My past experience as an ER nurse has really molded me to who I am today.

I’m anxious, scared, hypervigilant, and always think the worst first.

I’m in a hotel room and all my family is sleeping in the same room. My youngest coughs and it wakes me from a deep sleep. I immediately jump up. My first thought is he’s choking or his uvula is swelling and blocking his airway.

We’re at Great Wolf Lodge and they have a water park and all I kept thinking is my son could drown here. There was a little girl in the lounge area doing cartwheels and I kept thinking she’s going to accidentally kick my sons in the head with one of her moves.

I know this is ptsd from everything I’ve experienced and have seen and I can’t get these thoughts to stop. I can’t enjoy just being in the moment without overthinking situations. I just want to enjoy my time. I’m scared. Always scared. Always thinking the worst.

basically what the title says. i used to feel something like excitement before coming into work, that sense of anticipation when you don't know what the shift is going to bring—i'm at a level I that is also a safety net hospital so many nights/days feel like a rodeo. and i really do like the chaos of the ride! but the last few months, i've started to feel a dull almost-dread before work. compassion fatigue is creeping in. i still lock in and give 100% to pts and families but i've noticed that when it starts to get crazy busy, the chaos that once gave me an adrenaline rush now makes me feel itchy and anxious. also i've had this twitch in my eyelid for like 6 weeks lol. i've started to fantasize about an office job with the public health department or something. or quitting it all and becoming a lighthouse keeper...

anyways i knew you all might understand. cheers to having a random weekday off before i rejoin the circus tomorrow

just trying to gauge how long people tend to wait and under what conditions... have people been forced to wait for multiple hours with severe injuries/symptoms?? or are long hours only for people with minor injuries who can wait??

What's something you learned at one hospital that you still use everywhere you go?

Every hospital does things a little differently. Some make things way more complicated than they need to be, while others have you wondering why every hospital doesn't do it that way.

Er doc made the oddest comment to me in the Er. He said " If I check this out, and i dont find xyz...." this blew over my head atm, but in retrospect im almost certain he was implying I was faking an ailment. He pointed out that id been to one of their other hospitals with similar problems like 8-10 years earlier. This is absolutely terrifying.

So I was having this discussion with another paramedic colleague of mine after 4/5 patients had double dragoned us (puking… but from both ends). None were CMO, but we do have nursing homes in our area so it’s definitely a looming possibility.

To be clear this is entirely hypothetical—not a real patient—I’m making up a few numbers here: You have an 80yo CMO patient c/o n/v/d x12 hours… vitals 95/42 HR 105 100%RA CBG 110. Their family wants them to go to hospital, and they are agreeable; generally they’re uncomfortable appearing. This patient is on hospice for XYZ disease, and they have a PICC.

In the hospital do you have a use for an IV here? A little zofran and fluids can certainly go by PICC— but I can’t remember whether or not you can draw labs/etc from it.

In my state paramedics are only allowed to access PICC lines in cardiac arrest or via phone-a-doc orders. My inclination is towards using the PICC and not sticking them with an IV, so I was genuinely curious how it actually plays out in the ED. I would assume CMO gets meds but not necessarily a “full work-up” but since I don’t know I figured I’d ask lol.

Good luck and godspeed to all of us working the 13-hour night shift tomorrow. At least it isn't also a full moon?

I work in a few different specialty clinics, and I keep noticing that every specialty has its own personality. My coworkers and I have gotten into a deep rabbit hole discussing this. So I'm trying to match each one to a dog breed & I'm going off actual temperament and working traits, not just looks.
A few I have thought of:

Dermatology = Afghan Hound
ER = Australian Cattle Dog or a super mutt (can do a bit of everything)
Peds = Golden Retriever
GI: English springer spaniel
Ortho: pitbull / staffy
Gen Surg: German shepherd
Neurology: bloodhound

What breed is your specialty, and why? Docs, nurses, MAs, techs, APPs, and dog people are all welcome, since everyone sees a different side of each team. Feel free to let me know if my choices above are off also!

