Sometimes there are no words

Hi, I'm Katie and I'm a medical junkie. I'm an EMT, ER tech, phlebotomist and occasionally, just for kicks, I teach first aid. Its not a mental illness I'm just in to all things medical... and it helps me pay for important things, you know, like shoes.

I've been teaching for a while but nothing could have prepared me for one overexcited student the other night. I spent the first half of the evening teaching leaving the second half free to set up some practice scenarios.

I had half the group leave the room while I told the remaining students they were going to play unconscious casualties. I explained that I wanted them to lie on the floor, close their eyes and let the medic roll them. I made it clear they were not to prompt their partner unless they were going to roll them in a way that would injure them.

I let the medics back in and play dumb. I don't know what happened, I just found them like this. No, I don't know who they are or how long they've been here. Are they okay? The room echoes with "Hello, can you hear me? Open your eyes!" and the occasional giggle.

I turned to one student and asked him what he'd found while he was checking his patients breathing. He took a second before telling me that he had "an unconscious casualty who isn't breathing." Hold on a second, did he just say he isn't breathing? I can see him breathing. I mean, he must be breathing, he's sniffing!

Before I could question him, the student turned back to his "patient" and jumped on his chest. He gave him a chest compression. A real chest compression.

There really are no words...

A Good Question

I have a question that needs to be answered.. and seeing as it's EMS related, I figured this would be the place to go. My question is, do you think that some people are meant to be great EMT's? Like it just runs in their blood? Something I have lacked my whole life is self confidence. And whether everyone agrees with me or not, confidence is something you need when you're on the rig. I guess that's why I am my own worst enemy.

No matter how many times I try and convince myself that I can get on the rig, and get the job done, it never works. I love being on the rig. Love having the ability to help someone and feel like I have made a difference, no matter how small it is. But lately I find myself avoiding getting on the rig, and avoiding sitting in the dreaded passenger seat.

Recently, I opened up the good old EMT book I got while I was going through class. I flipped to many sections, reading many paragraphs until I realized something. What do you do when you are weak in virtually every aspect of being an EMT. How can you study and try and improve on that? Believe me, I ask questions on the rig when I have them. But sometimes the answers are ones I hate hearing... "it depends". Every single call is different, which means you handle things different. Sometimes I just wish there was always one clear cut answer. One clear cut solution to every call.

Right of Way

One of the more interesting questions that I have heard asked over the years, and have certainly asked myself, was what happens when two emergency vehicles transporting "code 3" both attempt to enter the same intersection. In this scenario, who has the right of way? In eighteen years, sixteen of those driving, I have never come across this first hand until recently.

While transporting an ALS patient to an out of the way hospital, I was approaching a major intersection only a block away. Having the red signal, I sounded the appropriate amount of sirens and air horns to notify the oncoming traffic that my rig and the ALS intercept unit were calling for the right of way. Seeing that traffic had yielded, I proceeded forward but then out of the corner of my eye I saw it. The bright flash of a Type V heading into the same intersection!

Depressing the brake and now waiting to see what their next move would be, I was relieved to see that he stopped and let me continue. As both of our rigs, backed into the ambulance bay, I leaned over and told my compatriot from the other rig that I had a life long question answered just then. He gave me a look and asked what I was talking about. I said, what would happen when two rigs both came into the same intersection. He laughed and said he wasn't sure either, but that in his book the rig with ALS always had the right of way.

Never Wear White Shoes

Last night I was signed up for duty crew at the squad. Call goes in, and we get to the house. I begin walking up the outside steps and I look down and see the concrete is wet.. I thought it was water. I walk into the house only to find out it was blood. And it was everywhere! I have never been on this bad of a bloody call. And amazingly the guy was fine.. I still think it was because adrenaline was pumping and he just didn't realize how bad his arm was cut. And I of course was kicking myself in the ass for wearing my brand new WHITE shoes on this call. Should have realized the first call I would wear them on would be a bloody one.

While waiting at the hospital the police officer who came to the hospital with us needed the crew's names and birthdays. Why? Oh just the fact we were in a crime scene and it needed to go in the file. That's defiantly a first... walking around in a crime scene. It's true what they say, the world of EMS is crazy and you really can't make this stuff up!

Although I'm still a new EMT I wish I was more into getting on the rig and learning all I can. When I do get on the rig, I'm learning to ask questions on why certain things were done. I asked some questions last night and now if I'm ever in a similar situation I'll know what should be done. And what's sad is the fact that these crazy calls happen. Like last night's stabbing. You really have to wonder what goes through people's minds. I guess logic and knowing right from wrong go right out the window when your mad enough. Seems last night's victim experienced that first hand.

