First call as EMT-B

[medic_chick87]

EMT Clinicals: Had a sweet little old lady. I dont really remeber what the she was complaining of, all I remeber was that fire had me take the BP. Took the BP, heard nothing, tried again, heard nothing. I dont know how many times I tried and I couldnt hear a bloody thing (poor little lady's arm was killing her). Finally fire took it for me and got it on the first try. Got back on the engine and this was where I first learned that if the bell of your stethoscope is turned the wrong way you wont be able to hear anything. Talk about embarrassing!

Medic Intern: Nice elderly gentleman c/o abdominal pain. Was nervous as all get out, assessment was all over the place but managed to get through it. Then came the IV. Got it no worries! Unfortunately I didnt tamponade as well as I should have and bleed all over his nice white carpet. He was really nice about it though and said that he would have house keeping take care of it.

 

[emtwacker710]

hmm...my first call...was in June of '04...I was on with a new crew, I had never pulled duty before and it was me, another basic and a level 3 tek, we did all of our regular station stuff, dinner, tv, cleaning, then hung out for a while, we went to bed around 0000 and at about 0430 we are dispatched for an intentional overdose of an unknown pill, we staged in the area until a patrol arrived and cleared the scene, it was a 78y/o male who told us simply "I want to die"..he took an entire bottle of sleeping pills (i used to remember the name but i've forgotten it by now) thinking that he would just drift off and die, but nope the wife decided to go to the bathroom at the same time and found him in the living room taking the whole bottle of pills...our tek followed all his protocols, IV, monitor, vitals all that...it was a pretty basic call but it was my first.

 

[Shanz]

My first call on a squad during intern was nothing big but something that blew my mind....we got called to a 58y/o male complaining of sob. Upon arrival we are met out front by his daughter to explains he has COPD and was just realized from the hospital earlier that day. So we go around back to find the man in tri-pod sitting on the picnic table hooked up to o2 with a ciggerette in his hand. Really?? smokin on O2 already not being able to breath. The medic i was with asked him to put out his ciggerette as he did this he looked up at me and said "oh no shes not touching me I have shoes older than she is" through the whole call the medics tried to assure him i was trained and i knew what i was doing but he refused to let me touch him, he yelled at me the WHOLE call. Had me about in tears at one point when we arrived to the hopsital. yeah that was great.

My frist pt in the ER during intern during school was a bit different. We had fire show up without any warning, no call over radio or nothing so we were not ready for and I had been there all of ten minutes anyway and I had no idea where anything was being I was still talking to the charge nurse getting aquainted. They showed up with a 38y/o female who looked pissed as hell with ash on her face. EMS pulled the charge nurse outta the room and she grabbed me to go with her. We found out that she was actually a physc patient who had taken about 15 or so xanax put all her bills(ie mortage, lights, water, gas, ect...) into a pile in the middle of her living room, poured gas on them, and light them on fire. She stated that when the smoke dectors went off she got up unplugged it, took more xanax and went back to sleep on her couch. A few HOURS later the husband showed up, asked if he could see his wife, we told him not at this minute, she was in with physc getting a mental eval. and he goes "ok" and walks away, we didnt see him again. She got transfered to the local physc hopsital after HOURS of fighting with them to get her a bed. I really dont think I will ever forget that, I dunno why but its was just like "damn"

 

[Explorer127]

EMT Clinicals: Had a sweet little old lady. I dont really remeber what the she was complaining of, all I remeber was that fire had me take the BP. Took the BP, heard nothing, tried again, heard nothing. I dont know how many times I tried and I couldnt hear a bloody thing (poor little lady's arm was killing her). Finally fire took it for me and got it on the first try. Got back on the engine and this was where I first learned that if the bell of your stethoscope is turned the wrong way you wont be able to hear anything. Talk about embarrassing!

haha, same thing happened with me, my first day being an EMT-Explorer..
i was at a town event, and a little old lady wanted her BP taken, and i decided to try and do it....

i heard absolutely nothing.

i later found out that it was the same reason as your's lol.

