Do EMT-P's Save Lives?

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M1Rifle3006

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I've always wanted to become an EMT-P to save lives and such, but I read a couple of EMT's posting on here and other places that it's very rare that an EMT saves a life. Is that true?

I know an EMT's main duty is to get a patient in a stable enough condition to get to the hospital so that the emergency room doctors can save their lives and give, but can EMT-P's actually save someone's life suffering severe (otherwise fatal) trauma? (such as a gunshot wound or car accident)
 
Depends on where you work, what calls you see.


Most people I know can claim a handful of true "saves" over a career.

Usually it is just minimizing acute exacerbations of chronic illness.
 
Usually it is just minimizing acute exacerbations of chronic illness.
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Yeah, I know most calls are things like that, but I mean the calls where there's actually serious physical trauma. Do EMT's actually save lives in this area, or is that in the realm of a trauma surgeon?
 
Now that is a loaded question. Life saving is a team effort, so you can argue that they save lives. Again, it depends on the area, some see more calls than others. But its all a team, ems/fire/police and the hospital all working together.
 
I like to consider it prolonging death more than saving life.

Could those asthmatics, anaphylactics, Vtach w/ pulses etc potentially die prior to making it to the hospital on their own? Sure. Is it likely? Not really.

We do a service that society has come dependent on and expects available to it. Whether or not we actually save their life is in the eye of the beholder.

I would say we a play a part in a team effort.


(also, MANY "serious" injuries, are not fully fixable. The life threatening ones, quite frequently aren't saved by anyone in the end.
 
Let me save you some time and money. IF what you ask IS what you are seeking, being a Paramedic is NOT for you. I can't think of any easier or nicer way to put it.
 
Hmmm, the jaded person fighting to get out wants me to say that EMS does nothing more than delay death, and, or delay the inevitable...

I have to agree with the previous quote of, "usually it is just minimizing acute exacerbations of chronic illness," as that is much of what medicine is -- managing the chronic.

It's most likely that throughout a career an EMS professional will claim enough true saves to count on one hand...
 
Like others have said, it's really prolonging death, and it's a team effort among EMS and the hospital staff.

As NYMedic said, most of the time people would probably be able to make it to the hospital without treatment from EMS. However, I still think we provide a valuable service, in that we provide a means to get people to definitive care, when they would otherwise be unable to do such (i.e. the elderly, trauma victims, etc.). That being said, people abuse that service as their own personal taxi a lot of the time.
 
Emts/paramedics just "entertain" the patients until God decides what to do with them.
 
True "life saving" moments are few and far in between. More often than not, you are a person who is called when the patient does not who else to call. You are a hand holder, decision maker, social service worker, and even meal preparer. These mundane calls will be a majority of what you do regardless if you are a paramedic or EMT.

The way I see it is these are the calls you run to appease the rescue gods to get that "good" call where you do make a difference.

The most satisfying call I have is a young lady saved in a MVC. She was in a very bad way and my partner and I fought hard to keep her alive until she could get to the trauma center. She came back later to visit and say thank you. She had just completed EMT school. Not only was a difference made by saving her life, but now she has the opportunity to influence the lives of others. Those are the moments that make it all worth it.
 
Yes, as do EMTs of all levels. The answer is definitely yes.
Only 1 life makes it worth while.
Just my opinion.
 
If you're interested in saving lives every day, I think there are branches of medicine that are more likely to give you that than being an EMT-P. It seems like being a flight nurse would be more critical care per case. Being a heart surgeon might not always have the rush of the person being basically dead and bringing them back to life, but you'd definitely be affecting the quality of the lives you touched.

I'd say that unless you have a strong desire to just help people, whether it's a real save, or just holding someone's hand, I think EMS is going to be unsatisfying for you.

For me, personally, I find the biggest part of becoming a First Responder is the comfort of knowing that if something happens, I can help. Not as much as an EMT of any level, of course, but at least I could do something useful until the ambulance gets to us. It's not about kudos, or the adrenaline rush of pulling off a good save: just that I can help stabilize things, and get help summoned, and not have people just stand around and say "What should we do?"
 
If your getting into EMS with the idea that you are going to save people, it is going to take an emotional toll on you. Most patients you see that are close to death, it is a question of when, not if and there is little that modern medicine can do about that.
 
Ain't no heroes of the classic or TV show mold here. If there were they'd either be insane or quit after the first month. Or they are deluding themselves, "saving" people not in need of such measures.
 
The most satisfying call I have is a young lady saved in a MVC. She was in a very bad way and my partner and I fought hard to keep her alive until she could get to the trauma center. She came back later to visit and say thank you. She had just completed EMT school. Not only was a difference made by saving her life, but now she has the opportunity to influence the lives of others. Those are the moments that make it all worth it.
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That is what I wanted to hear, that's what I was talking about. I know more than 95% of calls will be tedious and run of the mill, but that is what I was talking about. Thank you.
 
M1Rifle3006 said:
That is what I wanted to hear, that's what I was talking about. I know more than 95% of calls will be tedious and run of the mill, but that is what I was talking about. Thank you.
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It has been my observation that most people who save lives rarely talk about it. When they do often deny credit for it.
 
I guess my question should have been:

"Would a Paramedic have the ability to save the life of someone who'd suffered physical trauma?"
 
It has been my observation that most people who save lives rarely talk about it. When they do often deny credit for it.
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I have no desire to be a paramedic to be able to talk about how many lives I'd saved. I'd actually rather people not know.
 
M1Rifle3006 said:
I have no desire to be a paramedic to be able to talk about how many lives I'd saved. I'd actually rather people not know.
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Anyone who can do chest compressions in CPR or press down real hard on bleeding can save a life.
 
"Triage by Time" means that the most hurtin' patients die anyway, often before you can even get there.

A chart of survival versus severity (or Mycrofft's Hero Ratio):

x8498ehp.gif


R is survival (least on bottom, up to most on top), and S is severity (most on the left, least to the right).

So the majority of heroic saves will be those within a very narrow zone, minus the ones you are unable to treat properly due to many factors (ignorance, lack of capability, absence of proper history or exam, something breaks, transport time takes too long).

Want to save lives? Educate patients and people about safety, and how to perform first aid. Be a lifeguard for rescues.
 
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