When I first got into EMS (Emergency Medical Services) I really had no idea what I was walking into. I thought I was going to be saving life’s and rushing into crazy scenes. I thought ambulances will turn its lights and sirens on to a call and to the hospital. Boy was I wrong. EMS is nothing like the movies or what the teachers tell you about. Also, EMS doesn’t just drive the ambulance like some kind of taxi or Uber service. Many people have the wrong idea what EMS is really for especially with some of the calls we get sent to.
The types of calls EMS are sent to.
While we are sent to some of the most serious calls like car accidents, strokes, overdoses, not breathing, choking, difficulty in breathing, and anything with children. Sometimes when EMS shows up its your worse day possible, that is why you called 911 in the first place. You would be surprised at what people call 911 for. When I was young, I was always taught you never call 911 unless it’s an absolute emergency. People today abuse the 911 and emergency system. We get called for toe pain, not feeling well for 4 weeks, leg pain, and what we call transfers (taking a patient from the hospital to a nursing home or residence).
Transfers…
A transfer is exactly what it sounds like. The hospital needs to discharge a patient, but the patient may sometimes just need a ride home and other times there is a medical necessity (or reason) they need an ambulance. Medical necessity can be something that makes the patient unsafe to travel in a vehicle whether they want to harm themselves or someone else, is bed ridden, or need medical intervention during transport (suctioning or monitoring).
Psychiatric emergencies.
Most psychiatric emergencies and transfers go by ambulance, at least for the state of Michigan. There are different protocols (laws and rules) for each county and state. The first few times I had a psychiatric call I really didn’t know what I was dealing with. I thought it was just like every other transfer. I learned quickly that some of these people are not only depressed or overactive anxiety but some of them are suicidal or even homicidal. I had a few patients tell me that if they get the chance, they will kill me. I have many horror stories about what has happened in the back of an ambulance with psychiatric patient and me by myself. The stories can be for another blog!
Basic Life Support (BLS), Advance Life Support (ALS), Critical Care Support (CCT), and Flight (helicopter)
Different calls will be dispatched to different units. Not all level of care is the same. In EMS we try not wasting resources, so we like to keep ALS or CCT for emergencies or 911, unless the transfer needs the higher level of care. If Grandma just needs a ride home BLS units will take these transfers due to the lowest level of care needed.
Conclusion!
EMS was not what I thought it was when I first started in this career. I never knew about the different levels of care and different ambulances. The calls and scenes that we sometimes go to are never what you would expect. All medical shows are so fake and not even close to being what happens in the real world. Most stuff they teach us in class, schools, and training is nothing like what we actually deal with. In this field you are constantly learning and the way we practice medicine. One thing to always remember in this field its practicing medicine not knowledge of medicine. We do not know everything; we might be good at what we do but we do not know everything. I have learned stuff from new people training to get their medical license, so you always must keep an open mind to learning. Just because I have been in this field for some time now doesn’t mean a brand-new person in this field cannot teach me or show me something I didn’t know.
Leave a Reply