 

[Explorer127]

EMT Clinicals: Had a sweet little old lady. I dont really remeber what the she was complaining of, all I remeber was that fire had me take the BP. Took the BP, heard nothing, tried again, heard nothing. I dont know how many times I tried and I couldnt hear a bloody thing (poor little lady's arm was killing her). Finally fire took it for me and got it on the first try. Got back on the engine and this was where I first learned that if the bell of your stethoscope is turned the wrong way you wont be able to hear anything. Talk about embarrassing!
.

haha, same thing happened with me, my first day being an EMT-Explorer..
i was at a town event, and a little old lady wanted her BP taken, and i decided to try and do it....

i heard absolutely nothing.

i later found out that it was the same reason as your's lol

 

[Jon]

I can't remember my first ambulance call.

I remeber my first bad trauma (ended up a fatal), I remember my first call after being signed off as a "crew chief" at both my volunteer squads, and I remember my first call at my current job (because it was also the first time I ever used a Hare Traction splint).

 

[Airwaygoddess]

First call!

Dispatched out to an 82 y/o woman C/O SOB, three minutes out dispatch radios per fire traffic patient was now a full code blue........ YIKES!!!

 

[MedicDoug]

It was a dark and stormy night (really) in Central New York back in the 70s. Roads iced over, sleet, snow, hail, and cats and dogs I'm sure. I'm getting near the end of my "riding-third" training when the Ops Supe calls the Crew Chief and me into his office at about 1700. Seems one of the night shift EMTs couldn't make it in because of the weather...
"College Boy doin' alright?" says the Supe.
"Yup, I think we can turn him loose after today" says the Chief.
"Well, College", says the Supe. "What are you doing tonight, because you're the only EMT I've got who's not snowed in somewhere else..."
<<gulp>> "I guess I'm driving an ambulance, sir." (I was much more respectful back then... and besides, the Supe was a legend)
First call out of the barn was a chain reaction MVA on the interstate, about 20 cars... My imagination is working about a thousand miles per hour, conjuring up multi-system trauma patients strewn across the pavement, blood and bone and brain matter everywhere... started applying the brakes at the first sight of the wreck, and didn't actually stop until we were past the furthest car. Twenty or so car lengths at 1-2 mph seems like forever... my partner and I literally crawl from car to car because we can't stand up on the ice. How we got no transports from this mangled mass of metal I'll never know.... how I was actually able to break the seat suction and get out of the rig after that massive pucker I'll also never know!!!

 

[ErinCooley]

My very first call as a student rider was a little old lady who was probably having a stroke.

My very second call was a made who cut his brachial artery after getting his shirt caught in a tractor augar. The shirt made a natural tourniquet which kept him alive. We did the whole life flight, IO... everything. I was scared :censored::censored::censored::censored:less and probably not much help!!

 

[BossyCow]

My first call solo as an EMT was a little old lady with what initially presented as a little TIA. She had a headache, diminished LOC but as we arrived on scene, was coming out of it. She was in her 90's and blind in one eye since childhood so no pupil to compare to the other one. No ALS available, just me and a driver. Vitals improving, LOC increasing, I'm thinking this is going to be OK. About 10 miles down the road, her eyeballs do that fixed deviated gaze and she starts seizing. Driver gets on the radio, calls in to dispatch to see if ALS is available yet... nope... We upgrade to code and beat feet for the hospital. Gal seized 3 times more on the way in. As I left the hospital, doc is having the 'it's time to make some decisions' talk with the lady's niece. Boy, was I surprised when I got another call for her a year and a half later!

 

[emtsteve87]

My first one was a 21 y/o pregnant female c/o abdominal pains. The tones went out at 10PM on a Friday night. On the rig was myself, another EMT-B and a driver, we arrive on scene and she was just sitting on the bed holding her stomach. She explains that shes about 6 months in, that it will be her first child, and that the pains have been present for about a week.

