No, he wasn’t a walk up patient. Him and his wife were looking for a different business and woke us up to ask if we knew where it was. I work private and our station is a business suite in a row with other suites. Me and my partner have been getting dicked down hard this month due to understaffing and being in a busy system. I’m talking about 324 hours or so of pure toe pain and fatty mc fallers this month. So we did get a bit of respite today In the form of downtime to nap, however it got cut short when a boomer and his wife walk straight into the common area where me and my partner are sleeping on the recliners and wakes us up, IMMEDIATELY started blabbering off about directions and how the dudes down the street told him to come look on this side of the lot before we were even fully awake. I try to politely explain to him that this is an ambulance station and I have not heard of this business he is looking for. He says “oh yeah I know but those guys told me to come look over here so surely you guys should know where it’s at” that’s when my partner cuts him off and firmly tells him he’s in the wrong building, basically telling him to GTFO. Guy and his wife are not budging so I get up to walk them out where I continue to try to explain to them that we have no idea where this business is. They eventually get the hint and wander off but at by then I’m not even able to get back to sleep, I step back outside to smoke and still see the old man wandering around the lot.

Edit: Yes the station locks, yes I should’ve had it locked. I just didn’t know walking right in is a thing people really did. Also no they can’t get into quarters we were sleeping on the recliners in the front room/living room

This is primarily aimed at American EMTs and Paramedics, whom are required by law to practice under a physician's medical license (aka their medical director).

I've heard both great and terrible stories as as well as EMS providers spending 5+ years in a job never meeting their director. What's your story?

I want to read all of your stories about the saves that restored your hope. I'll go first. I'm adding a warning here for triggering details.

We were dispatched with "not able to stand up" as the reason. We were thinking it could be a lift assist or stroke. On scene it was a woman in her 80s vomiting blood with bloody diarrhea, she wasn't able to stand up as the dispatch note said. She didn't even have diarrhea, it was literally just clots of blood. We picked her up and pivoted her to our stair chair, on the stair chair she fainted. Turned white as a ghost, eyes wide open. We were shouting her name and giving sternal rubs, checked a pulse and she didn't have one. No breathing. This happened in a tiny bathroom, so we emergency dragged her to an open area.

Just as we were about to start compressions, she started mumbling and moving her eyes. Turns out she had an internal pacemaker/defibrillator. She had a pulse back and was breathing again. We moved her onto the cot and got her into the ambulance as fast as we could. Our AEMT administered zofran for her nausea and we gave her an emesis bag, despite the zofran she continued to vomit digested blood on the way to the hospital. She was crying. I monitored her vitals and adjusted things accordingly, and I just rubbed her back and tried to comfort her during the drive. We honestly thought she wasn't gonna make it.

Turns out she had multiple ulcers throughout her GI tract that perforated with internal bleeding. She had emergency surgery to stop the bleeding and repair the ulcers.

A couple weeks after this call we were called to the same house for the woman's daughter. The woman from the initial call was relaxing in a chair watching her grandkids, she was talking with us and laughing. She had a smile on her face, and she clearly had a very sweet and kind personality.

This call really shook me up, I had to take off of work the next day because I was so upset about it. I was having flashbacks for 3 hours straight and panic attacks. Seeing that woman laughing and spending time with her grandkids restored my hope. It reminded me as to why I got into EMS in the first place, even if all we did was get her to the hospital.

My partner almost killed a patient because of negligence this past tuesday. I filed a report with admin and i am meeting them tomorrow to launch an investigation. part of me feels like a snitch but I wouldn't let him be with my grandpa so I feel okay.

It just came out one day and now I can’t stop. It just seems to fit. I didn’t used to be like this. Have I evolved?

