First call as EMT-B

[Seaglass]

On my first call ever, I was a ridealong. The alarm went off, and we went all of a block before we got canceled.

My first call with an actual patient was a guy who seemed to be on an ever so slightly too high dose of beta blockers. He was in pretty good shape, so it wasn't a particularly memorable call otherwise.

 

[JonTullos]

I'll let you know soon enough I'm sure. I start Basic tomorrow.

 

[smurfe]

I remember most every detail. June 5th, 1980 at 15:00. Two car MVA, head on at the top of a hill. Responded in an ILS unit. ILS could only do IV's and an EOA at that time. Arrive on scene one DOA, 16 y/o female laying next to car. Two unconscious teenagers in back seat of that car. Unresponsive driver entangled with bilateral femur dislocations at hip with the bones sticking through the skin. I will never forget that site of those bones. They were perfectly white with no blood or anything on them. You could see the condyles perfectly.

Other vehicle driver had minor injuries and was a walking wounded. Second in unit came in right behind us. They were a mutual aid unit we me that was coming back from a transfer and turned around and came down to side road we were on. They took the two unconscious patients and the walking wounded.

We extricated the entrapped driver in about 15 minutes and transported that one with a Rescue crew member driving us.. He coded about 10 minutes from the ER. We did CPR and got a pulse back briefly. He was pronounced about 15 minutes after arriving at ER. He had a ruptured aorta. I didn't know the kid personally but he was the son of a friend of the family. I will never ever forget this call.

 

[MedicObserver]

My first call (Part 1)

I still remember my first call as a certified observer. I was in a type II TraumaHawk (I love that word, I don't know why) and was riding with an EMT-I and a paramedic. I started the day at about 7:30 A.M. at corporate headquarters for the ambulance company. It was boring at first, sitting in the office watching a girl shuffle papers and make phone calls. Then, at about 9 A.M. my Paramedic I would be riding with (she is like my best friend ever now) came in and said our unit was ready. I followed her out to the ambulance bay and started looking over the unit we would be running all day. It was only a couple months old, a nice Ford diesel with everything on it; the Cadillac of the ALS industry. Then a little short guy came out and introduced himself as the EMT-I that would be going with us as well. It was funny; I was 14 and 6'3''. This guy was 37 and 5'9''. I got put in the driver's seat and was told to follow every instruction to the letter. First it was put the key to accessory, then the touch-panel on the dash lit up and authorized through the system. Once it was confirmed that we were who we said we were, Melissa reached over and tapped the screen to set up a siren program. Then, she hit the lights and got those going, then killed everything and told me to shut the key off. i id, and then she said to turn the key on again. i did everything like she did it, except i hit the wrong siren program and had to start it over. Holy crap, those things are loud inside of a steel building!!! I learned how to control the lights, siren, oxygen, and everything else all from that touch panel. Then I learned how to run the laptop to store the info and relay it to the E.R., and got a little lesson on the radio. I was having so much fun. Then the radio went bee, beep, beep, then kind of moaned. I had never heard the tones drop before so I thought I had done something wrong and broke it. Then Steve (the EMT-I) said we were being called out and that we needed to go. He took the jump seat in the back and I got the passenger's seat up front. Melissa(the Paramedic) started the ambulance up and hit the remote garage door opener button clipped to the visor. She said, "Pick that radio up right now and acknowledge the call!" I got on and said, "Dispatch this is four-five-one en route to MVA on South Grand AVE. Please acknowledge reciept of message". The dispatcher confirmed the information and we got going. We crept out of the building, then got out on the road and Melissa gave it all that it would take. She hollered, "I need lights and sirens!!" I set up the touch panel to run a full show of lights and then put on the Q and the screamer for the siren program. We had light traffic all the way to the scene, so we got some real speed in (I ABSOLUTELY LOVED THE SPEEDING PART!!) As we got closer I killed the screamer but left all the lights and the Q on. We rolled up and parked close to the scene and began our assessment. I stayed inside while Steve kicked the back door open and jumped out. I helped Melissa prep the stretcher and we threw the cardiopulmonary bag on and put it out on the ground. We notified dispatch that we were on-scene and then we went. I slopped on some alcohol foam and threw on gloves as a precaution. I stayed about 20 feet from the area where they were loading the patient onto the stretcher and getting him ready for transport. I slid the side door of the patient compartment open and sat on the step watching it all. They finally came running back and said that the police were wanting to get the scene cleared to let traffic go. I knew that there wasn't a chance at all that this guy was gonna survive, but in EMS you never admit that until you know for sure. It was the worst I have ever seen, but I sat in the jump seat handing Steve whatever he needed while Melissa flew like a bat out of hell to the hospital. i somehow thought that maybe if I handed him the right thing as quick as I could that maybe it would make a difference in the patient's chances of survival; but in reality I knew that he wouldn't last to the E.R.

