Ask a Paramedic anything at all...
Discussion
Haddock82 said:
Oh come on!
We all know the main question we all want is "What is the weirdest thing you found up someones bum?"...!
You wont hear the end of it until we get an answer!
A friend is a A&E nurse...she had to deal with a 16 year old boy with half a cucumber up his arse...he turned up with his dad...bet that was a fun chat to have. 'Toby where is the cucumber?'We all know the main question we all want is "What is the weirdest thing you found up someones bum?"...!
You wont hear the end of it until we get an answer!
My best friend is a ECA and it amazes me with the amount of crap that they get sent to via 111.
Do you enjoy your job? There is part of me that would like to do it, but I'm not great with blood or germs or broken bones...I'm guessing it wont be for me.
Pyrolysis said:
Have you ever attended an incident where you thought you were out of your depth or where your training and experience had not prepared you, due to the magnitude of what was presented to you?
Fortunately not a frequent experience, but yes I have if I am honest - mostly when I had only just qualified though, I think. In my first week following qualification, I was sent out to work single manned for three shifts, which was a bit daunting!I'm two and a half years in now, and I reckon I can say with a degree of confidence that there's probably not much, if anything, that I would attend now, and not be able to cope with, if I was first on scene. We are rapidly exposed to all and every type of situation from the word go, and hence quite quickly build up a mental check-list or algorithm if you like, that we automatically drop into once we've recognised the issue.
It's also amazing how quickly you start to be able to recognise what's going on, as you walk through the door and get eyes on the patient - even before asking any questions. That's not to sound flippant of course, but it's nice that on many occasions following getting a comprehensive medical history and a full set of observations, that the clinical diagnosis matches my initial gut feeling, if that makes sense?
Also, again I am fortunate that I can call on a numerous amount of back-up resources who usually arrive on scene pretty damn quickly. As I said before, we're trusted to make the right judgement - and so I can summon up four million pounds worth of Eurocopter EC135 with Doctors on board on my say so. Or our Hazardous response team experts who carry everything from climbing and ab-seiling gear to NBC suits.
I might suggest that the two main fears any ambulance crew has to respond to, are children in cardiac arrest, and major incidents which involve multiple casualties. Anything else we've probably got covered in a calm fashion!
Haddock82 said:
Ray Luxury-Yacht said:
fido said:
what’s the most perverted incident you’ve been called put to? e.g. someone with a hoover nozzle stick up their orifice
Nope. Next!We all know the main question we all want is "What is the weirdest thing you found up someones bum?"...!
You wont hear the end of it until we get an answer!
And not just spending a penny either.
Bdevo3 said:
Have you ever had to perform cpr on very beautiful buxom babe and had to pause a second to marvel at the beauty of her milk bags
Question 1 - yes;Question 2 - no, and I mean that honestly. I can get my porn kicks elsewhere outside of work - if someone is in cardiac arrest when I arrive on scene, then I am too busy / professional to even think about that sort of thing.
Besides, we spend a huge proportion of our days looking at naked bodies anyway - so like any job, it gets quite routine quite quickly and so not something any more than that.
Ruskie said:
I feel like answering these questions honestly, but I’m a bit more jaded then Ray and my answers my not be as diplomatically what people expect/want to hear.
I'm probably similarly jaded privately Ruskie - however I am doing this to maybe help educate PH and the wider public and so, have parked that for a moment haha! Come on mate, your contributions would be valued too.
Ruskie said:
I feel like answering these questions honestly, but I’m a bit more jaded then Ray and my answers my not be as diplomatically what people expect/want to hear.
Where d'you work?You can't be as jaded as some of the dinosaurs working in the the Big Smoke over Maida Vale way?
It's simply not possible.
Pyrolysis said:
Have you ever attended an incident where you thought you were out of your depth or where your training and experience had not prepared you, due to the magnitude of what was presented to you?
I don’t care how well prepared you are, nothing prepares you for your first paediatric cardiac arrest. Nor the one after or the one after that. It’s a surreal, horrific experience and I wouldn’t wish it on any Paramedic. Post traumatic stress is inevitable as well.magooagain said:
Do you think at any point you might move into the private sector?
Private ambulance sector? Well, despite the better wages - the work is too sporadic, there's no NHS pension, and I don't like their ambulances. Don't get me wrong, they serve a purpose - but they're mostly van conversions and I personally don't like them and would not want to work on them. Ok I know some NHS trusts use them too, but ours fortunately use properly converted Mercedes Sprinters with a 'W.A.S' body on the back. Lovely machines with proper space and equipment. I also like the fact that the engines are V6 turbo diesels - this is Pistonheads, after all! 