When he arrived he could move his limbs well and followed commands (he initially had total right side neglect). He just couldn't speak. It was that aphasia where he gets frustrated trying to talk because all his words made no sense. He had a thrombectomy and had 100% in his left carotid and 100% in his MCA. After the procedure, he remained heavily sedated for 2 days not speaking but 1 word every few hours maybe. He gets agitated and scared and tries to get out of bed. He still has barely moved any limbs on his right side. Today, he was more alert. Keeping his eyes open longer and answering 'yes' or 'no' or saying/doing something small that was approriate. The perfusion scan showed a huge area of his left hemisphere that was not getting blood flow. That means a huge area is damaged or even dead. The plan was to take him home to do hospice today but he showed some major improvement starting this morning like I mentioned earlier so we are holding off just in case. Seeing him obviously scared, confused, frustrated, almost crying is seriously breaking my heart. He will just reach out for a hand to hold because he just doesn't really know whats going on yet. This is hitting harder than anything i've ever experienced. I'm still young too (24) I thought I had plenty of more time with him (67). He didn't even have any medical history it was all just so fucking sudden. Any advice or just anything at all please i'm so scared and angry and depressed.

22M. I work as a paramedic and work 60+ hrs a week. Im trying to save up money for fire academy and nursing school. So all I do is work, eat and sleep. In the rare days I get off I try to go outside and meet new people or with old friends. However my mind never seems to leave my job. In fact I think my mental health is taking a turn for the worst. I see dead people. Im haunted by images of the patients I couldn’t save or were already dead and even dismembered. I hear a woman scream and beg me to help her husband. I try to forget about it. I try to just forget that I’m a medic and what I do. But I cant. Every time I go out. When I try to talk and socialize with people. I can only ever talk about medicine. I talk about this cool necrotic tissue in the groin that caused sepsis or a really bad 3rd degree heart block, or about some new sex injury that came in (bc theres plenty of those people who come in). I do have hobbies. I like anime, movies, superheroes, and I work out and go to the gym. I used to surf and box but now I dont. Im too busy working. So in reality the only interesting thing about me is that I see horrible things all the time bc im a medic. Its become my only thing in life right now. When I go on dates. Im so awkward to be around. Bc I no longer feel comfortable talking about “normal stuff”. And girls dont like it when they ask how is work going and you go on a rant about this 92 year old you coded 5 times. Bit of a turn off I definitely say. But instead of trying to fix that. I instead work. Bc if im just gonna go home and have trouble sleeping or risk making a dumb mistakes when im drunk bc all I wanna do is drink myself into forgetting those horrible things I saw. I might as well work and do some good around me. So now instead of being able to open up to my family or to my friends to someone I could care about. I work instead. And its really lonely and a whole new feeling when a PT tried to small talk with you. And they ask about that kinda stuff. Like if you have family or friends. And you say “oh I just work all the time so I dont see them at all” or just lie and make up some bs you did last week.

So sometimes it starts to feel like I’m Spiderman. Where Im trying so hard to do the right thing. To help people. Even when I don’t get thank you in return. Even if I’m getting paid 3$ more than a subway employee. Even when it costs me time to live my own life. And I kinda suddenly get why Peter Parker would not want to be Spiderman sometimes. Bc some days he just wants to put down the mask and live his life. Not feeling a burden of responsibility on his shoulders.

The thing I hate most though. Is saying all that. I feel like some egoistical ass hat complaining. Who the hell am I to compare myself to a superhero. Who do I think I am the main character. Im complaining about helping people who really do need it. Sure its overtime. But what excuse do I have to complain when I have pts so much worse off or know other medics who would give anything to work again.

Idk man. Thats just my rant for the day. Does anyone else feel like Spiderman working EMS?

Hey! I'm feeling a bit confused, and I'm seeking some clarification. Is it generally frowned upon in our field to wear makeup, style your hair, wear (mild-scented) perfume, wear jewelry, etc.?

I’m a fairly new medic, and I sometimes get passive-aggressive comments or rolled eyes from other women at the station or even female patients when I put any effort into my appearance. I do these things NOT for attention, but because I feel more put together and productive when I feel my best - which is when I have done some makeup (usually mascara + blush), have cute earrings in, have my hair straightened with a cute headband in, and have a spritz of perfume on.

None of those things hinder my ability to do my job well or are a distraction, but the comments are starting to get to me.

I had an older woman allude that I wanted to “get my partner’s attention” by doing all of this. This is false. My partner and I are close, but I’m in a committed non-EMS relationship. I've heard gossip that I'm trying to catch someone from FD. It's particularly disheartening because these comments come from fellow women, who I would hope would understand and support each other.

