It’s #EMSWeek y’all!
Many thanks to all of our EMS professionals out there saving lives in remote locations by ground, sea, and air. Many would never consider braving the elements to provide healthcare in locations without heat or AC, but you continue to do it.
(For those working in healthcare, if you ever get the chance to ride along with a 911 EMS crew, do it!)
We may often take it for granted providing care in very stable conditions inside heated and air conditioned buildings (with roofs), but our #EMS partners are not so lucky.
20 Signs in EMS
Here are 20 signs that you may work in EMS
You may have worked in EMS if you have ever…
- Secured an airway in a moving vehicle facing backwards.
- Placed an IV in an upside down car while it was raining.
- Defibrillated someone next to a swimming pool.
- Seen someone burn alive.
- Seen someone shot in the head.
- Tracked down a missing body part 200 feet from a car crash.
- Provided life saving measures to a child at a school.
- Saved a life by providing Narcan to an overdosed patient.
- Been called “Ambulance Driver” by anyone, ever.
- Have had to request a scene be made safe by law enforcement
- Been held up by the hospital nursing staff for failure to print the appropriate form.
- Been awake for 24hours+ surviving on caffeine, adrenaline, and your partners amazing humor.
- Laughed at amazingly dumb jokes (from lack of sleep) told to you by your partner.
- Missed out on family activities because of work.
- Worked your birthday because you love being paid less than someone flipping burgers.
- Saw the world’s oldest ambulance driven by a neighboring department to learn next week that it was just purchased by your department for a “steal of the century.”
- Worn the same clothes for 2-3 days on end with the stains from previous calls and meals from day 1.
- Stolen snacks from the local hospital in between calls.
- Dreamed of having another job while at work because EMS is for the dogs.
- Enjoyed doing what you do every day because you could never dream of doing anything else.
From one professional ambulance driver to another, thank you for all you do for our communities!
If you are in EMS and find yourself struggling to deal with the crap you see on a daily basis, please know that you don’t “just have to deal with it” by learning to “grow a pair” and get “thick skin”. All it takes is #1Peer to make a difference and there are people and organizations out there (such as REBOOT Recovery, Safe Call Now, and ours) that long to see you perform at the best you can. Know that you are not the first person to struggle and it is ok to #reachout as your #mentalhealthmatters!