Photo Courtesy A.J. Heightman
Sirenhead sold out! Just kidding he did slap his name on Steve Berry's latest T-shirt though. It is a great public education tool and is available at www.jems.com.
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Dear Sirenhead: I was in line at a supermarket recently and spotted a Steve Berry cartoon plastered across the back of a guy's shirt. It featured a group of EMTs and paramedics hovering over a patient. The caption read, "Relax ... We're here to help."
A woman in line saw me looking at the shirt and laughing. When she noticed my paramedic patch, she asked about the cartoon. It gave me the opportunity to tell her a little bit about what we do in EMS and explain the spoof about how providers flock to handle an unstable airway. She told me it was commendable that we take our work so seriously and do so much to save people.
I felt pretty good about the opportunity the shirt gave me to plug EMS. Then, when the guy turned around, I saw a Sirenhead figure on the front of the shirt with the caption, "Sirenhead says." I was surprised and wondered if you've gone Hollywood and teamed up with some marketing firm to make a few million in endorsements. What's up with this?
-Stan W. via Internet
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Hey, I figure if Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant can make millions endorsing T-shirts, why can't I? I'm just as cute and also work while people hover around me shouting obscenities. Besides, when I'm working a code, I sweat as much as they do. I might just branch off into endorsements for ET tubes, IO needles and biohazard suits.
Seriously, the folks at JEMS pitched the idea of using Steve Berry to do a little humorous public education via the EMS shirts, and I liked the idea.
Educating the public about EMS will only enhance our profession. Hopefully, opening up communication with the public will encourage them to get involved in CPR and AED classes. Maybe they'll also tack down grandma's loose rug so she doesn't fracture her hip and wind up spending her golden years in a nursing home. A few of them may even realize that a lot of us are paid substandard wages for the expertise and responsibility entrusted to us and lobby to give us parity with others in the medical profession.
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Dear Sirenhead: My department won't let us wear any jewelry other than a wristwatch while on duty. I don't think what I wear around my neck or in my ears is any of their d@## business. What do you think?
-Maryanne W. via Internet
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I'm usually all for burning bosses at the stake when I feel they violate my constitutional rights to bear arms or enjoy free speech. But I have to side with your bosses on their ban of jewelry. Anything a berserk patient can grab that can cut or choke you is a high hazard in my book. I don't even wear my stethoscope around my neck for that very reason.
After treating a few people whose fingers were ripped off by machinery, I made it a point never to wear a ring or any other piece of jewelry that could get caught on objects when I'm working.
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The opinions expressed by Sirenhead are his own and not those of the publisher. Address your questions to Sirenhead, c/o JEMS, P.O. Box 2789, Carlsbad, CA 92018 or e-mail them to sirenhead@jems.com.
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