The EMS bug

[bled12345]

so.... I'm an EMS student right now, aspiring to rise up the ladder to EMT-P as soon as possible, and dreaming of one day working on STARS, our local helicopter team.


well, I don't know if this is normal for someone going through school. But I am, growing... well, obsessed with EMS? Its all I can think about, when I look at people on the street I think about potential patients and trauma scenario's. When I watch movies with trauma casualties I find myself yelling in my head nono!!! The mechanism of injury means it could be a cervical injury! C-SPINE GOD DAMNIT C-SPINE! DON'T PICK HER UP LIKE THAT ! NOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!

I constantly visualize scenario's in my head, running over the steps of initial patient assesment, mentally picturing feeling for pelvic instability, or paradoxical motion from a flailed chest, or once again back to movies seeing someone go into hypovolemic shock and thinking about how they need fluids asap and oxygen immideatley. Wondering what their current state of perfusion is....

When my girlfriend comes over on a weeknight, I find myself mentally dissecting her thorax, picturing where the liver would be in relation to her renal system, I even practiced palpating her abdomen the other day and feeling for pelvic stability. I must be annoying the hell out of my friends family and girlfriend, because all I find myself talking to them about is what systolic blood pressure is, and what a sphygmomonometer is.



*sigh* don't get me wrong, I'm not going crazy, the more I learn about EMS the more addicted I am getting to it... but...... is this kind of mental obsession normal?

 

[YYCmedic]

Its definatley normal, except for the mentally dissecting your girlfriends chest... thats a little creepy, maybe even hannibal creepy, jk. Just wait until people dont want to eat dinner around you because all the stories you have to tell them make them feel ill

 

[Stevo]

methinks many are influenced young

(must wait for ad, can't seem to link around it....)
~S~

 

[JSainte]

Thanks

Wow. I'm not a super big softie by any means, but that was frickin' adorable. I love to see kids like that, you can tell she's been brought up well.

P.S. I'm pre-student status at the minute, and I'm hoping to catch that bug, too.

methinks many are influenced young

(must wait for ad, can't seem to link around it....)
~S~

 

[Epi-do]

bled, I think what you are going through isn't out of the ordinary. When I first got bit by the bug, I was a bit obsessed as well. While I still love what I do, I no longer eat, sleep and breath EMS. It took some time, but I was able to find a balance between loving my job and having a healthy, well-balanced life away from work. Give it some time, and you will get there as well.

Stevo, loved the story, especially the comment the little girl made at the end about her mom telling her that even though she is small she would someday be able to help in a big way and that was her day.

 

[Airwaygoddess]

methinks many are influenced young

(must wait for ad, can't seem to link around it....)
~S~

That is one wise little girl! It's the love of the job and the passion to keep on learning!

 

[Recycled Words]

Its definatley normal, except for the mentally dissecting your girlfriends chest... thats a little creepy, maybe even hannibal creepy, jk. Just wait until people dont want to eat dinner around you because all the stories you have to tell them make them feel ill

Haha...my family won't let me eat with them if I bring up EMS and everyone except my EMS friends stopped watching movies that I can yell at for screwing up. On the other hand, when I watch movies with my EMS friends we'll all jump up and yell at the screen together. Fuuuuuun!

 

[FF/EMT Sam]

I'm a member of a team that takes a fair number of road trips, and there's a team rule that the other EMT and I are not allowed to sit together while eating becuase we gross everybody out.

I don't get it...What's wrong with discussing suicide victims or trauma codes at the dinner table...?

 

[fm_emt]

"When my girlfriend comes over on a weeknight, I find myself mentally dissecting her thorax, picturing where the liver would be in relation to her renal system, I even practiced palpating her abdomen the other day and feeling for pelvic stability"

If she doesn't dump you after the first amateur gyno exam, then it's probably safe to assume that she'd marry you. ;-)

 

[Jon]

"When my girlfriend comes over on a weeknight, I find myself mentally dissecting her thorax, picturing where the liver would be in relation to her renal system, I even practiced palpating her abdomen the other day and feeling for pelvic stability"

If she doesn't dump you after the first amateur gyno exam, then it's probably safe to assume that she'd marry you. ;-)

BEST. POST. EVER.

I just fell out of my chair!

 

[worknplay]

oh man, i totally know. i'm in the same exact boat. i just started emt-b classes march 8th. sooo much fun.

 

[Guardian]

If you spelled sphygmomanometer correctly, then I'd be worried...lol