These people are called by many names: ambulance squads, paramedics, or even the more cumbersome pre-hospital emergency care practitioners. But whatever the label, we're talking about the members of emergency medical services (EMS) — a system that provides critical medical care before patients reach a hospital.
Unless you have someone in your personal circles who works in EMS, most of what we think we know about them comes from TV shows or movies, and we can only guess how reliable that is. So to give you a more authentic glimpse into their daily lives, we've collected a series of pictures from the Facebook group 'EMS Humor,' each showing the challenges, surprises, and realities these professionals face on the job.
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Similar joke about a policeman catching a burglar on Sauchiehall Street
Yes but at least Eucalyptus is a plant... what is Sauchiehall other than a name?
Load More Replies...Right? My late Mom was a nurse. She was always amazed that pharmacists could read the prescriptions. She literally thought it was miracle more people didn't get sick or die from getting the wrong medication!
Load More Replies...Dude looks like he's about to say that new ideas are fine, but also illegal
perfectly fine writing. I think it says take 2 paracetamols and call them in the morning.
Paramedics often work long shifts in high-stress environments. Due to the physically and psychologically demanding nature of the job, they frequently burn out.
Jason Hernandez, a paramedic from Texas who was awarded the American Ambulance Association's Star of Life award for his dedication to his work, told The Atlantic it takes a lot of thought.
"It's different every time; there's no monotony to it," he said. You can have two patients with almost identical symptoms but completely different problems. But typically, "the most frequent calls are a toss-up between psychiatric or chest pain."
LOL. When I had .my oldest, turned into an emergency c-section. One of the nurses told us thatv1 time a guy was there with his camcorder...welllll he fainted, 1 nurse caught him and another nurse caught the camera.
Both my kids there was no sheet, I saw the whole thing and cut the umbilical cord. Glad I did not have those problems, more like blessed.
This is why, when the docs STAY on that side of the curtain, i LISTENED!
I have never really understood the sheet (let alone the skimpy hand towel!); I know what I have 'down there', I hope the doctor knows what I have "down there", and I would really like him or her to have enough light to see what they are doing "down there", and if they don't I would like to be able to keep an eye on what exactly it is that they are doing, as those bits "down there" are important to me!
Load More Replies...SAME thing happened back in 1981 when I had my first baby....the gal in the next bed in labor kept running back and forth to the hallway with his camera wanting a Nursee to check his wife...when the Nurse finally did check her...Nurse said...yep, she's ready to deliver...we'll take you to delivery room now....the guy dropped that big a*s VHS video camera and fainted across the bed....despite my current contraction I LOL at this dufus and his wife was yelling at him to get up !!!
The is the wife during a C-section. Don’t blame the husband for fainting
I feel that this could be unhelpful when reviving kittens after an emergencv caeasarian section.
Except for toys that are specifically designed to be safe for that, have as much fun with those as you want.
Load More Replies..."For psychiatric calls, you never know what’s going on. It could be anything from somebody calling for a medication refill—where they just want to go to the hospital to get their medication—to a schizophrenic episode," Hernandez said.
"For chest pain, which is another really frequent one, those are harder to diagnose. It could just be acid reflux, or a heart attack, or an asthma attack, or a blood clot in the lungs. There's no sure way of fully diagnosing it in the field. You’ve got to use all of your knowledge to figure out as best you can what they've got going on."
I have my own dumb theory that doctors can't have couples or friends. They see other people like problems that have to be fixed, and ask too many questions. "Leave me alone!"
Abel: doctors spend all day doing that at work and when they're off duty, they just want to relax and forget all about it.
Load More Replies...Begs two questions. Why would you put one on alone? Or in front of a patient? 😉
Load More Replies...The rarely heard long version of the song:"the backbone connected to the next bone, the next bone connected to the next bone, the next bone..."
Sucks that my spine keeps trying to destroy my spinal cord by growing blades on the inside to crush and cut it up. Permanent nerve damage sucks, but at least still fully mobile.
There are plenty of things that paramedics need to worry about at any given time, from violent people to safety on the road. Uncertainty is a frequent partner as well.
"As far as not being sure what's wrong with a patient, we will pick the worst thing that we can possibly treat if we're not 100 percent certain," Hernandez said.
