First call as EMT-B

[abckidsmom]

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.

Summer of 1993. Cat scratch fever, sepsis, cardiac arrest that we called on scene. I was 13 years old.

 

[Nathan]

74 y.o male with ESRD going from a residence to Davita.


Jealous of all of these cool first call stories...

 

[bbmtnbb]

...

As far as my first call as ant EMT. Cant remember, matter of fact I cant remeber the first call I did yesterday.....Oh well

OMG that is me...I can never remember my calls at end of shift. :rofl:

I do remember my first call as a student though and the only call I remember.
Bike V auto, fire got there first and pt was unconscious initially, regained consciousness, wearing helmet that had finished its job and needed to be retired (smashed in more than one place) A & O x 2 then slowly to A & O x3, somewhere in the ambulance declared "Oh, I know where I am" kinda came back to her. Fire did not back board her, we are getting away from that when we can theses days-kinda wrong in this case, pelvis was fractured. I being the stupid student just helped where I could but far be it from me to tell anyone to use a backboard If thought it was all good. I would say something now but have learned more and have some confidence. Fire just grabbed her hand and helped her up. she walked to the gurney. I did get to strip a line and hold pressure on bleeding shoulder. Kinda boring since then. Better experiences in the ER than on the ambulance. Maybe since I work nights I am too tired to remember my ambulance calls. lol

 

[Stoked]

First call was today.

Male down, unk head injuries.

Upon arrival, found a male toddler with a bump on the noggin and copious tears. Simple FDGB (fall down, go boom), overprotective parent in tow.

A&Ox4 (drool level ok), no apparent injuries except to pride. No ALOC, no relevant hx.
Tx with soothing words and a prize.

Hey, at least I popped my cherry.

 

[chaz90]

How much pride does a toddler have? Also, what does A&Ox4 mean for a 2 year old?

 

[Stoked]

How much pride does a toddler have? Also, what does A&Ox4 mean for a 2 year old?

You must not have a toddler. Their pride can be wounded by a bump on the head or the simple fact that there's a dog within a 50-mile radius.

A&Ox4:

What's your name little man?
Where does it hurt?
Who's this with you?
How did you hurt yourself?

When dealing with kids, I've always found it easier to just talk to them like they're a small, drunk adult...small words, questions with easy answers, and speaking s..l..o..w..l..y.

 

[CPRinProgress]

My first call was a mental health that we RMAd and I couldn't even go into the house because I was under 18. My first call as an EMT was cheat pains difficulty breathing but we cancelled medics. It was very routine.

 

[FuManChu]

74 y.o male with ESRD going from a residence to Davita.


Jealous of all of these cool first call stories...

I know how you feel. Reading all these posts makes me jealous as well, my first call (happened last month) was basically the same as yours, just different age.


78 y.o male ESRD transporting from SNF to Dialysis Facility <_<

 

[IslandTime]

When dealing with kids, I've always found it easier to just talk to them like they're a small, drunk adult...small words, questions with easy answers, and speaking s..l..o..w..l..y.

Maybe first call, but already you show considerable experience. Congrats.

 

[CodeBru1984]

My first Code 3 run as an EMT (for the company I work for) started out as a non lights and siren general transport of a SNF resident to the local ER for treatment of fever and ALOC. She ended up decompensating en-route to the ER as she began struggling to breathe. She wasn't tolerating 4LPM via NC very well and we decided to bump up her O2 to 15LPM via NRB. It got to the point where we almost ended up having to assist her ventilations (luckily she held on until we got to the ER). We arrive at the ER and the team gets her into the exam room and initiates bilateral IVs, and places her on CPAP. She was really sick.

Apparently... the SNF failed to mention to us that she was suffering from aspirate pneumonia, and an exacerbation of CHF. :angry:

 

[Stoked]

Maybe first call, but already you show considerable experience. Congrats.

Lol thanks... I had to interview a lot of kids in my former work (especially on SRO duties).

 

[Theraphosidae]

My first run as a student was a call for a fall. Popped her knee out of place, had a history of it, and we loaded her up and talked about her kids the whole time while she was gritting her teeth.

When we got to the hospital she suddenly got upset because they wanted to cut her jeans off at the site!

