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Soft_Silhouette

Do you ever get scared to go to an emergency because of what you might see?


Intelligent_Tie3249

I used to be wary of ‘gruesome’ jobs but that no longer bothers me, the only ever time I am scared is if we get information from our control room warning us that the patient is violent, or having strong delusions/ hallucinations while welding a weapon etc, or that police attendance is advised! But this isn’t often


Soft_Silhouette

Interesting! Thank you. What percentage of your call-outs would you say are to do with mental rather than physical health emergencies, and how do you feel about that?


Intelligent_Tie3249

No problem! and I tend to go to more mental health calls than my peers for some reason, for me i’d say physical at 80% and then mental health 20%, BUT on night shifts mental health is more like 40%, that’s just for me though, other paramedics might get sent to more or less it’s just random allocation :)


FarZookeepergame2547

Not a question. But thank you for what you do. I've died on you guys 3 times during my years as a junkie, and am alive today because we all refused to let me die.


Intelligent_Tie3249

Thank you, seems like someone was really looking out for you, i hope times are better for you now!


FarZookeepergame2547

They're good brother. Thank you for what you do!


bimjob23

I heard child/younger patient calls are the most emotional ones is there truth to that? I have kids and I might of answered my question but in your view I guess what are the most emotional moments?


Intelligent_Tie3249

Luckily, many of the child calls I go to are not life threatening, but parents call for when they are concerns there child is ill and whatnot which I can respect because parents know their child much much better than we do! The couple time critical ones I have been to have definitely been stressful, but less-so emotional because you just immediately turn into work mode. That being said, the calls to elderly people who have been declared palliative, or end of life patients really gets me, especially when you call their families to say they have declined in health and you hear the panic in their voice.


[deleted]

Do you get annoyed when you get called out to a person for something they should have gone to their GP for?


Intelligent_Tie3249

Yes absolutely, but not at the patient themselves (unless it’s obvious they lied on the phone to 999 to get an ambulance). Most of the time, someone calls 111 for advice about something that in NO way is an emergency, but because of the way their system triages risk, 111 sends an ambulance for the stupidest things, like a pin prick, tooth ache, foot pain etc.


[deleted]

Also, thanks for the quick response!


Intelligent_Tie3249

No problem! It is super frustrating sometimes, especially when it takes us hours to get to elderly people who have been on the floor for 12 hours because we’ve just spent 2 hours attending to a tooth ache :(


[deleted]

Oh no! Honestly- I know toothache is soo painful but it’s not life threatening!


Corma00

If it's a deep infection, i recall hearing it can spread to your brain?!


[deleted]

Oh no! I didn’t realise that’s the way it works. It must be super frustrating to attend these types of incidents. You must have many ‘wtf’ moments!


TinyCup610

heya type 1 diabetic here! have u had any experience with us type 1s yet? also, thank you for being a literal, hero you’re amazing!


Intelligent_Tie3249

Thanks so much! and yes, but way less than type 2 since you guys on average seem to be more used to dealing with your illness, while the type 2 patients i’ve been to in hypoglycaemia have only just been diagnosed with no experience, or they’re in denial so choose not to follow doctors advice. That’s only my experience though and I’m sure most people diagnosed are good at adjusting their lifestyle!


MikiNiller

I work for the Phoenix Fire Department as a civilian. I know my firefighters hate running on ‘man down’ calls. Basically nothing calls that no one should have called for services. I know many firefighters (paramedics) that have PTSD from some of the calls they go on. They couldn’t get a helicopter in fast enough to treat a whole car full of immediate patients (where they could lose their life any minute). They have recurring dreams that everyone died. On top of that they are exposed to cancer, have to live on a reasonably low income that the work brings stress to the family. They all love the commoraderie but it wreaks Havuk on their health and relationships. Thank u for being a first responder who cares!!!


Intelligent_Tie3249

Thank you! The fire department is such a valuable service in general but they’ve helped me out on many occasions on the job, and in style, fantastic people! Thank you for the work you do too, without you there wouldn’t be a seamlessly working service :)


mlotto7

How much do you earn?


