Riding in a Bus in Boulder
Last Tuesday night, I got the opportunity to ride with my brother and his partner for a full shift in an ambulance in Boulder, Colorado. It was a fascinating experience. My brother is a paramedic; his partner is the EMT. So I went on a ten-hour shift with these guys to see what happens.
What was most impressive to me as I sat in on their shift was the incredible boredom. My brother told me that that night was way slow as nights go, but still, I can see these great people spending much of their time just waiting.
We had three calls all night on Tuesday. I got to the base at 6:30 p.m., and we headed out at 7. We established a base at a 7-11 and waited for a call. Our first call came at about 8:00; a drunk homeless man. We went to the scene and as I watched my brother handle it, I was so impressed by his professionalism. Apparently, this guy was a regular that the ambulance crew knew well. Chris, my brother, told me about other regulars that look for ambulance transport to places they want to go. He named a few.
Then, we went and waited. The homeless guy was just left to detox: no need for transport to a hospital. We went back to the 7-11 and then decided to go get some food at a local Taco Bell. We then waited some more. Finally, at 11:00, we got a call about someone who had fallen. We went down to a local Wendy's, but the person we were looking for was nowhere to be found. The bus called in a negative call. Then we went back to the 7-11 and waited. And waited. And waited.
Paramedics seem to have a particularly morbid sense of humor. I can understand that now. Hours of just sitting around doing nothing makes them want something bad to happen so they can go to work. We were hanging around the ambulance at about 2:00 am when a car stopped at the light. A girl in back asked us how we were doing. "We're bored!" the partner said. And he was right. I was bored out of my skull. But it is a weird position to be in: for you to be active means that someone else has to be in distress. I found myself actually rooting for a bar fight or something. Something to relieve the boredom. How sick is that?
Finally, around 2:15, there was a call. We went off for a guy who was unconscious and bleeding from his mouth. We got about a half a mile before we heard that another ambulance was given the assignment, one farther away than us. My crew were confused, and my brother lamented about how much this one "seemed like fun." We went back to the 7-11 for a while. Then, the crew decided enough was enough. And so we went to the hospital just to visit and see what was up.
We walked into the hospital at the same time the other ambulance was unloading the drunk kid. We followed in, and I got to watch the ER guys and the ambulance guys talk about the kid, who was a college student who had gotten clocked by someone else. The doctors went to work on him, reported to by the Paramedics. Later, the paramedic in charge had us go to a separate room where he started to tell stories about the event. Told the story that the guy didn't know why he was beat up or why it happened. Paramedic guy laughed at how there is tbis "one guy"
who always beats up or stabs people without provocation. "He has struck again!" he said.
After talking with the other ambulance folks at the hospital,we started walking out of the hospital when my brother's partner got a call. We were to transport a "hobbled prisoner" to the county jail. That meant that the cops couldn't c ontrol someone, and they needed an ambulance to do the job,while the patient is handcuffed.
So we got to this location, and there was a young guy drunk out of his skull, screaming obsenities at the police that were holding him. They got him on a gurney and into the ambulance. I was hoping I could sit in the front seat, away from the guy, but my brother's partner told me do sit in my regular seat in the back. As a result, I got to experience my brother treating this guy, who was yelling and screaming about how he had his blood cut off in his hands and how he really wasn't drunk. It was incredibly interesting watching my brother deal with this guy. I think I would have probably acted differently, but I have to say that my brother's a;pproach was effective and worked well. which is probably why I'm not paramedid.
We ended up taking this guy to the County Jail. That was an interesting experience in itself, seeing how the police process a new prisoner. What was also interesting is how the police and the ambulance guys so thoroughly depend on each other, and are grateful. I was impressed at how the police at every encounter were so professional and polite to the EMS crew.
Our shift was over as soon as the jail run was done. We went back to HQ, and I left. My experience was really interesting in retrospect, though it was incredibly boring at the time. I can't tell you how many times my brother apologized for the lack of action. It was actually pretyy funny: these guys wanted a good bloody trauma, or a heart attack or something. I can understand that now.
What was most impressive to me as I sat in on their shift was the incredible boredom. My brother told me that that night was way slow as nights go, but still, I can see these great people spending much of their time just waiting.
We had three calls all night on Tuesday. I got to the base at 6:30 p.m., and we headed out at 7. We established a base at a 7-11 and waited for a call. Our first call came at about 8:00; a drunk homeless man. We went to the scene and as I watched my brother handle it, I was so impressed by his professionalism. Apparently, this guy was a regular that the ambulance crew knew well. Chris, my brother, told me about other regulars that look for ambulance transport to places they want to go. He named a few.