 

[9D4]

My first call was a head on MVA with both vehicles at freeway speeds.
4 kids in the back of a minivan, 2 adults in front.
Other vehicle had a guy driving back from Vegas (assumption; he had a bunch of chips and some Vegas souveniers the front) with a 40 in the center console. He was ejected, pronounced DOA, because he was nearly decapitated. Everybody else was fine besides the one teenager in the minivan that wasn't wearing her seatbelt.
Edit: Hit post too soon on my phone. Girl was fine, just had a pain in her arm from sticking it out before.

 

[Pkreilley]

Mine was a regular CPR. Dialysis center, probable potassium imbalance. He died

 

[NBFFD2433]

My first call was a Fall. A approximately 45 y/o female had fell from a standing position. There was an obvious elbow deformities. I applied ice(still my best friend) splinted it then the Paramedics came just as I finished the SAMPLE history. Turns out that she had broke her elbow.

 

[sillysally]

The first call I wrote (as a ridealong) was an AMA that turned out to be a cat that had been playing with the pull cord in the lady's bathroom. The 'patient' was on vacation in Florida.

The first call I was crew chief for was was dispatched as a class two unconscious seizure, possible drug use. My driver got hopelessly lost, and it obviously turned into ALS. My awesome (paramedic) FTO saved my butt by responding to the location.

 

[chaz90]

The first call I wrote (as a ridealong) was an AMA that turned out to be a cat that had been playing with the pull cord in the lady's bathroom. The 'patient' was on vacation in Florida.

The first call I was crew chief for was was dispatched as a class two unconscious seizure, possible drug use. My driver got hopelessly lost, and it obviously turned into ALS. My awesome (paramedic) FTO saved my butt by responding to the location.

Let me correct this. Who's navigating as your driver drives? One of the cardinal rules of EMS is to never throw your partner(s) under the bus. Work as a team, and take proper responsibility for what you and your team do.

 

[DerekC]

My first call on my first clinical was "I think I had a stroke last week...." :glare:

 

[avdrummerboy]

First call was for a possible OD. I work for a rural company, so it was a 25 minute drive to the scene. Elderly Pt. did indeed OD on prescribed meds and had to do a team lift with a FF to get pt to gurney. Got in back and got to see my first injection of narcan and a comeback. Pretty standard call in out area and a familiar scenario to me now.

 

[lissa304]

alright, this was my first call after I recived my card in the mail, I got the card at 1600 on a Thursday, and 0130 Friday morning tones drop for a man having chest pain. As I have been doing ride-alongs with my department for about 6 months and been around it all my life I didn't really think much of jumping out of bed and running to the Crew Hall with my little red light going, well we got to the scene, and there was nothing, no lights on, no little old lady sitting on the porch with a bag packed, nothing...not to mention that just the look of the place made the hair on the back of all of our necks stand up...

on the truck was me, a guy that I went to high school with, and "mother" -the chief's wife-. "Mother" made me and the other guy go check it out first. We went around the residence, announcing ourselves, gained access though the front door (open, and not really the front, it was the only one, and was hidden...) we had cleared all but the last 2 rooms, when my partner turned a corner and his face just dropped, he turned white as a sheet.

Our pt. was laying in the floor,(with out any pulses, per. partner) naked as a jay bird, in a pool of blood and crap that covered the floor of the room (about 10ft by 12ft). and my partner just starts yelling, we need......and then he went though a list as long as my arm...(it didn't help that he had just watched The Hills have Eye's) but anyhow, he freaked (I was looking in the next room and yet to see the pt.) and ran out and yelled at "mother" to call law enforcement...

they showed up, cleared the house, and we went back inside to see what was up... by that time lavidity (yeah, I know it's misspelled) had set in. and he was called DOA.

for 3 weeks I didn't run a "normal" call, most of the ones I ran in that period were known drug dealers that waited until they knew no cops were coming before the took there had out from under a rolled up blanket or some such object (normally with a gun or knife in it...)
it's been a around a year sense then, and about the only thing I haven't worked so far is a gun shot, and I pray that it stays that way, but no matter what my first call will always stay in my mind.

(Does a person's first call normmally stay with them even if it is a "routine" call)

Mine was a homeless man who called from a "borrowed" cell phone. We asked him what was going on and he said "I haven't pissed in three damn days!"....(he was absolutely wasted at that moment by the way). Needless to say, he peed himself for a solid two minutes as soon as we got him in the ambulance. lol