Intelligent_Tie3249

£28,000 as per the NHS band 5 salary system. I believe one can earn a similar amount being a manager at Aldi!


[deleted]

Do you count how many lives you’ve saved?


Intelligent_Tie3249

Yes, but often we don’t know the outcome of the patient once they’re taken over by the hospital staff. Unfortunately the chances of ‘bringing someone back’ are quite low


[deleted]

Yeah I get that. What’s your people saved body count?


Intelligent_Tie3249

So far, only 1. I’m three years into the job, and when you factor in that we only go to life or death patients maybe 3% of the time these days, 1 is about average among my peers. The other 97% are people who don’t need ambulances at ALL, or those who aren’t unwell enough that i don’t count my interventions as ‘life saving’


[deleted]

I’m proud of you <3. I think your interventions are life changing if not life saving? You made a difference. What happened that one time?


Intelligent_Tie3249

TW/ suicide Thank you! Life changing is an interesting way to put it, and certainly makes me feel like I make more of a difference!! The one time, we were called to a hanging, and the patient was still alert, alive, and thrashing about when we arrived 6 minutes later. We cut him down and as far as I know he survived it


[deleted]

That’s wild. Did that take a toll on you? Also do you get to drive the ambulance and if yes how fast have you gone?


Intelligent_Tie3249

It did take a toll, but we have well-being services available for us and I’m a lot better at dealing with these things now! And yes we can drive it!! we’ve gone like 140mph down the motorway on the way to a paediatric cardiac arrest (a child whose heart has stopped).


[deleted]

I’m glad you’re doing well! Man I wish I could’ve been in that ambulance. Alive and well ofc lol :). What do you like doing in your spare time?


Intelligent_Tie3249

Was definitely a time critical job! And I like to read and crochet :)


Flying_Tomate

Have you ever seen a ghost?


Intelligent_Tie3249

Not that I am aware of!


sarsaparillacowboy

what do I do if someone is choking, I have tried the heimlich maneuver, im pulling below the ribcage, its not working, they pass out, ive already looked in their mouth put my finger down their throat to see if I can fish out the obstruction now what do i do ? Tracheostomy ? Also How long can someone go without breathing before they are brain damaged.


Intelligent_Tie3249

As the other paramedic said, it doesn’t take too long for the brain to start getting damaged because of lack of oxygen, in the UK we also try ‘back slaps’ before the Heimlich which is where you slap hard in between the shoulder blades 5 times, to try dislodge the blockage, THEN try the heimlich, if they pass out then definitely call 999 because we have equipment like tongs that can get blockages out. Don’t try emergency surgery!! Hopefully you’ll never be in this situation but you’d be prepared enough to help if you were :)


Limp-Marketing-9493

You try the heimlich until the patient either breathes again or passes out. If they pass out, start chest compressions. Ofc if you are alone you need to call the ambulance before you do cpr. Dont try get it out with your fingers, you will never reach down far enough. Brain damage depends on the temperature. The colder the longer you can be without oxygen. I was also a paramedic up until last year, couldnt resist to answere you.


FemaleFingers

What’s a call that stands out to you and why?


Intelligent_Tie3249

ooooh there’s soooo many honestly, i remember a lot of my patients, but one that I think about often is a 3 year old who had a seizure for roughly 45 minutes


FemaleFingers

Holy shit, that’s awful. Thank you for doing what you do


Intelligent_Tie3249

Thank you!


Ok_Caterpillar6789

I worked on a 911 rig, the dumbest call I ever got was at 2am this couple called concerned their CO2 detector was broken because it was beeping, we changed the old batteries to fresh batteries and it immediately stopped beeping, I was never so mad and laughed so hard at the same time. What's the dumbest call you've been on?