"A heart attack is typically going to be the worst thing that we can treat. The medications that we give for it are relatively benign: aspirin to prevent the blood clot from getting any larger and nitroglycerin, which dilates the blood vessels to allow blood flow back to the heart. If I am in doubt, I run every test that I can. If it still could be a heart attack, I'll go ahead and treat for that because it's not going to hurt them to get aspirin and nitroglycerin—but it could save their life," the paramedic explained.
Reminds me of the Monty Python sketch about a " mosquito bite , or flesh wound ". Can't remember which one, but a tiger had bitten off the guy's leg. British Raj .... stiff upper lip old boy !
Monty Python. @ around 145 if you don't wish to watch it all. And it's not the Holy Grail.. :-) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rObSWkQA7og
The bottom of image has been cropped. The 3 figures under the cross look as if they have been hung.
True. I've seen this picture/similar but not cropped. Pandas here got that.
Load More Replies...You would need a paramedic willing to lose their job to get that kind of stuff.
Load More Replies...0) And we dont have time to have a private life... Too tired to have snu snu.. 😴
Kinda sounds like a mysoginistic pick-up line from 1973, with apologies for speliing.
Unable to eat it, is a problem. Unwilling, is 100% normal.
Load More Replies...I’ve been known to have one for three or four days straight. Not really painful. Just saps all my energy and makes thinking more effort than it’s worth. Been there
Load More Replies...As for the pressure, everybody's got their own way of dealing with it.
For Hernandez, it's talking to friends and family about what he's seen that day. "We lighten the situation with jokes. Primarily, my wife is the one who gets to hear about it," he said.
"When I get home from work, I'll tell her about how my day went. If there was a particularly stressful call, I'll tell her about that one. There have been times when I've had to go see a therapist just to talk about it."
Laughed way too hard at this!!! I was probably the most awkward patient ever! Couldn't find my veins, then the blood pressure cuff kept slipping off and showing me as no heart rate on the machine, then I've allergies and was allergic to one of the d***s that I needed to start taking... I was bright red and said to the nurse "Well, at least I'm in the best place to have an allergic reaction!" She said, "We'd rather you didn't but yes, quite!" 😄
my mate got punched by an EMT - his fault, he was drunk AF and was getting handsy
The EMT is there first, and I appreciate every needle jab and siren.
whre do I call???? I gotta a bunch of jobs for you, dude !!!!!!!!!!!!!!
My hat literally says I CANNOT FIX STUPID. For context, I work in IT.
Hernandez explained that, for the most part, his life has to bend around his job. When he's working, it means 12-hour shifts, and he usually can't do much else unless he sacrifices sleep.
To him, EMS feels like half of his life—more time is spent sitting in an ambulance than with his spouse. “It's almost like having a second marriage," he joked, adding that it's become one of their running jokes.
Randolph and Kevin (the actors who played Johnny and Roy) went through actual paramedic training. They just never took the certification exam to become the real thing. They were often asked to ad lib the medical treatment in some scenes. Also, producer Jack Webb was notorious for making his shows as accurate as possible.
I love that show! And I'm so happy to learn that they did the training.
Load More Replies...House was a weird show. Patients would be rushed to the hospital with unexplained fevers and heart problems. House would come in and be like: “Did you check his aśśhole for toothpicks?” And the staff would be like “Dāmn, you’re right!”
Load More Replies...Grays anatomy is the most ridiculous tv show about healthcare that was ever made, pretty much nothing is accurate. I fairness, i only watched the first season then i could not watch it anymore without getting angry 🤣
I was able to watch about 3 episodes, but the characters were just so unlikable, ESPECIALLY Meredith.
Load More Replies...We can thank Emergency for the EMT/Paramedic services we all enjoy now. At the time, Fire, Police and Ambulance personnel were mostly first aid trained. In some areas, the local funeral home also used its' hearse as an ambulance. People watched NBC and said "Why don't we have that?", and began the change. Thanks to Jack Webb, Kevin Tighe, Randolph Mantooth, Robert Fuller, Bobby Troupe, Julie London and the rest for a great show and societal change!