We get her in the rig get ALS on the way, they tell us to get ready to deliver from the sounds of it, we get the OB kit out and everything ready. On the way to the hospital her pain increases from about an 8 to a 10 and she tells us that she feels that shes going to pass something. I'm lily white by this point thinking that I'm going to have to deliver a miscarriage on my first run. The other two EMTs are laughing at my expense.

We finally get to the hospital with so far nothing passed. She passed gas and her pain went away totally. She forgot to mention when we asked her when she last ate that it was Mexican and doesn't sit well with her.:excl:

 

[mdkemt]

My first call when doing my practicum was a midle aged man who was hit by a front end loader on the railway tracks. They were doing some kind of maintenance. We got onto scene and the first question I asked was if someone called the CN (railway company) to make sure no trains were coming. Once this was secured we went and assessed the patient. I took c-spine as I was on my very first call and as I was instructed to do. Pt was Cx+A*4 VS stable. Only major trauma noted was deformity to the left ankle. We spinaled the patient and splinted the ankle. There were some cuts and bruises as well but nothing major. This patient was happy to get paid time off!:lol:

When I got back to my hometown, I was doing my practical in a different town, I went for coffee with a friend. She was telling me how one of her dads workers got injured in the town I was working. Told me how he got hit by a loader. Then as she was getting to the end of her story she said her name was Megan he said. Then looked at me and said "It was you" I just smiled and I guess we will never know. Apparently this man was so impressed with the care I provided that he called both my college and then service I was working for to make sure they knew.

This is why I love EMS because some people out there truely appreciate what we do out there.

 

[jazminestar]

my first call doing a ride along with the fd, we were called to burger king for a older gentleman who had passed out and hit his head in the bathroom.....apparently he had a stroke, him and his buddies went there every morning for coffee for the past like 20 years.......and when we got him on the rig, poor guy, he was former military so i think he was kind of embarassed......but was super nice

the last call of that night was the best, call to a residence of women who had fallen and hit her head.......she apparently had been doing some prescription drugs with her boyfriend and drinking, she had a seizure and did a good one to her forehead......typical signs of head injury, scared, combative, wasn't sure what was going on......we ended up having to restrain her......i felt bad for her cuz all these big firefighter guys and medics are trying to help.....it felt good though since i was the only chick, she connected with me :blush: and i was able to help calm her down and get the info we needed and get her to the hospital without her flipping out too much.....can't wait to start working and really get out there

 

[RailFan77]

My first call was actually quite boring. An 84 y.o. woman with chest pains....a basic transport to the hospital. I remember every detail of it like it was yesterday though...and it was actually 10 years ago.

 

[Kate-Lynn]

The first call I went on was while riding out with my sister and her partner. I couldn't do anything but observe, obviously, but it was a good one. It was a MVA. 3 cars involved. The only pt. transported was asummed to have caused the accident (she was intoxicated). While we were transporting she kept saying just let me die and other things to that effect. Probably just the alcohol/drugs talking. Nothing TOO exciting but it was a good first in my opinion. Not too messy not too boring.

 

[Station2]

My first call was a loader (a bulldozer with tires instead of a track) rollover. This guy had been grading a dirt road in a remote mountain location when his loader blew a tire, left the road, and rolled off the side embankment. Fortunately for him, the loader had an enclosed cab which prevented him from getting crushed, however, it did rattle him around like a pinball because of course he wasn't wearing a seatbelt. The patient had managed to get himself out of the cab and walk up the road 30 yards or so before collapsing. Fortunately for him, someone happened to pass by this remote location soon thereafter and spot him on the side of the road. The reporting party had to drive a ways to get cell service, and then gave terrible directions. We expected to find the patient a good 6-9 miles past where we found him. Had we not had a gut feeling to take a sort of scenic shortcut we never would have found him so quickly. It was hard to tell the extent of his injuries, seeing as how he was swollen everywhere. We packaged the patient, prepared him for the Air Idaho helicopter, set up a landing zone, got him loaded, and watched him fly away. It was a great first call.