Private sector out of frontline response? I won't rule it out one day. At the moment I love my job and being out and about, especially as I work out of quite a rural station and hence am driving through beautiful countryside a lot of the time. However it IS a hard job, and can be incredibly difficult physically at times, extraction wise, so I MIGHT be able to see a time when my body gets too old to cope with it and I may move into something else.
As registered Paramedics, we're getting increasingly sought after by many other different sectors, it must be said.
Ruskie said:
Pyrolysis said:
Have you ever attended an incident where you thought you were out of your depth or where your training and experience had not prepared you, due to the magnitude of what was presented to you?
I don’t care how well prepared you are, nothing prepares you for your first paediatric cardiac arrest. Nor the one after or the one after that. It’s a surreal, horrific experience and I wouldn’t wish it on any Paramedic. Post traumatic stress is inevitable as well.- **
what are the main causes of child cardiac scenarios and is there any specific age group, gender, ethnicity that encounter this more than others?.
happie33 said:
Ruskie said:
Pyrolysis said:
Have you ever attended an incident where you thought you were out of your depth or where your training and experience had not prepared you, due to the magnitude of what was presented to you?
I don’t care how well prepared you are, nothing prepares you for your first paediatric cardiac arrest. Nor the one after or the one after that. It’s a surreal, horrific experience and I wouldn’t wish it on any Paramedic. Post traumatic stress is inevitable as well.- **
what are the main causes of child cardiac scenarios and is there any specific age group, gender, ethnicity that encounter this more than others?.
Also SID or cot death is a cause that they still don’t know what happens. If you think as well most of these types of cardiac arrests are discovered after the heart has stopped beating from 1 minute up to hours after as they are in bed and are found in the morning.
I’m talking very generally and broadly.
Ray Luxury-Yacht said:
Private ambulance sector? Well, despite the better wages - the work is too sporadic, there's no NHS pension, and I don't like their ambulances. Don't get me wrong, they serve a purpose - but they're mostly van conversions and I personally don't like them and would not want to work on them. Ok I know some NHS trusts use them too, but ours fortunately use properly converted Mercedes Sprinters with a 'W.A.S' body on the back. Lovely machines with proper space and equipment. I also like the fact that the engines are V6 turbo diesels - this is Pistonheads, after all!
Private sector out of frontline response? I won't rule it out one day. At the moment I love my job and being out and about, especially as I work out of quite a rural station and hence am driving through beautiful countryside a lot of the time. However it IS a hard job, and can be incredibly difficult physically at times, extraction wise, so I MIGHT be able to see a time when my body gets too old to cope with it and I may move into something else.
As registered Paramedics, we're getting increasingly sought after by many other different sectors, it must be said.
Thanks. My bil is working alongside firefighters in a permanent roll at a very large European cargo dock.Private sector out of frontline response? I won't rule it out one day. At the moment I love my job and being out and about, especially as I work out of quite a rural station and hence am driving through beautiful countryside a lot of the time. However it IS a hard job, and can be incredibly difficult physically at times, extraction wise, so I MIGHT be able to see a time when my body gets too old to cope with it and I may move into something else.
As registered Paramedics, we're getting increasingly sought after by many other different sectors, it must be said.
He went into it after about 25 years as a pm.
A lot of down time,but also still a lot of training.
My daughter had a nasty crash just before Christmas (she's alright - sternum damage and smashed foot that's been repaired, pinned and plastered now).
While being preppped to go in the back of the van she was insistent that she wasn't leaving unless she had the contents of her car boot with her as she knew the car was about to go to a yard possibly never to be seen again. She persuaded the paramedics to load up the ambulance with her suitcases, bags, laptops and suit holders. The hospital staff and I were tripping over the damn things in resus!
Was she lucky to have found a very helpful medic, or was she super persuasive, or is this a normal thing?
While being preppped to go in the back of the van she was insistent that she wasn't leaving unless she had the contents of her car boot with her as she knew the car was about to go to a yard possibly never to be seen again. She persuaded the paramedics to load up the ambulance with her suitcases, bags, laptops and suit holders. The hospital staff and I were tripping over the damn things in resus!
Was she lucky to have found a very helpful medic, or was she super persuasive, or is this a normal thing?