Paramedics are the ones that earn decently, EMT's earn low, Para's get much more training. But in most places even EMT's get more than min wage, though 42k a year average salary for a EMT isnt a lot, but its 150 hours of training, which some places get you trained in just 3 weeks. Paramedic is between 1200 hours of classroom with 600 hours of clinical/practical's, and they get paid better bc they are a rarer specialty. I know both EMTs and Paramedics, and while official national average for Paras is $60,000/y, the ones I know say that is base and they bring in 30% or more than that (bc of "supervisory duties" which are paid separate), unlike EMT's where it is just base and overtime pay. Though where I live EMT's average $22.50/hour base + overtime and Paramedics get $33.50/hour base +overtime+supervisory adjustment
Awwww it's take your child to work day! She must be so proud of her little zoomer.
ER nurses are way better informed than Drill Instructors when it comes to health and medicine!
Load More Replies...Good luck setting a peripheral IV in my veins. I have horrible veins. They’re small, they’re deep, they hide, and they will move to avoid the needle
i'm going to be honest. im 14. i want to be an ER nurse, is it a bad idea?
How cool are you with being vomited on, peed on, and bled on? Also how comfortable are you with very bad smells?? Because those are important factors. Seriously it's not the easy job but it is a job that you feel makes a difference.
Load More Replies...Before recent surgery, the anaesthetist had difficulty finding a vein, and I told him it was because I'm a " humble " person ..... not vain !
My various IVs!!! 😄 They do have to change the site regularly and my veins decided to not cooperate one time! Three different nurses were trying to find a vein and the last one said - "Are your veins playing hide and seek???" We both c*****d up laughing and I said "For gosh sake, just stab me anywhere!!!" 😄
However, people seem to value paramedics.
In a survey of more than 5,000 Americans, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration found that 99% of respondents had confidence in the abilities of EMS clinicians who would respond if 911 were called.
Over 90% of respondents considered EMS an essential government service.
Actually, the average human body contains more than one skeleton due to pregnant women
Nope, mislabelled. The inverted nutter is the dirtbiker. The girl next to her clearly telling her that's going to end badly, THAT is the paramedic.
I don't know about dirtbikers and paramedics, but don't see anything wrong with a little ballerina hanging upside down on the barre.
Load More Replies...The only bowl that will never be vom bowls, are in pieces.
Load More Replies...Would that that were true! Too many people won't answer the questions, just repeat "send an ambulance quickly", but in fairness they're probably in shock. Doesn't help the patient though, those questions are in that order for a reason ...
Load More Replies...I once completely forgot my own name and where I live during an emergency 999 call! I was starting with an acute panic attack and the lady was fantastic with me, said "it's okay, breathe with me, slow breath in and slow breath out. You can do this"... I was still a bit garbled but managed to get the relevant information across eventually. I remember her saying "Do not argue with me!" and I started laughing! She meant that in the nicest possible way btw! But yeah, never argue with any EMT or 999 dispatcher!
How incompetent of a dispatcher must you be to even engage an attempt to argue?
I don't understand. As usual acronyms make the sentence incomprehensible.
That is so hopelessly miscast. Surferdude Junior over there, would have been adopted before he found his bunk.
I was confused for a moment why the EMS was holding a petrol can
Load More Replies...unfortunately...SPOT ON !!! So far, here in Charlotte area of NC, my medical group just got bought up by "Duke Health" (read Duke University Corp) then Aetna, my insurer for medicare sends me 3 letters....1) Your new Medical Group is no longer an in-network provider for my PCP, 2) nor my Dentist and 3) they no longer cover some of my insulins....... So...here I am.....going for a heart valve check tomorrow and I have 20 days to find a new Doctor????? I have an implant post in my mouth and no Dentist to do the crown, and well....yeah, "It's hit the fan....."
My dad was once an EMT and a volunteer firefighter. I wonder if he ever argued with himself this way? I’ll send him this and see what reaction I get.
Or add cops: "I don't have to listen to you, you're a thievy retrievy"
I think you mispelled "racially selective serial killer" Sam
Load More Replies...Respect is like a smile - if you give it, you get it back. If you don't ...
My Nan always used to say, whenever we saw or heard an ambulance, ''I hope someone's having a baby and not a car accident''.
