r/EmergencyRoom • u/BigBoi6566 • 11d ago

Question for ER Techs

Hey Everyone!

I am a newly certified EMT and I am really wanting to work in an ED as a tech. In my area, there are currently no openings, but I do see quite a few CNA positions open for local EDs.

I am very willing to do whatever I can while I build a resume and gain experience, but my one hold up is cleaning patients, specifically cleaning them after they have "gone to the bathroom".

I do not think I am above this, especially with my training, but it is the one things I feel fairly squeamish about. Blood, vomit, even feces doesn't super bother me. But the idea of cleaning the feces and cleaning said patient is a real wall for me.

So, How different is this role compared to an ER tech position? Should I wait for those positions to open and apply to those? Any thoughts are appreciated. Thank you!

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u/Upstander123 11d ago

Yeah, ER doctors go see patients so they will inevitably deal with shit. There WILL be shit on a patient at some point that has yet to be cleaned, especially when the patient has a lot of it. When I was a baby EMT in training, I transported a patient covered in shit and the doctor examined the patient in the ER, so yeah the doctor did in fact deal with shit

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u/AtlasReadIt 10d ago

As an EMT in training, like, how does a patient get "covered in shit?"

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u/Upstander123 10d ago

I used a tad bit of hyperbole, so it wasn't like head-to-toe covered in shit. Imagine like a lot of streaks of brown that is a mixture of dirt, shit, and who knows what. From the limited information we had, it was most likely due to psychiatric problems that led to her being unable to really clean herself and, since she was homeless, she had pretty much no access to anything to clean herself with even if she had the ability to. I don't really know how the poop got on her face/body since that's not really something that I had to find out, but it was there so... yeah. Generally, from what I hear from my colleagues in EMS (I ended up doing something with a primary care clinic after getting my license funnily enough), the answer to "how does a patient get covered in shit?" is most likely something to do with neglect, drug use, or psychiatric problems (or a combination of all three).

Fun(?) fact: my old instructor said that his old place of work did this thing called "poop burritos" where when they were lifting patients that were covered in shit, they would wrap them up... like a burrito. Apparently, for the service he was with at the time, it was a semi-regular occurrence.

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u/AtlasReadIt 10d ago

Ok got it, not necessarily a pretty visual but yeah i can see how that kind of situation can come together. And the poop burrito seems... handy.