Tonight I'm signed up for another night of duty crew. Wonder what it will bring me..

Quick Rundown

Let me start off by saying Hello to everyone. In this post I will be giving you all a little info about me, and a quick rundown of what I will be blogging about. So lets see first of all I am a 24 year old male from ft lauderdale, florida. I am a huge yankees fan cause thats the baseball that I grew up with. Some of my hobbies include any sport, poker, anything to do with Disneyworld, Madden and Fifa for XBOX 360, and fantasy baseball and football.


So what will I be blogging about. I will take everyone thru the state/national EMT Exam, job hiring process, and continue on with all the other exciting stuff I encounter related to this wonderful job of helping people. I will be a third generation FF/Medic so I have some cool stories that have been passed on. If you have any questions about getting into the service or the hiring process you can send them to me at firemanxxx900@gmail.com and I will help you out when I have an answer.

Goodluck and stay safe all,
Joe T.

Traffic Law & Safety

Even though I have a number of stories to tell, I've been resisting the urge to dive into my war chest. For this blog, I'm trying to limit myself to things that have just happened to me during my recent shifts. This means it'll probably be a rant, but then there isn't much about that I can do.

For today's anecdote, I have chosen the topic of family members following emergency vehicles. From a traffic law stand point, just because someone that you are related to is in back of a rig, this doesn't give you this right to blow through traffic control devices and cut people off. You would think that this would be obvious but I can't tell you how many times I'll look in the side view mirror and see a car with its four ways on, tailing me and cutting through lights. Hell, last month I had a family cut between my trailing ALS intercept unit, almost hitting them!

I know that you need to be by your family member but really, this is unsafe and just stupid. There is nothing more that you can do for them. Any information that the hospital needs will either be obtained by us or can be acquired after you get there. Not to mention that after you arrive all you'll be doing is sitting in the waiting room until they come to get your insurance information.

Driving emergency vehicles for as long as I have, I can tell you that it's hard enough having people see us with all of the lights on and the sirens blaring. Try getting cut off by a little black car with its four ways on. And I wouldn't even mention what will happen if the cops catch you.

In the end, just use your head and take your time. I know your first reaction is to be near your loved one. If that's the case leave the car and take a ride with us.

My First Call

Seeing as this blog is starting to take off, I'd thought I would contribute another post. This one will actually be about a call, my first call I officered to be exact. The squad I belong to has duty crew nights. You sign up and have to be on the rig for any call that goes from 10:00pm - 5am. I was signed up with another EMT and a driver.. which meant that I wouldn't have to officer and I could just help where it was needed.

The alarm went in and I wasn't really nervous.. probably because I knew I had my ass covered and wouldn't have to officer. As I got into the rig with the other two guys I was signed up with, a second call goes in. Of course, just my luck! My heart dropped. I knew I would have to officer. I started flipping out, and I do mean flipping out. I dropped the f bomb so many times. lol. Luckily the other EMT I was signed up with was also a driver so I took the call with him. We called in service and made our way to the location. It came in as difficulty breathing. We pulled up in front of the house and I recognized the house because we just had this lady a week prior for the same thing.

I won't bore you with the details of the call, because it honestly wasn't anything exciting. I do remember that the medic was very mean but I was grateful for having her there because she did all the work and I didn't have to give the report to the ED Nurse upon arrival.

Sorry everyone, my posts aren't anything exciting or bragging worthy. Like I have said in my very first post, I'm a new EMT and don't have many calls under my belt.

My Introduction

I can honestly say I was rather flattered to be asked to contribute to a project like this. I see what I do as just that - what I do, it's my job. I don't take it well when called a hero, I get uncomfortable when people tell me how awesome my job is or ask me if it's exciting or tell me how amazing it is I get to save lives. I love what I do, don't get me wrong...it's way more than a pay check. I can't imagine myself anywhere but on an ambulance. I just don't see it as something so special like the "outsiders" do.

I took an EMT class at the suggestion of a friend. Every other job I tried just left me bored and uninspired. The class was $75 and gave me something to do for a summer. Even if I hated it, it was no huge loss. I started running on trucks as a student once I got my CPR card, even though the program I went through didn't require it. I have a fear of failure and I didn't want to be a gung-ho EMT, fresh out of school, who freaked out on my first call. Before even carrying a state EMT card, I had been on all types of calls - psych emergencies, cardiac emergencies, strokes, traumas, pediatrics, and even a cardiac arrest one Sunday morning in church. The more I ran on the truck, the more I got comfortable, the more I liked it, and the more it became my life.