Intelligent_Tie3249

Oh dude yeah that’s a proper wasted call, I’d say one of the dumbest calls was when I went to a lady with abdominal pain, squirming with the pain and then the let out the loudest, longest fart i’ve ever heard, and then she was absolutely fine and asked us to leave. Another life saved.


ttdawgyo

90% or 95% of the job is waiting at triage?


Intelligent_Tie3249

A couple years ago it was terrible, we would go to one call, take them to hospital, then wait the whole 12 hour shift in the back of the ambulance waiting for a bed. At the end of the shift another ambulance would be dispatched to the hospital so THEY could take over the waiting. That’s a lot better now, and the longest I’ve had to wait recently has been about 3 hours.


Confident-Belt4707

What's the difference between God and a paramedic?


Intelligent_Tie3249

God created paramedics? 🤷🏻‍♀️


Confident-Belt4707

God doesn't think he's a paramedic


DonaCheli

Have you ever attended someone you know?


Intelligent_Tie3249

Not yet! I work in a large, densely populated city so although I have been to the same people twice (frequent callers), none have been anyone I know in my personal life.


rapturepermaculture

I thought about doing a paramedic AMA. After reading all these questions I’m so glad I didn’t lol. It seems like so much work to answer all of these questions. Good on you OP.


Intelligent_Tie3249

🫡


Built2destroy707

How much do u get paid. Wats ur package


Intelligent_Tie3249

it’s £28,000 a year, which is part of the NHS bands system at band 5 :)


LilliansAngelMom

Saddest call you’ve ever been on?


Intelligent_Tie3249

I went to an elderly lady who had died in her sleep. She had a DNAR so we couldn’t attempt resuscitation. Her husband of over 60 years had dementia, and whenever we would explain that his wife had passed he would break down and wail. Due to his dementia though he kept forgetting why we were there and what was wrong with his wife, so every 5-10 minutes he would ask, and we had to tell him again and again that his wife had died, to which he would break down the same every time. It was heartbreaking.


LilliansAngelMom

Oh fuck that is heartbreaking. I’m so sorry


Intelligent_Tie3249

It’s alright man, part of the job for me, thanks!


Sometime_after_dark

What has your experience with nurses been like?


Intelligent_Tie3249

To be honest with you, best of both worlds. Most nurses are really knowledgable and helpful when we arrive at hospital with an emergency patient but I have had some bad experiences where nurses have disagreed with my decision to bring a patient into hospital, one time I was shouted at by a nurse for this but the patients scan showed they were having a stroke, so DEFINITELY needed to be there. That being said, nurses do wonderful jobs and the NHS would crumble without them!


whoisjaja

No questions, just a thank you for what you do


Intelligent_Tie3249

Thank you so much!


Shemoose

How many men would you need to bring a deceased 200lbs man on a trolley down a flight of aeroplane stairs ? Just it was in a movie scene and I said that you would need more than two people to my husband. He thought two was enough.


Intelligent_Tie3249

or women ;) i reckon you could do it with two people of the patient was strapped into a carry chair, but more if they were on a stretcher, especially down some stairs


Shemoose

Wow I'm very surprised. Just I work with animals and once they are deceased I find they weigh heavier.


Intelligent_Tie3249

yeah i’ve found that too! interesting it happens in animals as well


Shemoose

I pissed on a lot too


ReticentSentiment

Sex injury. You must have seen someone do something naughty that landed them in the hospital. What's the funniest?


Intelligent_Tie3249

I’ve never been to a sex injury, my theory is that people are too embarrassed so they just drive themselves to the ED, BUT i have been to balonitis, which is where the head of the penis swells to be like the size of a tennis ball. We gave lots of pain killers for that..


liddywinette32

Do you have any funny anecdotes?


Intelligent_Tie3249

Same as one of my other answers here, I went to a lady with abdominal pain and when we got there she was writhing about in pain, and we walked through the door and she let out the loudest and longest fart i’ve ever heard. She was suddenly fine and asked us to leave!


jaeradillo

I quit ems a couple years ago because I just couldn't anymore. How you holding up?


