviation emergency checklists were:

    1.  Say “[REDACTED]
    2. Tap the gauge
    • #4
  5. Doctor Robert Member
    Doctor Robert
    @DoctorRobert

    Tex929rr (View Comment):

    John H. (View Comment):

    I have a preternatural inability to follow, indeed read, checklists. I take ’em out, I look at ’em, you just never know what will get past the back of my eyeballs. Item #1 could be “Sit in the seat” and I’d probably miss that.

    Mrs Tex used to say that the first two unwritten steps in aviation emergency checklists were:

    1. Say “[REDACTED]
    2. Tap the gauge

    Similarly, the first step in a medical emergency is to take your own pulse!

    • #5
  6. Chowderhead Coolidge
    Chowderhead
    @Podunk

    Tex929rr: Despite my belief in using routines, I really enjoy the fact that these emergencies are always different.

    I drove occasionally. Using enjoy, and emergency, in the same sentence usually makes the general public cringe. I try to avoid that but the truth is the rush of saving someone’s life makes up for all the training and down time. Those are the good calls. There is nothing good about the bad calls. I can take either but the nosebleeds really get me. 

    • #6
  7. Tex929rr Coolidge
    Tex929rr
    @Tex929rr

    Chowderhead (View Comment):

    Tex929rr: Despite my belief in using routines, I really enjoy the fact that these emergencies are always different.

    I drove occasionally. Using enjoy, and emergency, in the same sentence usually makes the general public cringe. I try to avoid that but the truth is the rush of saving someone’s life makes up for all the training and down time. Those are the good calls. There is nothing good about the bad calls. I can take either but the nosebleeds really get me.

    We had a full cardiac arrest on Christmas Eve and were unsuccessful but yesterday my wife had a successful save on another one.  It’s tough because on the Christmas eve call we had a great team and did great work but sometimes it’s out of our hands.  

    • #7
  8. Douglas Pratt Coolidge
    Douglas Pratt
    @DouglasPratt

    Tex929rr (View Comment):

    Chowderhead (View Comment):

    Tex929rr: Despite my belief in using routines, I really enjoy the fact that these emergencies are always different.

    I drove occasionally. Using enjoy, and emergency, in the same sentence usually makes the general public cringe. I try to avoid that but the truth is the rush of saving someone’s life makes up for all the training and down time. Those are the good calls. There is nothing good about the bad calls. I can take either but the nosebleeds really get me.

    We had a full cardiac arrest on Christmas Eve and were unsuccessful but yesterday my wife had a successful save on another one. It’s tough because on the Christmas eve call we had a great team and did great work but sometimes it’s out of our hands.

    We pray for first responders every Sunday. Thank you both for what you do.

    • #8
  9. CarolJoy, Not So Easy To Kill Coolidge
    CarolJoy, Not So Easy To Kill
    @CarolJoy

    Sorry I missed this post when it was first written.

    Living in Northern Calif, whose summer routine is us residents either watching the local emergency responders deal with fires, or else packing up to be evacuated, my gratitude for you wonderful people is limitless.

    I am sitting here in my home, enjoying the now green winter grasses and shrubs and wildlife, due to the many time the fire fighters took down 4 acre or 15 acre or 200 acre fires.

    The ambulance drivers and fire truck drivers receive a bit more courtesy here in our rural community. But in the summer when we are inundated with city tourists, many people just won’t pull out of the way. Not sure why that is.

    Maybe they are not that aware of their surroundings – even when it is a huge firetruck riding their bumper, lights flashing and sirens screeching.

    • #9
  10. Tex929rr Coolidge
    Tex929rr
    @Tex929rr

    CarolJoy, Not So Easy To Kill (View Comment):

    Sorry I missed this post when it was first written.

    Living in Northern Calif, whose summer routine is us residents either watching the local emergency responders deal with fires, or else packing up to be evacuated, my gratitude for you wonderful people is limitless.

    I am sitting here in my home, enjoying the now green winter grasses and shrubs and wildlife, due to the many time the fire fighters took down 4 acre or 15 acre or 200 acre fires.

    The ambulance drivers and fire truck drivers receive a bit more courtesy here in our rural community. But in the summer when we are inundated with city tourists, many people just won’t pull out of the way. Not sure why that is.

    Maybe they are not that aware of their surroundings – even when it is a huge firetruck riding their bumper, lights flashing and sirens screeching.

    Thanks for the kind words. As our rural area takes in more urban refugees that sort of problem has become worse for us.  

    • #10
  11. Chowderhead Coolidge
    Chowderhead
    @Podunk

    Thanks CarolJoy. Our brush fires in New England are usually just a lot of work. We can call in many departments depending on the size of the fire. Structures are at risk but I only know of one guy’s shed that we missed in five years.

    People not pulling out of the way is a big problem now for some reason. People don’t realize my firetruck is the size of a large bus and it is carrying a full 2000 gallons of water, about 7500lbs. It stops like a freight train, and is 12′ wide. It’s even more frustrating when driving the ambulance and someone is too narcissistic to pull over. It could be their child dying in the back.

    • #11
Become a member to join the conversation. Or sign in if you're already a member.