Tag Archives: EMS

Earth-bound misfit

Into the distance, a ribbon of black stretched to the point of no turning back a flight of fancy on a windswept field standing alone, my senses reel. . . A shift swap has brought me back to the Witch City for the afternoon.  My old shift is now occupied by new medics.  I roll […]

Muerte

A sunny Sunday morning. A crowded neighborhood; the closest thing we have to tenements, filled to the brim with people seeking the American dream and finding everything but. Paramedic 9’s diesel screams at the curb, nose to nose with a fire engine in the tiny one way street. They will have to back out. We […]

What were you thinking?

Coming up on today's episode of What Were You Thinking? EMS Edition: A dispatcher confuses the medic crews, A diabetic takes his insulin and goes out for the day without eating, Texting and driving almost kills a man, A coworker loses his temper, And I make a poor first impression. Stay tuned!

Memory

There is a memorial plaque in town. I pass it regularly. I remember. I remember a sunny Saturday morning drilling at the firehouse. I remember swearing loudly and running to the engine when the tones dropped. I remember almost overshooting the address, and I remember the horrid moaning sound the engine's radial tires made as […]

Scenes from an ED

The helicopter crew turns the corner ahead of us in their blue jumpsuits. Their patient doesn't look too bad. She's awake, sitting up on their stretcher. I cannot see a heart monitor or any IVs, and I wonder what she did to warrant flying. We roll together into the Acute area of Big City Trauma […]

Adventures in babysitting

“Medic 9, umm, check your CAD notes.” I flip the Toughbook screen open as my partner scowls from the driver’s seat. Response to the clinic. Non emergency, but bring up your equipment as the staff is having trouble. Uhhhh. . . After a quick consultation with the dispatcher we decide this sounds like an emergency. […]

More than a job

I received this in the mail yesterday. I’m not sure of AFSCME’s audience or intent here. The photo jumped out at me though. Untucked shirts? Improperly sized gloves? A rat’s nest of ECG cables?! This is an organization which wants to represent us professionally? It’s “more than a job?” Obviously it wasn’t more than just […]

Things I’ve learned on the transfer truck

The transfer truck. Jack of all trades. Cath lab heroes, the vent squad. We burn a full tank of Diesel every shift. We run emergencies across 5 cities, transfers to and from every hospital in two counties, and backup for the other division. We see the sickest patients, sometimes more than once; and we have […]