Is this my station that is toxic, or is this just what women first responders face?

Hello everyone, I was recently given a pretty exhaustive list of mental health resources available to first responders here in the US from my therapist. I got their permission and wanted to pass it along to anybody that might need it from this group. If anybody knows of any other resources that belong on this list that you don't see, please add them in the comments. Thanks, and I hope this is helpful to anyone that needs it!

Certified First Responder Counselor Directory

Website:

Phone: N/A

Description: Trains counselors/therapists in the treatment of first responders, providing them with insight and understanding of both the culture and mental health needs of first responders. Also provides a directory of all counselors that have completed their training and certification process, listed by state and county to help first responders find a trained counselor near them.

First Responder Support Network (FRSN)

Website:

Phone: (415) 721-9789

Deseription: Offers workshops and support services for first responders dealing with stress and PTSD. National Fallen Firefighters Foundation (NFFF)

Firefighter Behavioral Health Alliance (FBHA)

Website:

Phone: (847) 209-8208

Description: Dedicated to the mental wellbeing of firefighters and EMS personnel, offering resources, workshops, and suicide prevention initiatives.

Safe Call Now

Website:

Phone: 1-206-459-3020

Deseription: A 24/7 crisis referral service for all public safety employees, emergency services personnel, and their family members.

CopLine

Website:

Phone: 1-800-267-5463 (1800COPLINE)

Description: A confidential 24/7 helpline answered by retired law enforcement officers, providing peer support for active and retired officers.

The Code Green Campaign

Wcbsite:

Phone: N/A

Description: Advocacy and mental health resources for first responders dealing with mental health issues including: PTSD, depression, and suicide.

Emergency Responder Crisis Text Line

Text: "BADGE" to 741741

Description: A 24/7 text based support service for first responders in crisis, connecting them with trained crisis counselors.

National Fallen Fireighters Foundation (NFFF)

Website:

Phone: 301-447-1365

Provides resources and support for families of firefighters who have died in the line of duty, including wellness and behavioral health resources.

International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF) Recovery Center

Website:

Phone: I-888-378-2499

Specialized treatment facility for IAFF members struggling with addiction, PTSD, and other related mental health issues.

National Aliance on Mental llness (NAMI)

Website:

Helpline: I-800-950-NAMI (6264)

Offers support and resources for individuals facing mental health challenges, including specific programs for veterans and first responders.

Psychological Health Center of Excellence (PHCoE)

Website:

Offers resources and research on psychological health, PTSD, and TBI, with resources tailored for military personnel and veterans, applicable to first responders.

ResponderStrong

Website:

Offers mental health resources, tools, and training specifically designed for emergency responders.

Tactical Resilience & Ethical Policing Project (TREP)

Website:

Focuses on building resilience and ethical decision-making in law enforcement through training and education.

Disaster Distress Helpline

Text: "TalkWithUs" to 66746

Helpline: 1-800-985-5990

A 24/7 national hotline dedicated to providing immediate crisis counseling for people affected by natural and humancaused disasters, including first responders.

Your office sends you a run report for QA. They send you the entire PCR, with full demographics and nothing redacted including social security number. You also get the full hospital follow up. This is sent to your private non-work email account.

HIPAA violation or nah?

(full disclosure, I think this is clearly a violation, but my co-worker disagrees with me)

Somebody asked me to post this after i shared it on the partner horror story thread.

This is my story about my ambulance partner who was a homeless woman I literally picked up under a bridge on my way do to a hurricane in Florida.

So no shit there I was. About 6 years ago.

