Well the odds of not pissing her off are slim. My opinion (as a paramedic) is that if it is not in the best interest of the patient then I don't really care who I piss off. I would take it up the chain of command and request that the incident be looked into. The best thing is to ask that it be reviewed and that the appropriate re-training should be provided to the other caregiver.

BTW, they gave her glucagon which is a smooth muscle relaxant. It is often given for esophageal blockages. Also, not that your reaction was inappropriate, but abdominal thrusts would not likely have relieved the blockage. Any time an airway obstruction is indicated, 9-1-1 should be called. They can always cancel if your assumption is wrong.

Don't you have to file an incident report about this entire situation? I would think they'd have you write up your version of events and then your supervisor will review it. That pretty much gets your story out there, but in a non-emotional way. Then it's up to your supervisor to step in and take appropriate steps to discipline and/or retrain this co-worker. I certainly wouldn't want her looking after any relative of mine!

What I would do in this situation is talk to your manager privatly and tell her your observations. Explain to her that you felt the standards of CPR were not upheld. A meeting with the three of you may be in order to talk about the situation and come up with a plan in place to handle emergencies in the future. I would think that all caretakers should have up to date CPR and if not suggest this to your boss.

The report will show where she went wrong. They will deal with her, you won't have to. I say it is a learning experience for you and her. What have you learned from this that you might be able to apply to a similar situation? It doesn't sound like she was Allowing you to do your job (?). I would ask my supervisor what I could have done differently. I think I would have at least dialed 9-11 myself (not judging - just trying to imagine if it was me).

Good luck with that.

Thank you Bistro for your reply. And yes if I had immediate access to a phone I would have called 911 myself. There was no phone anywhere in sight though. I do not own a cell phone (hate them) but my collegue had hers on her. Which is why I told her to call. Not defending myself, just giving you a little info....sorry I tried hard to keep my topic short and a lot of details were left out in the process.

WVMel, Yes there is an incident report filled out when something like this happens. However it is only filled out by one person and she took it upon herself to do it while I was at the hospital. She also gave it to nursing immediately so I have no idea what is even on it. My immediate supervisor is on holidays til after xmas now. So, I think I may have to go above her head and book a meeting with nursing myself to go over what I saw happen.

Hi Becrox, I've been in the emergency service field for many years and I can tell you we would rather be called and cancelled than to not be called at all. I don't know how things in Canada but here in PA we have an Area Agency on Aging. You can call and leave an anonymous complaint. You were put in an overwhelming situation and hope you are feeling a bit better that you were able to vent.

horrible incident. I agree when it comes to the safety of patients or anyone else for that matter , if it were me, I'd do what my heart and instincts told me even knowing it is going to piss off whoever.
My advice is to document everything that happened, for yourself and if someone tries to threaten you or fire you, you can fight back ...as far as talking to your boss, I would do it, but I would caution you to just be careful the way you phrase it, like don't make accusations or name calling, for example. State the facts, not your opinions. And be respectful, not emotional as much as possible.
I say this b/c in my experience I have found that I am taken seriously and treated with more respect when I do it that way.
I learned the hard way with bosses and anyone in authority , if you are name calling or showing anger it will backfire on you.
Good luck with it; I think you should not have to worry if you keep those things in mind.

My husband has Alzheimers and has similar problems swallowing.
I don't know what you meant by "her espophagus muscles stopped working due to trauma" but what I do (and don't) know about my husband is , his swallowing problems might be due to the Alzheimers or it may be likely due to GERD or some other cause, of scarring/narrowing of the esophagus which I recently found out is kind of common in elderly people, to have that narrowing. When he can't swallow food, by the way, he also cannot swallow water, either and also throws it up. I imagine it , too, is from backed up food.

Sadly , in my husbands' case, as I was preparing to send him to have a follow up about it, he was arrested. He is now in jail and it is an extremely horrific and sad story.
Since we are off topic , this is being purged from me.
He is in there because he hurt someone who was attacking him and his dog.
I don't mean to take away from your situation ; really intended to just share the part about the swallowing that I recently learned.
A relative's elderly aunt, had gone to the doctor to get her esophagus stretched (dilated) for this problem when it occured to me, that is what my hubby probably needs.
I had taken him to a couple doctor's and they gave him GERD medicine "to see if it helps".
:(
One last thing about the CPR, I know when I took a class for that a few years back , we were told if someone we try to help has family members around, to ask them for permission first, b/c sadly, sometimes Good Samaratins are held legally responsible for injuries when performing CPR.
I would think it would have to be a very mean person who would take someone to court for trying to help save their loved ones' life, but that is my opinion.
Even so , I'd do it anyway. And did , too. Not CPR, but I got involved in a domestic dispute and came to the aid of a young woman..( I called 911 and kept her husband off of her as she lay unconscious in the middle of traffic )

I would file a WRITTEN report with her supervisor...keep a copy for yourself and also document exactly what the Doctor at the hospital said. People like that shouldn't even be allowed to work with the disabled!

File a written report in the same manner the other person did. Is this person licensed (nurse, CNA, etc.)? Review boards don't like this stuff.

I also recommend you look for a local council on aging or a state agency on elder care.