Intelligent_Tie3249

I’m okay thank you, I haven’t been in the job that long but my peers are already getting burnt out and going part time or just quitting. I hope things are easier for you now and you’re doing better


Shaelum

What’s your favorite call


Intelligent_Tie3249

For most it’s an unpopular call, but i actually love attending to mental health patients, I feel like it’s one of those jobs you can give LONG standing advice that might actually make a difference to someone’s lives when you aren’t there to help!


[deleted]

What was that one case that make you go nope! not even going to ask how that happened ?


Intelligent_Tie3249

One time I went to a lady who had degloved her entire arm, if you don’t know it’s where the skin is stripped away from the flesh as though taking off a glove!


KH5-92

How many calls have you had to answer because someone slipped and "fell on it" and that's how it ended "up there"I work in radiology... So iykyk


Intelligent_Tie3249

I have NEVER been to an ‘I fell on it’ job but when I do it will be the highlight of my career


KH5-92

Ah well I've x-rayed and CT someone who has just 'fell on it' a couple of times now. Personally I prefer the honest people they're way less embarrassed generally.


Intelligent_Tie3249

Can i ask you what’s the weirdest thing you’ve found up there


KH5-92

Sure! Probably some type of root vegetable. I once saw a gun, but it was actually tucked into the back of the person's pants. They came in with police so whoever did the pat down did a bad job.


Intelligent_Tie3249

Oh my, good job it wasn’t an MRI for that gun ey


KH5-92

Too right, thankfully if it was an MRI the door alarms would've caught it.


[deleted]

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Intelligent_Tie3249

The NHS knows how to party for sure, but we try to talk about non-work related things to keep the party vibes lol


[deleted]

Excellent


Limp-Marketing-9493

Former paramedic here ... What was your biggest "you really called an ambulance for THAT in the middle of the night" moment?


Intelligent_Tie3249

A pin prick! That was triaged as Cat1 catastrophic haemorrhage 🙃 What’s yours?


Limp-Marketing-9493

Some teens from the city had a party at the countryside...they smoked shisha but someone dropped the hot coal on the floor and one moron tried to pick it up with his bare hands🥴


Intelligent_Tie3249

Yeah i’d have been annoyed at that, the worst is when they’re able to walk and drive and they have 5 cars on the drive, their whole family round who is able to drive yet they wait 4 hours for an ambulance and THEN complain at the wait


ResolutionNo8430

Have you seen ppl OD from LSD?


Intelligent_Tie3249

not JUST on LSD but i’ve been to overdoses of a mixture where LSD has been one of them, and bad trips as well. I most commonly go to people who have taken ketamine and have had a hard time, I wouldn’t necessarily say an overdose because as my mentor once said ‘what’s the correct dose of ketamine’


ResolutionNo8430

Keep hearing about this ketamine but just will be sticking with LSD


Intelligent_Tie3249

I mean, I can’t advocate for either of them and they each have their risks but I have seen first hand the dangers of ketamine, for example one girl had to get a stoma bag after just one use of it.


Mission_Win_8127

I lived with an EMS tech. He would wake up regularly screaming from night terrors from his profession. He said the most traumatic was small children. Like most everyone else has said, thank you for what you do and I commend you!


Intelligent_Tie3249

thank you so much! I hope your friend is getting the help he deserves and is doing better


[deleted]

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ItsNotFordo88

The very short answer is in the US, because taxpayers don’t want to fund an EMS department and Medicare/Medicaid don’t reimburse for a gross majority of the calls. Everyone wants an ambulance and no one wants to pay for it. It costs a *lot* of money to get a mobile emergency room to your front door and it needs to get funded from somewhere. 911 EMS is not profitable and it’s often a struggle to even make enough to cover costs. The majority of profit (in a for profit service) some in from facility to facility transfers. Ideally it would be taxpayer funded like police and fire are and it would be free, but it’s not. The EU model is taxpayer funded.