I always do. I have been known to remind our kids when we hear an ambulance that we should say a word of gratitude for our health and family because the person in the ambulance is surely having one of the worst days of their life.
I've always taught my son that, when we hear an ambulance (or other emergency vehicle), we should pull over and let them pass unimpeded.
Load More Replies...I was taught to do that by my late mom and have taught my kid as well. I believe it's important for the crew and patient
Is nobody going to mention the fact the writing on that ambulance is supposed to be inverted?
So if you're driving you can read it in the rear view mirror? Is that why?
Load More Replies...I think this applies to all professions and just waking up in general.
To be fair, waking up has this effect on a lot of people. Coma's should be a service provided free of charge for people that are just SO done with ... *gestures broadly at everything*
Now how are you going to explain flipping the right to the police and your boss after you get out of the hospital?
You can always tell when the patient is a yank. When they fall off a gurney, the sheer momentum rolls the whole truck over on its side.
Somebody didn't remember to. TURN AROUND, DON'T DROWN! And now that ambulance engine is trashed from water in the i take, etc.
Why did I read that in the tune of "Total Eclipse of the Heart"
Load More Replies...Cue, Laurel and Hardy “Here’s another fine mess you’ve gotten me into”
"And Noah looked up through the pouring rain, the unicorns were hiding, playing silly games"
As I understand it, emergency services drivers are taught "It's better to arrive late than not at all". 🤷
I REALLY want to drive with a paramedic - apparently its an adrenalin rush
Get trained as a paramedic and then you can have as many adrenalin rushes as you want.
Load More Replies...In the what? How does anybody make a meme for the entire world to see and not give it a quick once-over before posting it?
What. You've never seen an anbulance at an energency? Umbelievable 🙄
Load More Replies...My haematologist always compliments me on my veins. It's the little things in life.
My son should be so lucky. They have to use that little vein finder thing on him because he is a hard stick.
Just because they can find them doesn’t mean they can stick them. Mine are small, deep, and will roll away from the needle
Load More Replies...IO: "An intraosseous (IO) device is a life-saving tool used to provide rapid vascular access in emergency situations where intravenous (IV) access cannot be obtained or is likely to delay treatment." https://www.osmosis.org/answers/intraosseous-device
Thanks! I was confused why it didn't say IV, I thought it was a typo at first
Load More Replies...My blood donor person said my veins stand out among the rest - not sure what that means
A three wheelchair pileup is possible. Thinking of the incident reports gives me a migraine.
My local nursing home is opposite the local hospital. About a 30 second drive depending on traffic.
This job can work you to death, or bore you to death. I'd opt for the second one.
In both cases, you're in the perfect vehicle, you can just hop in the back!
Load More Replies...Propofol = intravenous anaesthetic. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Propofol and https://bnf.nice.org.uk/d***s/propofol/
Hang on - where I come from (UK), "sitting in car parks [parking lots]" is when paramedics often get to eat lunch, so, erm, they're not entirely opposed?
Asphalt really isn't designed to accomodate the gluteus maximus of large ape species, though.
There are occasions when an adequate answer at the time is better than the most correct answer made after time to consider it.
Because there are times when there just isn't time
Load More Replies...Oh come on that is NOT a foctor. Nobody that looks like that is capable -- let alone motivated -- to work more than absolutely necessary for the nearest man to fall over himself scrambling to do it for her.
Last time I had to go there I ended up sitting around like a spare shirt until the shift changed and next thing I knew a bunch of interns were gawping at me. I wasn't even there for anything all that interesting! I decided to be a good sport and showed them my injury.
I went in for a toe injury, the triage nurse (gymbro) asked me if I had other injuries, I showed him, he held me for a psych eval, the crisis nurse was so busy I fell asleep. When she finally got to me, I explained I worked at Caterpillar, assembling engines and am not s******l. She worked at Cat before becoming a nurse, and knew what I meant about hurting myself all the time. 🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄🤷🤷🤷
Load More Replies...Makes you wonder if the E and the R don't secretly stand for Emigration Registrar
If you build a better mousetrap, And put it in your house, Before long mother nature Will build a better MOUSE! There is no such thing as idiot-proof. There is always a mightier idiot.
