# Slow Start to EMS for me...



## WuLabsWuTecH (Jul 2, 2008)

So I did my clinicals/practicals for my EMT class about a week and a half ago, and I have to say ti was the most boring day of my life.  12 hours and 2 calls.

1st-Called to a Dr.'s office for a pt with vtach and severe chest pain after doing a stress test.  I was thinking, oooh, this should be a cool run for my first run.  No such luck.  When we got there (response time about 3 minutes from when we got the radio call)  the pt was sitting up in no pain since the dr had treated him with nitro and asprin already.  We also had a full 10 pages of patient hx and meds, and since he was still hooked up to the EKG we had about 60 pages of ekg graphs to take with us to the hospital.  Nurses told us upon seeing our lights out the window he wanted to get up and walk to meet us!  We transported and started an IV of saline with nothing futher of interest in our 5 min ride to the hospital.

2nd-guy with diabetes was in insulin shock (35mg Glucose/dL) and driving down the wrong side of the road.  LEO was on scene.  We gave him 2 of oral glucose, signed some papers and we left!

Oh well, the Trauma Doctors in the ER where I volunteered at thought I was good luck.  In my first three months there, when I was in the ER no pts died!


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## mdkemt (Jul 2, 2008)

LOL....Just wait...it will come where you get the day from hell and just hope you last the whole 12 hours.  I have had 20 calls in a 12 hour period and I have had no calls at all.  Luck of the draw!

MDKEMT


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## mikeylikesit (Jul 2, 2008)

find yourself a black cloud...there not hard to spot....there the one that no-one want to work with.


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## Jeremy89 (Jul 2, 2008)

Quite the opposite for me.  I was the only one out of my whole class (6 or 7 guys) to get a code.  Started with Respiratory arrest then progressed into a full code just before we unhooked him to transport him to CT.  Doc yelled "get the cart, he's going fast".  The tech I was with cracked it open, hooked up the defib, then asked "jeremy do you know CPR?"  I said "yes" in a "holy :censored::censored::censored::censored: this is for real" manner.  Heart rate down to ~34, then the monitor beeped and "asystole" flashed.  They got the stool, the nurse showed me where to put my hands, and the doc said "start compressions".

We worked him for about 40 minutes, tried everything from Atropine, Epi, to some uncommon drugs....even tried pacing him.  The nurse was like "we're getting to the bottom of the list", then the doc called it after they got an ultrasound of his heart.

After we unhooked everything, the Doc patted me on the back and said "good job"  .  That felt really cool, even though I just saw a man die.

So yeah, that was my clinical experience...hope to see a lot more of that but you know how that goes....


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## IrishMedic (Jul 3, 2008)

your time will come my friend....trust me maybe ur been givena chance to break into slowly....your first Emergent call you will remember for life....so let it come and do your best ....dont worry bout having a boring twelve hours there was times coming up to the end of my medic clinicals where i still needed certain skills done on the street and well i ended up having the busiest three shifts of my life where i got Codes-GSW x4 pts in one shift(rare event in the city i trained in)-BAD MVAS-Peds-CVA's...trust me when it comes it pours.....keep at it, you'll have that day that tests your strength and faith of the job, let us know how it goes for you


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## gradygirl (Jul 6, 2008)

Hey, you can work with me!

In my first 5 days at work (FTO time) I saw the following (saw other things, but I just can't remember everything. One night we had 17 calls in 12 hours.):

750 lb. man c/o 10/10 abd pain (intestinal rupture)
a drunk 18yo male who got the crap beat out of him and was left in the gutter
30ish yo man shot 9 times
multi-drug OD (that started as testicular pain)
compound leg fx
a dislocated hip
a bus vs. van mvc
a car vs. jersey barrier with partial ejection (driver ran and left 3 friends/victims half alive in the car)
a 7mo pregnant cocaine junkie

(My FTO had to change his shirt 2-3 different times over the course of those 5 days because he had gotten blood on himself.)

Fortunately, I'm still one of those EMTs that just gets the most random/ridiculous calls, so people like to work with me...only, they seem to always carry full PPE packages with them...

(Did I tell you they call me Bloodbath?)


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## emt19723 (Aug 12, 2008)

well...you definitely dont want the tag of "s***-magnet"    lol


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## Hastings (Aug 12, 2008)

I went through EMT-B without anything on my ride-alongs, and a year of Paramedic with nothing on my ride-alongs. And then came the internship. I chose one of the private services that I enjoyed spending time with on my ride-alongs, and from day one, I was getting textbook perfect, exciting calls. Critical trauma, severe cardiac issues, pediatric seizures, and countless other medical emergencies. It was the best experience of my life.


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## Buzz (Aug 13, 2008)

You will learn to love the slow days. It sucks that you didn't get to see much though being that you are still a student.


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## phunguy (Aug 14, 2008)

first emt job, 4 out of 6 shifts very first call was a drowning.. 3 out of 4 died.. I would come in and tones would go off for a drowning within minutes...


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