I had got my basic about a year prior. I moved to Baltimore Maryland, went to go get my reciprocity. They had this deal where i needed to take an additional weekend course, or whatever. The trouble is, they only offered this course like once per quarter. i missed it by like a month so i had to wait another 2 months to get my state license. - outta work for 2 months on a Basics salary dont work ya know.- So i found this ambulance company, that was going down to Florida for hurricane relief, subcontracted for AMR. Signed on w them, did my FEMA shit, and was ready to leave. Got there the morning we were heading out, and my boss -who i swear to god sounds like Daffy Duck- tells me my partner ”heather” isnt here. ive gotta pick her up on my way out of the city. -no worries got the address and away we go.-

The address is a Dunken Donuts like adjacent to directly under the 83 highway bridge in mt vernon. “Heather” jumps in the passenger side, introduces herself. Shes a white chick, late 20s, looks like mike wizowski from monsters inc. skinny little arms n legs big round body. Shes wearing basketball shorts, a wife beater, and a dew rag. Now remember we’re going to a hurricane. She has with her, a garbage bag full of pokemon stuffed animals. Thats it.

We get moving, and before we even get on the highway, shes asks while im driving. “want any pills?” -uhhhhh no um im good.- silence for like 10 minutes. “well theyre prescription soo..” she starts telling me about how she slept slept under the bridge last night, shes pissed cause they locked her outta the shelter, and someone kicked her in the face. Which broke her glasses, so she really really cant see. -cool sounds like im driving.- We get on the highway, following Daffy, and anytime i get over 70mph she is SCREAMING in terror. Idk if she just hasnt been in a car for a while, cant see, or what. 69 mph? good to go. 70? TERROR. Daffy duck is calling me nonstop, wondering why im so slow. all i can say with her sitting next to me is “we’re working on it.” We stop for gas in VA, and heather is PISSED. thinking im trying to get her fired. Why? Couldnt tell ya. i go talk to Daffy to explain the whole thing, and she comes in hot yelling at Daffy. Shes thinking Daffys mad at me. Heather to the rescue! Daffy gets things chilled out somehow, and we’re off to the hurricane again. Heather spouts off just the most bizzar, racist shit ive ever heard to this day. (Ive now been in EMS 7 years medic for 3). Mostly about hating black people. Then she turns n goes “so i dont get it. Are you like my boyfriend now?” -…. No… we can be friends though…. She agrees and really wants to be friends first. It continues with this lunacy for hours until, we hit traffic in South Carolina. she tells me “ya know. When we get to Florida im going surfing!” I remind her that we’re going to a HURRICANE. so she rolls her window down n starts yelling to other cars in traffic for help. Whole torso out of the passenger side window, HELP! Heeeeelllllppp. Until we go by this guy in like a 92 ford ranger/s10 in traffic. Exactly the truck you think of in the south. Gun rack, confederate flag, the whole deal. with exactly the guy you think of driving it. Shirtless Lenard Skynyrd, one arm hangin out the window. Heather sees this guy, and yells NUMBER! He looks. She does the hand phone thing to her head, n goes NUMBER! This man looks at dew rag mike wizowski, and just silently rolls his window up. Im silently validated. shes pouting back in the cab.

Fast forward to about 11 pm. we get to the staging area on the Florida Georgia border. Now we gotta check in get the phone, register the ambulance, yada yada yada. i have Heather just give me her shit. ill do all the paperwork, just to get a break from her. Turns out, she is actually an EMTB out of Texas. I get our stuff, and call my mom and girlfriend like “yo you wont BELIEVE the day Ive had.” Get a call from Daffy duck, saying “yo find heather were going to Miami in 45 minutes”. I find her, tell her whats up and, to follow me. theres free food in the church.(the staging area is a church) we hit the line buffet style. im first, n go sit down. shes got her plate. now standing in the middle of the dining hall, filled with other EMS people in their uniforms, not wife beaters. all eating their dinner, and out of nowhere, she just goes “OH HELL NO!” She Launches her plate of food, across the room, and storms out. I decided that was a future me problem, and im gunna eat my food. Take my 10 minutes of peace.

I go find Daffy, to get an update. at the set of ambulances, i find him and heather arguing about if shes going to continue working. So what ha-happened is: when she left the dining hall, she burst out the front doors. where the two like head AMR guys are standing, having a conversation. she goes “what do i gotta do to get the fuck outta here!” N theyre like oh. Let me show you. Then she goes “my next thing is ive gotta find the motherfucker who did this and shoot em”

PD is notified, heathers kicked off site. PD shows up, and is like “yeah shes not an active threat and, doesnt have access to a weapon. so🤷‍♂️” dont have to go home, but cant stay here kinda deal. So Mr. Duck is trying to figure out how to get her back to Baltimore. air plane? Cops are like “dude shes not fucking flying anywhere😂” “heather will you go to the hospital here in Georgia?” “NOPE” so the only option,is to drive her back and ya boi is the low man on the totem poll.

