Making the Call Perfect
How well do we demonstrate for our students that they need to be constantly seeking opportunities to improve their performance? I call it “making the call perfect,” but you might call it something else, although it would have the same effect. I think we all do it in our classrooms when we run scenarios and ask students to self-evaluate. But how well do we give the idea that this process shouldn’t end as soon as our students get their state licenses? When I was practicing as an EMT and paramedic, I would “make the call perfect” on the way home from almost all of my runs, not to beat myself up for what I didn’t do, but to learn something so the next times I ran into similar circumstances I would handle it better and better. Depending on who else was on the call, many times I could do that out loud with my crewmates.
I remember my very first code as a paramedic. It was also the first code my service had run on its own without mutual aid. As we were returning to quarters, I asked the two other squad members who were also on the call what we might do to improve things in the future. One thing that had already occurred to me was that we didn’t have trauma shears in the IV box and that would have made life much easier, so I’d made a mental note to add shears to the box. I was sure that other people would have similar suggestions. I was stunned, however, when one of my crewmates responded with anger, telling me that we did the best we could, and why did I want to look for the negatives.
Could I have asked the question differently and in doing so elicited a different reaction? Perhaps. Or perhaps no matter how delicately I had phrased it, it would have been seen as me looking to find fault. It’s all in perception. I saw the review as an opportunity to learn from this call to make the next call better, someone else saw it as a threat.
As so often happens in this column, I pose questions to which I don’t have any answers, but I put the questions out there as food for thought. In this case, I wonder if some people are inclined, whether by their inborn characteristics or by their upbringing, to hear any questions about a call or about their group’s performance as a threat of criticism toward them as individuals. I know we see folks in our classes all the time whom we have to handle with kid gloves, who have a defense for everything they do, who argue with every evaluation instead of seeing it as an opportunity for growth. I also know we see folks who, on the other hand, actively seek feedback, who take it to heart, make changes accordingly, and who grow because of their openness.
I’d like to think that, with our patience and understanding, we, as instructors, can have an impact on both groups of people. Obviously, it will be easier to have an impact on those who seek feedback. But perhaps it will be most beneficial for those who become defensive, because if we can get beyond the barrier they put up, we can help them to see their own potential for growth.
© 2008 by Jacqueline B.
Vaniotis