Two years later, I'm on the payroll with 3 different ambulance providers. Corporate EMS, and two municipal EMS agencies. Both have their pros and cons, and some people are better suited for one as opposed to the other. There will always be little things that irritate me, be it management decisions, stupid policies, or useless partners. However, I can say that every day when I come home from work, I feel like I accomplished something and maybe made someone's bad day a little better. My father tells me all the time that he wishes he had a job where he truly got to help people every day, and how proud he is of me for committing myself to something and truly enjoying it, and in the process, learning that money isn't everything.

I don't have many great war stories. Funny ones, sure...but few that everyone hasn't already heard before. I'm just doing my thing out there on the trucks, getting my ducks in a row so I can move on and be a paramedic, and making the choice to make a career out of this crazy little job.

The Influence of an Instructor

Jennifer's post made me think about my new EMT class starting in just one week. I've lost count, but, in 25 years, I've trained a lot of people and sent them into the EMS world as EMTs. I enjoy teaching EMTs even more than paramedics. They're a clean sheet of paper and are ready to learn, then, go out and save the world.

I'm proud of the way our class is run. When we started 12 years ago there was also a fire and police academy which held a rigid posture and high standards. We adopted it and still maintain it which is a departure from how most EMT classes are managed.

Kids right out of high school have a hard time wearing uniforms and realizing they will get locked out of a quiz if they're late from a break or don't have thier ID badge. Only when they leave do they understand why we do what we do to prepare them for the world of EMS. Some have become lifelong friends, and many I see again in the recert classes in subsequent years. They send me
e-mails to tell me they're at the top of their fire academy class and felt it was the discipline we gave them that got them there. I had a student who went to a disaster assignment during hurricane Katrina and was thrown into an experience that was way over his head. He told me later that the constant memorization we made them do on ABCs, CMSTP, AVPU, OPQRST, SAMPLE etc. came back to him when he needed it. I've watched my students become RNs, PAs, public health administators and ambulance company executives. One is a medical writer for a hospital system.

One of my most profound memories was walking into my class on September 12, 2001 to 50 wide-eyed and confused people. I realized most of them were too young to have ever had any threat to their basic sense of security. The age range was 18-62 and their reactions were all over the map. I had to wonder how the death of 300+ firefighters in New York was going to affect their career goals. Some left, most stayed. My critical incident stress management training kicked in and that day was about sharing our feelings of fear, and violation, and anger. Six weeks later my Disaster Medical Assistance Team was deployed there. Myself and one other student, a police officer, were gone for two weeks. It was years later before I realized the huge impact that had on my students. They were proud that we made that contribution and it gave them even more incentive to become one of the special ones who are part of the solution rather than part of the problem.

Do I get tired sometimes. Yeah. The "deer in the headlights" first night, the "high maintenance" individuals; the ones that have a tired excuse for always being late; the "minimalists"; the ones that always seem to know more of my lecture material than I do ... Out of each class, though, there are always a few shining stars. They are the ones I feel good about, the ones I know will make a difference. There are also the ones I watch struggling through the semester, but want it badly enough to fight for it. They have perservence and motivation. They come back 2 or 3 times, but are ready for the world when they eventually succeed.

Sometimes I'm lucky enough to learn where my students have gone with their lives, or that they were the ones to step up when a child was drowning, an old man went into cardiac arrest, or they need to triage a fatal head-on collision on Vasco Road. I can take pride in thier accomplishments. That makes it worth doing all over again.

Learning About Beginnings and Ends in the ER

Hello everyone, my name is Jen and I'm a new EMT. When I was approached and asked if i would contribute a post or two about the world of EMS and the craziness involved, I was excited about telling my stories. But than I remember that I don't have many stories at all. Seeing as I'm new and don't have many calls under my belt, I began thinking about the calls I have been on, and none of them are "bragging" worthy. Lol.

The only time I can remember like it was yesterday was the first time I did chest compressions. I wasn't even an EMT at the time. In fact I was doing my required hospital hours when a code was brought through the hospital doors. All the nurses just threw me in the trauma room and pushed me towards the poor guy who wasn't breathing. I stepped up (just a tad bit nervous). I began chest compressions and the trauma room that was filled with doctors and nurses all broke out into cheering and applause. I couldn't help but smile until I looked down and realized this man was dead and probably wasn't coming back.

Sadly the guy didn't make it. I talked to the nurses and a medic who was doing hospital time as well and they both drilled me with tons of questions. Than I was asked who would go to the morgue and with some hesitation I decided to go. Never having been to a morgue before, I was filled with trepidation! In the end though, one thing I did learn was you can't lock someone in the freezer. Lol.

Well I hope everyone enjoys this little post. And I look forward to reading other posts!