In Emergency Medical Services (EMS) we have many superstitions. No matter what area, city, state, country you are in, all EMS superstitions are very much the same if not exactly the same. Many EMS personnel truly believe in these superstitions and will forbid these things to be said or talked about on their ambulance. Some of these superstitions are funny to some but true to the EMS personnel.
The “Q” word!
The “Q” word is quiet and is like a curse word in the EMS world. On shift, EMS we never say it’s quiet even if there are no emergency calls. The superstition is if that word is said while on shift all hell will break loose and the EMS will be busy for the rest of their shift. Saying this word is how you can lose being on a shift (might be a good thing If you do not like your partner).
Do not move and do not speak too loudly!
When an ambulance is posted (sitting at a specific spot) for more than an hour; the rule is you do not talk loudly, move the ambulance, or get out of the ambulance to stretch your legs. The superstition is if you move, get out of the truck or talk too loudly then the dispatch will notice or hear you and give you an emergency call. Sometimes when you really must go to the bathroom, we force ourselves to hold it and deal with the pain in hope of not getting an emergency call.
Eat fast and don’t drive!
When getting the chance to get food we must get something quick and fast. The superstition is to eat it as fast as you can before you pull out of the parking lot. Guarantee if you try to make it to a specific spot or in the back of the parking lot before eating you will get an emergency call and will have to eat your food cold.
Ordering hot food!
If we decide to take a chance and order a hot meal from a restaurant you probably won’t get the food (waste your money) or eat your food cold. The superstition is any time you plan to eat a hot meal from a restaurant guarantee you will get an emergency call before you get your meal or before you can eat it. There have been many times we have thrown money away and never got a chance to get a meal after we pay for it.
Hide, out of sight and out of mind!
In the ambulance if we are posted we must hide. If we are out of sight, we will be out of mind. The superstition is when people see an ambulance, they think they need their vitals checked or they start having chest pains. While EMS never has a problem with helping or checking someone out there is a big dilemma with people walking up to an ambulance. Let’s say I am checking your vitals and doing an ECG (EKG) to look at your heart. While you are in the back of the ambulance just wanting to be checked out, an emergency call goes out that is just down the road. If dispatch doesn’t know we have you in the back of the ambulance they will give us the call. We will then have to tell dispatch that we had a walk up. The next closest ambulance is 10 to 15 minutes away. This means the person that called 911 for an emergency will now have an ambulance being delayed because of the distance. I know you think why we don’t notify dispatch of a walk up right away. The reason most EMS doesn’t because our goal is to check you out quickly and get you back on your way before a call happens. If we notify dispatch of a walk up, we will have to do a full report that includes getting you demographics, medical history, allergies, medications, as well as a refusal signature stating you do not want to be transported by an ambulance and going against medical advice. EMS tries to keep it simple and checks your vitals and heart so you will not have to give all that information and the EMS personnel do not have to make a full report.
We hear sirens or more than two emergency calls go out on the radio.
When we hear sirens (police or fire) the first thing we do is try to figure out where they are going. When more than 2 emergency calls go out on the radio, we know we are next. The superstition is we are next in line when emergencies are happening all around us. It’s the feeling of a sinking ship and you are waiting for the water to bust through the closed door.
There are many more superstitions and crazy things that happen to EMS, we try to have easy slower day and hopefully our day will be good!
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