36 hours after leaving Baltimore for Florida i dropped her off at john Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore. heather decided she was gunna turn her life around, and the neighborhood around the bridge wasnt the spot. The neighborhood around john Hopkins though, thats the move. She insists we pull into the ED ambulance bay even though we’re not in service or going to the ED. i walk her around the front talk to the front desk lady like -“ this is heather, she wants to hangout here for a while.”

I ran the hardest call of my career so far last night. I'm going to try and keep it general for HIPAA, but damn. Just getting ready to crawl into bed, see a dispatch for a familiar address... One of my coworkers. Teenage kid seizing, scene sounds chaotic, unconscious and that's about as much as we got. Lifelight placed on standby based on notes and distance to hospital. Get there, mom is screaming, begging us by name to help her baby. We go in and my coworker is just finishing an IV, O2 on him. Kids unconscious and decorticate. Coworker says kid shot himself with a pellet gun, I don't think wife had heard or processed that peice up until that point, she lets out a scream I will never forget. We get kiddo packaged and transported to the bird, all appropriate treatments, everyone did absolutely everything perfectly. Updated an hour or so later. Confirmed brain death, organ donor.

I had lived with this family for a short period when I had no where else to go and was extremely suicidal myself. They are the most wonderful family I know. I just can't even process it. It's been almost 24 hours now. I've only managed to nod off for a total of like 3 hours and I can't turn my brain off to sleep. They brought brownies to the station and were asking about everyone on scene and checking on us all to make sure we were ok.

I feel like its not real. I don't know. Not my first shitty call, but damn it's by far the worst, and I'm not sure how to process it with it being one of our own.

Some calls are just pure gold. They aren’t always serious by any means. Sometimes they are downright pointless, but a great laugh

I've never really been scared by much. If anything most of my fears in the past, EMS related or not, have been from messing up or not knowing what to do.

But I've notified I have a really weird response to higher-intensity situations... I feel like smiling or laughing. I have to clench my jaw down, it's kind of wild. I'm actually afraid that I might have a passive, slight smile in totally inappropriate situations. Examples:

• psychiatric patient. Massive dude, built like a tank, crying and screaming incoherently. Could have flipped at any point but I got in close to get vitals. Feeling was at it's peak when he stops screaming for about 5 seconds, and turns and his face is about 6 inches from mine. Dead silence.

• ETOH, highly aggressive and combative, fighting police. Said he'd kill my whol family if he got out of the cuffs. He was actually chill afterwards he threatened me initially and I was probably the only person that he trusted getting close to him.

• Psych. This was an invol transport. Had a schizoaffective meltdown in the back of the ambo when we got to the receiving facility, pounding on glass, screaming "let me the fuck out." Just me and him. I should have fled the back of the ambo but I just stayed there. Same feeling, trying to talk him down even though I was pretty sure he was close to fucking my world up until he figured out the locks.

• DOA. Teenager daughter screaming and crying; called in as a cardiac arrest, but he was black and blue. Not an old dude either; daughter found him like that. This was a week ago and what caused me to notice.

And many more.

I shouldn't feel like grinning like an idiot, because all of these are highly inappropriate situations to do so... but there I was. Is it a coping mechanism? Are my brain wires crossed? What's wrong with me?

I recently became an EMT and really enjoy what I do, but from my clinical time I've realized what I really want to be is an RN.

My question is, would it be better to go straight into nursing school, or become a paramedic then do a medic to RN bridge program because it's more manageable?

The company I work for will pay for medic school, and will also reimburse the cost of nursing school, So anything financially speaking won't really apply.

Also I work night shift (7pm to 7am) so I feel sleep may be an issue

If you have any experience with these please share.

EDIT: Thank you guys for all of the advice. I just got off the phone with a local community college and plan on starting nursing school this fall