Phunk said:
How many times have you been assaulted?
How did you get into the role?
Not once, fortunately. Maybe it's because I work in a fairly nice, often affluent part of the UK, or maybe I have just been lucky, I don't know! How did you get into the role?
Some of the more challenging mental health cases I attend, have had the potential to go down that road, but as some who is old enough to recognise the warning signs, I am really wary and careful, and don't ever put myself in a situation where I might get caught out. Some of the youngsters dive in regardless of the consequences - that's not me haha!
How did I get into it? Good question! In 2011 I had sold my business and had got to my 40th Birthday. I felt at a bit of a crossroads in life - I wanted a new challenge but wasn't sure what. I've always had a bit of a fascination in medicine however, but only in the background really - it wasn't like a driving force. Although when I was working in my last sector I was sent to head up a financial project at a huge factory in Poland that made medical equipment and prosthetics, and when I was there, looking at the false knee joints and stuff, I DID think to myself that I wish I had done something medical.
After selling my business I was in the luxurious position of taking a year off completely, to decide on my next move. Whilst at home watching a lot of telly, I spent a fair amount of time looking at all those ambulance programmes on TV. A bit of a corny cliche, I know - but slowly it dawned on me that actually - I wanna do that! Plus as I had done an apprenticeship when I was 16 instead of college - Uni, it meant going to college and Uni at 40 years old, which sounded like fun!
And it was fun, I loved every minute of my training. Looking back - the job is not really like I saw on telly those years ago, it must be said. But it IS ok, and I am happy to be doing it. On the days when I get a bit jaded or annoyed, which let's face it, can happen in any job - I might walk into a shop or somewhere, and the staff will smile, tell me how much they admire us all and give me a discount, or a member of the public will approach me out of the blue and say something similar. Then it reminds me why I am doing what I do, and it makes me smile that we're held in such high esteem. I appreciate that, and I don't treat that flippantly.
Cold said:
My daughter had a nasty crash just before Christmas (she's alright - sternum damage and smashed foot that's been repaired, pinned and plastered now).
While being preppped to go in the back of the van she was insistent that she wasn't leaving unless she had the contents of her car boot with her as she knew the car was about to go to a yard possibly never to be seen again. She persuaded the paramedics to load up the ambulance with her suitcases, bags, laptops and suit holders. The hospital staff and I were tripping over the damn things in resus!
Was she lucky to have found a very helpful medic, or was she super persuasive, or is this a normal thing?
Personally if they are talking and are well enough/not screaming to be concerned about their belongings then I’m happy to oblige where possible.While being preppped to go in the back of the van she was insistent that she wasn't leaving unless she had the contents of her car boot with her as she knew the car was about to go to a yard possibly never to be seen again. She persuaded the paramedics to load up the ambulance with her suitcases, bags, laptops and suit holders. The hospital staff and I were tripping over the damn things in resus!
Was she lucky to have found a very helpful medic, or was she super persuasive, or is this a normal thing?
Cold said:
My daughter had a nasty crash just before Christmas (she's alright - sternum damage and smashed foot that's been repaired, pinned and plastered now).
While being preppped to go in the back of the van she was insistent that she wasn't leaving unless she had the contents of her car boot with her as she knew the car was about to go to a yard possibly never to be seen again. She persuaded the paramedics to load up the ambulance with her suitcases, bags, laptops and suit holders. The hospital staff and I were tripping over the damn things in resus!
Was she lucky to have found a very helpful medic, or was she super persuasive, or is this a normal thing?
That's normal. I'm quite happy to help people in any way I can, it's not just about the medical stuff. We're also the eyes and ears and assistance to our communities, and to that end, I'll do anything within reason.While being preppped to go in the back of the van she was insistent that she wasn't leaving unless she had the contents of her car boot with her as she knew the car was about to go to a yard possibly never to be seen again. She persuaded the paramedics to load up the ambulance with her suitcases, bags, laptops and suit holders. The hospital staff and I were tripping over the damn things in resus!
Was she lucky to have found a very helpful medic, or was she super persuasive, or is this a normal thing?
For example, I might go to a poor old dear that has fallen without an injury early in the morning, who has got up to go to the loo. So I'll pick her up, dust her down, check her medically and then if I manage to do that fairly quickly (I don't waste time 'on scene' unecessarily either) then I will make her a cup of tea or even fry her a couple of eggs or whatever if it helps her to relax and get over the shock of falling and laying on a hard floor for two hours or whatever.
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