 

[VFFforpeople]

Mine was at 2319, for a 50ish (never did get her bday lol) yro F,possiable cardiac. Show up, dogs are barking like crazy, the daughter comes out to meet us. show us inside, put some O2 take vitals, her pain down grades, and took her to the hospital. simple call.

 

[NREMTB12]

Not my first EMS call but def. a memoralbe one about 1 month ago. i heard the tones go out for EMS for a man that had fallen and requested to go to the hospital, i was close in town and they had called for lifting assistance so i headed that way. when i got there i was greated by the EMT-b and the medic saying "we are going to need a lot more than you"...haha...after i entered the residence i found out why

Upon entering i observed a roughly 700+ pound man lying on the ground completly soaked in sweat, also included in that was blood, urine and fecal matter in liquid form. he was septic, had enormous and full body decubitis, and i noticed his toenails were growing inside of themselves like, fritos from hell, we had to use a megamover kevlar blanket to get him out of the house and it took 10 of us...me, the emt, medic and 7 other fireman on call that day. transported him into the hospital and obviously had to help them get him into the ER. his stomach was gangrenous to later find out and he had massive infection throughout his body...he was literally a living, breathing, but fully rotting corpse and the smell from him and his house relayed that.

still, though i did not vomit or gag at all, it really didnt bother me, all though one of the big tough fireman started dry heaving after coming into the house and seeing the man.

 

[CAOX3]

I actually remember now, pregnant female minor MVA.

A few questions for MedicObserver, call me curious. You got some real speed, you love the speeding part? Have you not read all the posts about providers dying, innocent people dying? See what happens when a speeding ambulance hits a compact car or minivan it isnt a pretty sight.

You took him to the hospital Mellisa driving like a bat out of hell, why isnt the paramedic in the back and the EMT I driving? No one should be driving like a bat out of anywhere, especially with someone who from what your post states wasnt viable, your risking everyones life including your own.

Sorry but this obviously needs to be stated more often because we cant seem to figure it out as a profession.

 

[BigBoy]

I dont remeber my very first call but did just get my first midnight call last night.

It was 1 in the morning i had just went to sleep and was sleeping long when I heard the pager go off. i forgot to put it a closed so i was hopping it would be someone else but it beeped. dispatched for an 18 who had taken to many sleeping pills

i jumped out of bed a through on my clothes.
when we got to the house he was handcuffed and in protective custidy. he was claiming that his friends which were never there jumped in his truck with him and had an altered mental status and thats why the cop called us out there. when the kid got in the rig i was about to slap him and ask if he knew what time it was but i didnt. but on the way to the hospital we strapped him onto the cot and it was the funniest thing. he undid the buckle by his knees and then tried to buckle it back up, it took him atleast a minute and he looked at my partner and said "I cant seem to get it buckled". then he tried again for about 30sec and got it buckled and then said "never mind it must of been stubern the first time". yeah we handed him over to the hospital and on the way back to the hall i fell asleep in the captains seat..

 

[Ped101]

My first call...

It was about a year ago, my first call,

It was about 16:00 and we got called to an epileptic who had fallen and hit his head and was unconsciouss

We got there and it was a really, reaally drunk guy who in fact had fallen over but didnt have anything, didnt really merit transportation.

Wasnt the best first call in the world but i was a newby and i loved every second of it

 

[cointosser13]