Then, we went and waited. The homeless guy was just left to detox: no need for transport to a hospital. We went back to the 7-11 and then decided to go get some food at a local Taco Bell. We then waited some more. Finally, at 11:00, we got a call about someone who had fallen. We went down to a local Wendy's, but the person we were looking for was nowhere to be found. The bus called in a negative call. Then we went back to the 7-11 and waited. And waited. And waited.
Paramedics seem to have a particularly morbid sense of humor. I can understand that now. Hours of just sitting around doing nothing makes them want something bad to happen so they can go to work. We were hanging around the ambulance at about 2:00 am when a car stopped at the light. A girl in back asked us how we were doing. "We're bored!" the partner said. And he was right. I was bored out of my skull. But it is a weird position to be in: for you to be active means that someone else has to be in distress. I found myself actually rooting for a bar fight or something. Something to relieve the boredom. How sick is that?
Finally, around 2:15, there was a call. We went off for a guy who was unconscious and bleeding from his mouth. We got about a half a mile before we heard that another ambulance was given the assignment, one farther away than us. My crew were confused, and my brother lamented about how much this one "seemed like fun." We went back to the 7-11 for a while. Then, the crew decided enough was enough. And so we went to the hospital just to visit and see what was up.
We walked into the hospital at the same time the other ambulance was unloading the drunk kid. We followed in, and I got to watch the ER guys and the ambulance guys talk about the kid, who was a college student who had gotten clocked by someone else. The doctors went to work on him, reported to by the Paramedics. Later, the paramedic in charge had us go to a separate room where he started to tell stories about the event. Told the story that the guy didn't know why he was beat up or why it happened. Paramedic guy laughed at how there is tbis "one guy"
who always beats up or stabs people without provocation. "He has struck again!" he said.
After talking with the other ambulance folks at the hospital,we started walking out of the hospital when my brother's partner got a call. We were to transport a "hobbled prisoner" to the county jail. That meant that the cops couldn't c ontrol someone, and they needed an ambulance to do the job,while the patient is handcuffed.
So we got to this location, and there was a young guy drunk out of his skull, screaming obsenities at the police that were holding him. They got him on a gurney and into the ambulance. I was hoping I could sit in the front seat, away from the guy, but my brother's partner told me do sit in my regular seat in the back. As a result, I got to experience my brother treating this guy, who was yelling and screaming about how he had his blood cut off in his hands and how he really wasn't drunk. It was incredibly interesting watching my brother deal with this guy. I think I would have probably acted differently, but I have to say that my brother's a;pproach was effective and worked well. which is probably why I'm not paramedid.
We ended up taking this guy to the County Jail. That was an interesting experience in itself, seeing how the police process a new prisoner. What was also interesting is how the police and the ambulance guys so thoroughly depend on each other, and are grateful. I was impressed at how the police at every encounter were so professional and polite to the EMS crew.
Our shift was over as soon as the jail run was done. We went back to HQ, and I left. My experience was really interesting in retrospect, though it was incredibly boring at the time. I can't tell you how many times my brother apologized for the lack of action. It was actually pretyy funny: these guys wanted a good bloody trauma, or a heart attack or something. I can understand that now.
posted by cc at
7:49 PM
3 Comments:
Doug here, Steve. Good experience, even if boring. Probably better that than seeing a family of 13 die in a horrible county fair accident, but I would probably be wanting some action, too. Like a tornado or something.
I had no idea there was a difference between a paramedic and an EMT.
Hey Doug,
Yeah, there is a difference. A paramedic can give drugs on scene, whereas an EMT cannot. EMT's are responsible only for basic life support and transport.
Glad you and an interesting time and I will say it again -- Sorry, that was a SLOW night. I want to clarify the EMT thing.
All Emergency Medical Technicians are called EMTs. But there are several levels of EMTs depending on the state you are in. The standard though is as follows:
EMT - Basic or EMT-B: the Basic Life Support (BLS) level of the three main levels. We call these the EMTs. This is where you start. Some can earn other sub-classifications such as "IV" (start IVs in the field).
EMT - Intermediate or EMT-I: Not to be confused with the EMT-1 in some states which is the same as a Basic. These guys can give some drugs in the field on a limited basis and are very controlled. You see these guys in the rural areas that have few Paramedics.
EMT - Paramedics or EMT-P: These are the ones commonly called paramedics in the field, the Advance Life Support (ALS) guys. We have a slew of drugs we can give with some autonomity, but only as a physician signs us off to do. We can also do some invasive procedures, such as intubation, "Crikes", chest decompression, and other nasty things. I enjoy working in a system that allows me to do most of everything on my own due to the training level we are required to keep up on.
So Steve and Doug are both right on this one. To prevent confusion in the field we generally refer to the level of training one has. We general reserve "Basic" for the wet behind the ears guys fresh from school and EMTs are those with experience.
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