 

[snaketooth10k]

Not really a call

I went to National Youth Leadership Training over the last summer. This was before I had any medical training other than some first aid. We were having a competition in the dining hall, when one of the counselors runs out of the kitchen screaming and getting blood EVERYWHERE. I snapped out of my seat and ran up to help the staffers, who seemed incompetent as far as treatment goes. I sat down near his head and talked to him, while the staffers piled gauze onto his hand. He said that he cut his hand with a knife and then hit a blazing pot with his hand. A couple minutes later, the Camp EMT showed up and took over. I moved the counselor into the back of an SUV and they took him to the hospital... or so I thought.

Two minutes later that kid came walking back into the room laughing. I was commended for being the only non-staffer to assist the counselor. I still think it was a totally :censored::censored::censored::censored: move though. :glare:

 

[mikeylikesit]

my first call was three years ago i ran on an OLD (old lady down) call. she had fallen off the last step in her daughters apartment and twisted her ankle. we arrived and I took vitals, after we loaded her up and i was taking a history i kept hearing the daughter up fornt asking my partner if i was old enough to be working in an ambulance i look like im fourteen now mind you but i still got a kick out it all. the pt. never once questioned my age or ability thoughB)

 

[laina66]

I had been elected Sergeant shortly after becoming an EMT, so I was in a rush to become a Crew Chief. My first call was for a female- syncope. got there and she was on the floor in a dorm hall with one slipper on--the other across the hall. she was completely out of it and looked like she hadn't eaten since she was 12. Needless to say, she had gone running (5 miles) without eating all day and barely had enough fluids to keep her from drying up and rotting away.

The most memorable of my "first" calls was actually my third. We were in the bunkroom, and I had just taken a nap, so I had my EMS pants off (shorts underneath) since I have all the gear in my pockets...
I was standing at the desk looking up new gear for the bunkroom and we get toned out for a female with an "unexplained bump on her foot." I jumped in front of my friend to grab my pants and boots and he bent down just as I was in front of him. due to our LOVELy height differences, his forehead whacked me right in the nose. I drove to the call, and the whole ride my eyes kept tearing and I was thinking like..WOW this is a great deal of pain. i blew it off for a couple of days until we had our officers meeting on that following Wednesday night and all of the sudden the areas surrounding my occipital bones swelled up and hurt so bad I couldn't open my eyes with the lights on. I went to the ER only to find out that I had a hairline fracture. AWESOME!

The next night I had a sexual/physical assualt victim-- her ex-boyfriend tried to break her neck and then raped her. Lovely. Especially when it was my boyfriend, 1 officer, and I on scene...all of which guys except me--needless to say she didn't want to talk much in front of them. she was fine in the ambulance with me though...just violent as hell and spitting blood everywhere. it was...beautiful. and yes, that IS sarcasm.

 

[Jeremy89]

I went to CA this weekend to do a ride along with the Julian FD, up in the mountains. It was dead until about 4 in the afternoon when we got dispatched to Lake Cuyamaca for an unconscious pt. We rolled up to find a 73 y/o male on the beach with a towel, sitting on a chair. Fire was already on scene. We talked to him and the son to find out what happened. He had just finished chemo and the medication change made him dizzy so he just kinda blacked out. Luckily the son caught him. They ended up using a stair chair to get him into the Ambo where we took his vitals. The medic I was riding with wanted to do a 12-lead.

She was real cool about helping me set it up and print it and everything. The monitor found A-Fib. We asked him about his heart and he knew he had an abnormal heartbeat but refused to be transported. We took his sugar, BP, pulse, etc and he signed the AMA. We left and that was that.

I guess I could consider this my first call as an EMT even though I was technically just riding. Nothing too interesting but I still learned a lot from it.