April 19, 2017
I work in a rural hospital that is not a trauma center. Sure, traumas come in, but it is our job to stabilize patients and send them to a facility with trauma teams and surgeons. We call the cavalry, which is usually a helicopter, while we stabilize.
April 17, 2017
Office jobs don’t get the “oo” and “ah” response that EMTs, medics, flight medics, flight nurses, and SWAT medics, etc., receive. It makes people think, and people have questions. They want to know about the horrible things, but not about the normal things. Have you ever noticed how sharing people are with terrible things?
April 14, 2017
My favorite ER love story starts in triage. A long line of people waiting to be seen. Enter two middle-aged folks. Obviously homeless. Wearing clothes too large for them. And their skin is covered in pink and purple.
April 12, 2017
I turn [...] and say, “Something isn’t right. I don’t feel right.” She agrees; “Yea me too. Is it a full moon or something?” You’ve probably felt “that feeling;” the pre-diarrhea, vague rumble in your gut that lets you know something suuuuuper uncomfortable is about to pop off. “That feeling” doesn’t always come, but when it does, it’s always right.
April 10, 2017
Hang on for this gripping account of a difficult call and the thought-provoking finish as Michael peels back the veil of EMS to reveal an alternate universe of our cities and towns.
April 7, 2017
Nobody wants to appear weak, or be looked down on for not being a salty ol' pro who just muscles their way through the day. You have to be a machine and not a human being with emotions and a gag reflex.
April 5, 2017
If the person at the time of disrobing has all their facilities, then the hospital gown may seem better suited for a fraternity initiation stunt then the first step into the most advanced medical care in the world. For most patients, conscious or otherwise, the hospital gown is rarely a confidence booster.
April 3, 2017
I want to give you a roadmap for what you are about to experience, to offer you hope and encouragement that this terrible thing does not have to be the thing that destroys you.
March 31, 2017
Do you get really frustrated at a coworker who should be way ahead in their career but struggle with the simplest of things? Is there someone you looked up to, but soon discovered that despite their years of experience just aren’t the kind of person you aspire to be? What you are experiencing is what I call “the Gap”, and what you need, is to Leap.
March 29, 2017
I was sitting in the driver’s seat of my own ambulance when this story started to flood social media. Not that long ago, we would have heard about this story later that night – maybe the next day – and would’ve imagined how horrible it had been......We don’t get to imagine things anymore.