Naaaah the patient is just african american. The EMTs are leaving room for the hearse, you can see where the police cruiser was parked. The FD needs to put out the fire the PD set to burn the evidence.
I never realised Twinkies had a mascot. Who is the grinning woman behind the muppet clearly making a fleshlight joke with a cigar in his mouth?
Lived in a small town. We joked that if the FD, ambulance, police and Search and rescue were all called out the same 6 people would show up.
We used to call that the "Friendly Meter Syndrome" - It's when the fingerstick glucose is off-scale elevated.
You know things are bad then even the medical equipment tries to soften the blow before giving you a reading.
I am a phlebotomist (professional vampire) & the number of people with awesome veins who INSIST on a butterfly needle is absolutely insane. How bout you let me do my job, ok? I don't go to your workplace & tell you how to do something I know nothing about! ( yeah, rough week, I'm venting)
As a patient, I want to thank you and all other phlebotomists for the incredible work you do. I swear between all the incredible phlebotomists I have had and all the nurses and pharmacists who have given me injections, it took care of the phobia of needles I had up into my late teens.
Load More Replies...Once I had blood taken and it was gushing so loudly I thought someone had flushed the toilet in the bathroom next door. But no, twas my ready supply from my excellent veins! Gold medal for me!
How the hell does a patient even KNOW THE TERM?! Screw what they want, if they were capable of taking care of themselves they wouldn't be getting an IV to begin with
Imagine pulling rank when you're supposed to be there to help people. Yes I know someone's dying BUT FIRST!! Rezpek my authoritay!
Umm, nope. CNA's are not a 'higher rank' than paramedics or EMTs. Nursing assistants provide basic nursing care, whereas paramedics are trained in advanced medical care in emergency situations and are an extension of the hospital system, in pre-hospital settings. Glad the "ambulance drivers" did their job and didn't listen to this moron.
The murican healthcare system. This meme is closer to a documentary than a joke.
Fun fact! You know how DOD gave all the police MRAPs? We use ours in Texas for flood rescues.
...and your mentally handicapped patients for electric chair function checking, your veterans to warm sidewalks, your elderly as a workforce, your prisoners for slave labour, and your female citizens as mobile gestation pods. OH! Before I forget! AND your students for target practise!
Load More Replies...This pic makes my hand hurt. It hurts like hell when they put it in the hand or barely above the wrist. When I went for my cholecystectomy the nurse was trying my hand and I made him stop and use my forearm. When anesthesia came to give me a little happy juice to head to the OR I told him it hurt. The IV was infiltrated, we'll do another in there. Before the nurse could put the plastic thing on it blew so I had to get stuck a 4th time and I have good veins.
Took my wife back into the hospital for more tests. They came all concerned and asked me about bruising on her arms. Told them that was from them trying to take blood and put in an IV three days ago. "Oh"
Lol. This my 3rd anniversary of surviving DKA. 3 day ER stay. Both arms bruised. Now I try to stay at 140, IDK. Cant make anyone else happy. Just do my best
Load More Replies...When I was an intern, for emergencies, I specialized in the "Dorsal Thumbic Vein."
She looks like she could do with a cuddle and a hot cup of tea, poor lassie.
Waaaaaaaait a second that top boy is a repost, I saw him with his mother at the start of this thread!
I feel your pain my friend. No matter how you fight, sometimes the game is just over.
This behemoth of a nose should be illegal in non-freight traffic. It's literally a childmower.
Educational, in that decoding the humour teaches you something about what it's like working as a paramedic.
Load More Replies...EMTs, Paramedics, Fire.. All First Responders are unsung heroes. The operators at the end of the phone too... They deal with the worst people, violent people, see and help people at their end of life... How they deal with it? I don't know. I've nothing but admiration and gratefulness for them all.
Educational, in that decoding the humour teaches you something about what it's like working as a paramedic.
Load More Replies...EMTs, Paramedics, Fire.. All First Responders are unsung heroes. The operators at the end of the phone too... They deal with the worst people, violent people, see and help people at their end of life... How they deal with it? I don't know. I've nothing but admiration and gratefulness for them all.
