Working with Mr. Lazybones

So, I’m working with Mr. Lazybones today.

I’ll explain myself. Every morning, there is a routine we have to follow, and usually it looks like this:

1. After clocking in, while I grab the schedule and the Toughbook making sure that it’s working properly, my partner grabs the radio and takes the ambulance out of the bay.

2. Together we check the ambulance, the lights and siren, and every single piece of equipment and medication in our unit, to assure that it’s there and it’s working properly.

3. We wash the ambulance.

4. On calls, the person driving takes care of the radio communications (unless the ER needs to be reached, in which case, the person caring for the patient will be the one calling).

This routine may vary some, but that’s pretty much how the morning looks.

Today it’s like this:

1. After clocking in, while I grab the schedule and the Toughbook making sure that it’s working properly, my partner is sitting in the rec room watching sports on TV. I grab the radio and take the ambulance out of the bay.

2. I check the ambulance, the lights and siren, and every single piece of equipment and medication in our unit, to assure that it’s there and it’s working properly …while he stands outside the ambulance watching me do it.

3. The ambulance has not been washed yet. Obviously, at some point before the shift is over, I’ll have to do that myself.

4. On calls, he’s driving and I’m with the patients. Instead of taking care of the radio communications with our dispatch, he ‘forgets’ to tell them what we are doing. So, for the sake of myself not getting in trouble, I have to do that for him. When we arrive at the hospital, I make it a point to place the radio in his hands and ask him to take care of it. He, then, ‘forgets’ the radio with the patient, and I have to go hunt for it. 

This person I’m working with (or doing the work for, actually) is not a newbie or an insecure young guy. He’s an experienced firefighter and a part-time employee at the ambulance service. There is no excuse whatsoever for his lack of initiative and team work.

I am very annoyed with him right now. I’m just glad this is not my regular partner, because I’d end up getting fired from a job for the first time in my life.

UPDATE: I told ya! 10 minutes before shift end, my “partner” clocked out and left me with a dirty ambulance low on fuel. Lucky for him, I don’t feel well today, so I’m avoiding confrontation. Also, since he doesn’t usually work with me, I bit my tongue. But I think he got the sense that I wasn’t a happy camper, just by the lack of chit-chat. I hope tomorrow is a better day.