So this is the tweet I posted that started it all off: You know you're in EMS when you sit eating breakfast whilst watching amputations and impalements on TV. After that, I thought it'd be good to hear what some other people think too, and the snowball started it's journey. These are the others that were posted. Read all the way to the end if you want to see my absolute favourite. Actually, there were two that I couldn't choose between. Having said that, I can identify with almost every single one of these!
Enjoy, and feel free to add some more in the comments...
You know you're in EMS when...
... you call a bunch of friends to meet up only to realise that they're all working because it's a weekday. Ah shift work. @flobach
... you're more unconscious than your "unconscious" patient at 3am. @goforfink
... a great sense of humour and no sense of smell are essential. @thesmurse
... you have extra gloves in your car, house, everywhere. @texaschef
... you consider asking your partner to start a line on you after a night at the bar. @texaschef
... you decide which hospital to transport minor calls to based on the food choice in the EMS room. @texaschef
... you somehow you manage to treat the patient with toe pain with the same respect as the patient with the genuine emergency. @justmyblog
... you've had to wait for hours in the emergency department for hours, without being a patient. @goforfink
... bed is a missed friend. @seanhfitz
... you've responded to back pain that's getting better, but they still call at 3am. @texaschef
... you have no shame taking the ambulance through a drive-through, and expect a discount! @justmyblog
... 2 hours sleep is considered a full night. @texaschef
... your crew mate takes the bumpy route when you're in the back. @ambulance_999
... you watch "Trauma" and wonder when your service is going to get stretchers like that. *drool* @goforfink
... you drive up to a width restriction and think "will I fit?" @MadMedic1
... you identify random places around town by the call you attended there. @seanhfitz
... you don't remember working a cardiac arrest at the end of your shift because you were asleep. @seanhfitz
... townspeople and ER nurses only recognize you when you're in uniform. @justmyblog
... you drive by an MVA (RTC) and not look at it, because you've seen worse. @texaschef
... you can eat, use the restroom and sleep, all in 20 minutes. @texaschef
... Friday and Saturday become the worst nights of the week. @goforfink
... you can work a 17 hour shift, running all night, and still find the power to go to the pub. @grindermedic
... you look at a person in the street and think "5 loops and call it!" @MadMedic1
... you can live off two hours sleep per night - as long as you have coffee. @justmyblog
... when you get ideas for your lunch from your patient's vomiting. @seanhfitz
... you tell patients "the gloves are for your protection". @ambulance_999
... you drive a Mercedes all day, then get in your car and try to indicate with the windscreen wipers. @goforfink
... you become a dustbin for everyone's poo. @christopher_mcg
... you've mastered the art of getting dressed whilst still dripping from the shower and still looking somewhat ok. @justmyblog
... you drive home after a night shift and realise you've treated the last three red lights as give-way signs. @999donkey
... you're looking for a friend's house at night and reach for the centre console to turn on the floods. @flobach
... when you use all your sympathy at work, and leave none for your family. @mrsinsomniacmed *ahem*
... when the flight attendant asks if any medical people are on board and you try to become invisible. @seanhfitz
... for you to have a good, challenging day at work, someone has to have a really bad one. @ColdGh0stR1der
... when your house is always an organised mess, and your rig looks like something out of Martha Stewart Home. @justmyblog
... you can judge exactly 350 yards, with or without the satnav. @MrTom_Abbott
... you can smell what's wrong with your patient before you can see them. @ambulance_999
... you eat every meal like it's your last, because you know the alerter will go off any second. @ambulance_999
... hot girls walk past you and you notice they have a curvaceous body, slender arms, and beautiful... veins. @flobach
... you utter the phrase "that's not that much vomit!". @510medic
... you turn off the radio to hear the sirens. @EMTDani
... you never have a wardrobe malfunction at work. @flobach
... you can pick the type of vehicle responding by hearing a far away and faint wail of the siren. @flobach.
... even at home, when the phone rings, without thinking you answer it "Ambulance". @multistar
...you know the streets of your patch like the inside of your pocket, but are hopeless outside. @flobach
... you walk into the messroom at 1900, and bid everyone "Good Morning". @insomniacmedic1
... you're off duty and hear sirens, and for a second think they're your sirens. @texaschef
... you go to grab a pen from your breast pocket... but you're off duty and in a T-shirt. @flobach
... you see a trauma in a movie, and immediately run through your assessment. @texaschef
... your wardrobe has a disproportionate amount of green in it. @saintpara
... you refer to you mirrors as whiskers for judging gaps in traffic. @idle_paramedic
... your life is ruled by three-letter abbreviations and complex terminology. @christopher_mcg
... you categorise people by what you think they'll die from. @saintpara
... you can't watch a medical drama without screaming at the TV every time some actor does something wrong. @multistar
... you've answered your personal mobile phone with your callsign. @thesmurse
... you have to stop yourself waving at ambulances / police cars when not at work. @saintpara
... you're constantly tired, over-worked, and under-paid. @multistar
... you're a passenger in any car and out of habit you say "clear left". @thesmurse
... you look on YouTube for car crash vids, and wonder how you'd extricate them. @yellowspanner
... you discuss decapitated bodies at the dinner table. @UKmedic999
And my two favourites? These two laugh out loud moments of pure genius:
... you have too much blood in your caffeine stream. @theroaddoctor
and
... when anything over 8 minutes is just too long. @saintpara
13 comments:
I can empathise completely with mrsinsomniacmed!!!
When you look upon CPR as nothing more than exercise.
When you meet someone new and think "ooooooooh haven't you got lovely veins"!!
Please nicely - but lots of these apply to anyone who has worked in the healthcare field not just EMS!! Especially what you watch on TV and talk about at mealtimes without flinching. I like it when my daughter does "clear left" when I'm driving though - my husband comes up with something totally useless that could mean anything.:-)
When you hear an airwaves radio go off on a tv show and look for yours even though you are off duty!
You're at work watching one of those blooper shows where people fall off things, crash into each other, set themselves on fire... and can't stop laughing.
You always back your own car or truck into your driveway.
You're in a restaurant with coworkers talking about your shift when you suddenly realize all of the tables around yours are suddenly empty.
when your house has been completely stripped of black biros
you thank the EMS gods for allowing you to eat your entire meal while at work at one time, without getting a call to disrupt you.
You have told a newbie to use the stethascope to check for leaks in the tires.
You have told a newbie to check the siren fluid.
You've commented on a blog while riding shotgun running lights & sirens., ;) (like now)
Ambulance Junkie
I love this!
as a USAR responder and student nurse with half a biomedical science degree I have advanced from talking about almost anything to absolutely everything...as long as you don't compare my meal to bodily fluids!
Your boyfriend tells you a story about a guy at the morgue and how "parts" reminded him of au jus sauce and instead of being grossed out you make grilled cheese and au jus sauce for dinner. :]
You're covered in blood after a trauma and assure your friend its ok cause its not your blood as you proceed to strip off your uniform and make plans for dinner
When you say meet me at 1600 hours instead of 4pm.
And when you sign a letter and put your number in brackets after your signature, even when the letter is to the bank!
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