First call

My first call was going to be a mva, but other units got to the accident first so we were called off. But my first call where I actually was in the scene was for a guy with chest pain. I was in a BLS unit, and we were the first ones to get to the scene. I remember not knowing what to do expect put my gloves on. I only had a CPR cert, and I was about to start my EMT class that month. So back to the scene, I didn't realize how heavy the medic bags were till I had to carry one! The Lifepack was also a pain killer. kind of funny, I was the youngest in the team, yet I had to carry everything. Typical. Anyway, I remember walking up the stairs to the room where the guy was having chest pain. He was on his bed, kind of still. I was soooo nervous becuase I had no clue what to do. It was my first call, and the scene was kind of crazy in my mind because I had no clue what my team was doing. Then the medics came in, and then the firefighters. The whole place was jammed pack with EMS providers. The medics were starting to spill out words I never heard of. They put a 12-lead on the patient, and all I remember thinking in my head was "what are they doing?" The patient barely talked. So the medic unit took him. But I remember when one of the medics asked "can you get the stair chair", and I looked at him like I was an idiot. I felt bad, I quickly said "I'm new, I don't know where that is". So later the medics made fun of me for being new. So after volunteering for 9 months with the ems department, I realized how much I've learned in the my emt class. and so, now I have my certification, and maybe one day I can be the one who asks the newbie, "hey, can you get the stair chair".

 

[Fire51]

My first call was a women we ran out on all the time for SOB, because she smoked so much, it wasn't anything to good. But a couple calls later was for a man in a morticycle accident with massive head trauma who didn't make it, it was a big shock to see that for the first time.

 

[chaz90]

Hemorrhoids. Really not anything exciting about the story, yet I'm still here years later.

 

[Handsome Robb]

when the kid got in the rig i was about to slap him and ask if he knew what time it was but i didnt

Then you should probably get out of EMS.

One, time is a :censored::censored::censored::censored:ty A&O question, I rarely know exactly what time it is, especially if I'm not working.

Two, its part of the job dude. You signed up for it, you don't like getting woken up in the middle of the night then don't volunteer or work for an EMS agency anymore...

:wacko:

 

[Handsome Robb]

First one I remember was a fatal single vehicle MVA occupied x4. 1 black, one red, two yellows. We were third in, got a yellow.

Don't think it was the first one, it was the first day but it trumped everything else so I really couldn't tell you my very first call.

I was a third rider in an HS work experience program, only had a CPR card. All I really did was watch.

 

[CritterNurse]

The first run I went on (or at least the earliest one that sticks out in my mind) was for a woman going into labor, and her doctor wanted her to go in by ambulance due to her previous medical history. I had just cleared the volunteer department's core training, but hadn't had any medical training yet. I went as a "chaperone", and was given the task of taking notes, and keeping track of her contractions. She was squeezing my hand so hard I was sure I was going to be bruised by the time we reached the hospital. We got her there before her water broke. She called when the contractions started.

 

[74restore]

First ever call as a brand new EMT in orientation came as a trauma for 2 pt MVC, motorcycle vs. deer at highway speeds. Helmets saved their lives without a doubt. 1 air-lifted to nearest Level 1 trauma center, one transported emergent by ground. No better way to put training to use at 7:30 am....

Here's the kicker. Husband and wife were riding the motorcycle. She (the wife) had not been on the bike since their LAST accident... 6 years earlier.... where they hit a deer, but were mostly uninjured. He finally convinces her to go on a ride again on a quiet morning after 6 years, and BAM... hit another deer, this time injuring them both severely.

If that's not the work of someone above, I don't know what is....

 

[bbmtnbb]

Here's the kicker. Husband and wife were riding the motorcycle. She (the wife) had not been on the bike since their LAST accident... 6 years earlier.... where they hit a deer, but were mostly uninjured. He finally convinces her to go on a ride again on a quiet morning after 6 years, and BAM... hit another deer, this time injuring them both severely.

If that's not the work of someone above, I don't know what is....

Meaning??? God had the deer jump out in front of her??? Not sure that came across right-being saved yes-getting hit-hmmmmm??

 

[DesertMedic66]

I remember my first ever call as a Firefighter explorer (only CPR and first aid training). That was for a miscarriage. I still remember the apartment where the call was. I remember my first traffic collision also as an explorer and my first fatality traffic collision (it was actually a double fatality) also as an explorer.

As an EMT I don't remember my first call at all. I only remember 1 call from my FTO time. It was for SVT. Medic had the patient do the valsalva maneuver. Brought all the patient's vitals down to within normal limits.

 

[hogwiley]

I don't even remember what my first call as a licensed EMT was, it obviously didn't leave an impression.

I vividly recall my first call as an EMT student though, even though(or maybe because) it was a total BS call from a drunken frequent flier.

It was a pretty appropriate introduction to EMS when you think about it.

 

[NomadicMedic]

Wow. Talk about bringing a thread back from the dead!

My first call as an EMT was in 1988, "CPR in progress". Turned out to be a DOA.

...and I still do it.