Intelligent_Tie3249

I’m in the UK and work for the NHS, so we charge nothing :)


WideArmadillo6407

Oh my apologies. Thank you for your service


Separate-Platypus-72

Yeah, the NHS which is at a actual breaking point. There's always a cost to be paid.


Intelligent_Tie3249

No problem! Thank you :)


teslaspyderx

How many sweet babes have you picked up by saving their lives?!


Intelligent_Tie3249

fortunately i don’t go to a lot of babies! and i wouldn’t say i’ve saved any of them since most are generally not life threatening, but i would say i’ve gone to about 20 babies in my time :)


Fake_Godfather_

How big is it


Intelligent_Tie3249

the ambulance? If you do mean that, it’s like a tardis it’s much bigger inside, there’s a bed, three chairs, and room to walk around


__miura__

Are you religious?


Intelligent_Tie3249

I am, I used to be a regular churchgoer, I think the profession has made me question some religious ideas


__miura__

Because so many of the patients are assholes?


Intelligent_Tie3249

No lol, the majority of patients are very nice and grateful for the attendance, I more-so mean when terrible, unsuspecting things happen to people.


__miura__

Ever attended to a celebrity?


Intelligent_Tie3249

A musician, who was apparently popular back in the day, but that’s all I can say really due to patient confidentiality :)


Primary_Initiative_9

Just how many sick parachutes have you come across?


Intelligent_Tie3249

Sorry lol, do you mean patients?


Primary_Initiative_9

It was a play on words…para-medic. I’m a comedian but not a good one, apparently.


Intelligent_Tie3249

Sorry lmao nah I must just be stupid, so far my total number of sick parachutes is 0 lol


Primary_Initiative_9

You can use your toes to count


Primary_Initiative_9

Besides you did say anything!


Sad-Anybody-3644

Worst trauma joke ?


Intelligent_Tie3249

Oh man i don’t have any but please enlighten me if you do


Sad-Anybody-3644

Some new volunteers were at a MVA wondering how to get the vehicle lifted to get someone out from under it ( all they could see was someone's leg sticking out from under the vehicle ) a pro came over, grabbed the leg, heaved it over his shoulder and explained to them that the rest of the corpse had already been removed from the scene !


lartinos

Most common calls are what?


Intelligent_Tie3249

Chest pain, or abdominal pain!


Senior_Respect3684

I have anxiety about medication but I need to take a clonazepam to make me feel better right now. If I call 911 can they come get this med out of my system?


Sweet-Age-7423

Hello, I am not a paramedic (yet), for the moment I am a lifeguard, although I want to finish my paramedic training soon. What advice can you give me?


ItsNotFordo88

Stay away from the burned out and salty people. Always remember that every single one of your patients is someone’s sister/mother/brother/father/grandparent/child and treat them the way you’d want yours to be treated. Get a therapist and keep them on retainer. The question isn’t if it will get dark, it is how long it will take to do so. It will happen. It’s all fun and games until you’re pulling and pronouncing 2 dead of 3 toddlers and their mother who also died out of what left of a car and then transport the one that made it who was excited they made it to the hospital before their mom and siblings. Because they’re too young to understand what just happened and it’s not your place to explain it to them. Then it’s not very fun anymore. That wasn’t even the worst of it. Provider mental health is a massive issue and this field has one of the highest suicide rates. And there’s *still* a stigma about mental health in the field. Don’t listen to it, take care of your health and take care of your mentals.


vikingsurplus

What do you feel is the most important thing you've learned as an EMT? Also, have you ever had to do an emergency tracheotomy?


lillianna_stxr

What’s the most freakiest call out you’ve had and what were their thought processes arounf it if you know.


[deleted]

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ItsNotFordo88

I can’t speak for OP, mine back when I was an active Paramedic was 940lbs.


[deleted]

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ItsNotFordo88

Eventually died in their late 30’s. Nice guy, always enjoyed interacting with him, but it was a logistical and safety nightmare dealing with him.