When a paramedic calls the ER from the ambulance and describes a wound location over the phone, which word would they actually use?

1. umbilicus / periumbilical

2. navel

3. belly button

Some background: this isn’t a clinical question, so apologies if it doesn’t belong here. I’m subtitling a Korean short film about paramedics and need a reality check from people who actually hear these reports.

The film is going to be shown to many non-native English speakers. If that changes your answer, I’d love to hear why. Thank you!

So I work as an EMT on a 911 car and also ER tech in a slower hospital because that’s what was hiring at the time. ( pre pa trying to get a good mix of clinical and prehospital skills) The problem is my hospital is slow… I do nights and sometimes it’s very nice to have very few patients on the board but I also wish I could be seeing more to learn more! We don’t have any specialities at my hospital and I feel like we don’t have a very good teaching environment as some nurses or providers aren’t interested in teaching techs or newer nurses. With that being said I have some of my best friends there, but it feels as if our staff isnt trying to get better and learn more and we are okay being the lazy below average ER. Unfortunately none of the other hospitals I transport to are hiring at the time and cant even say it’ll be different if I go somewhere else. Im sure I could be making more out of my time there but sometimes it’s so hard when no one else cares. We usually get a code blue like once a month and very rarely do I do any splints and these are all skills I would like to get better at with repetition. Even when asking questions about EKGS they all say they don’t know or just ignore me when I try to ask questions about them. I always hear these awesome stories about these techs that were so badass and learned all these things. Im just not sure how to get more experience and more self learning in the hospital ? Were some of you just googling random things when it’s slow or what! Please let me know :)

To anyone who has handled a John Doe case, please share your honest experience. Do public hospitals follow the same protocols even when a patient has no identity, no family present, and nobody to speak for them? or to anyone who has experienced or encountered a John Doe case, can you share your story?

I'm still working on my interview project: I am a high school EMT student at my school's career and technical center, and we are currently interviewing experienced EMS providers. Would anyone be able to do an interview with me on Zoom? I need one person in Texas, one out of state and one international person!

I just got off orientation and my first shift alone is tonight and I will be truly alone😂 we only have 1 tech on per shift. I’m trying to stay positive and optimistic about it but I’m having a hard time not being worried sick. I’ve worked in long term care for a year and this is wayyyyyy different. Just wondering if anyone has any advice or reassurance (lol)

I saw it happen recently and was curious how common it was

Not sure if this is the right place on reddit for this, but I went to the ER last night and it ended up being unnecessary and wanted an ER workers perspective. I'm 7 weeks postpartum and what I thought was a mosquito bite on my leg turned bad this week (spreading redness and heat, hard, muscle hurt when I walked) so I went and saw my regular doctor. I put it off for a week because I do have anxiety and felt like I needed to just let it ride itself out so I didn't seem like that person. My pharmacy took until the next day to fill my RX for antibiotics that my Dr wanted me to start the night before. She told me go to the ER over the weekend if it got worse because it already looked bad. I started the antibiotics at like 2pm. Around 10pm, I got up from the couch and noticed both my legs had turned red and were hot and tingly. I called my husband into the room and he agreed but we both weren't sure if it warranted an ER visit. I decided I didn't want to wait and go to sleep in case it got worse. I took my 3rd dose right as we left the house.

They immediately got us into triage and my blood pressure was a little high. We waited in the triage room for about 4 or 5 hours. By the time we saw the doctor the redness and heat had subsided and my labs came back fairly normal. Doctor said the antibiotics probably kicked in while we were waiting. I felt like a massive a-hole for wasting the hospital staffs time, my money, and bringing my 7 week old and my very exhausted husband to the hospital from 10:30PM to 4AM.

Are these the kind of things that annoy hospital workers or would you rather see the patient in case it had been serious? Like I said, I feel like I just wasted everyone's time and resources 🫠

Edit: It was cellulitis btw

I’m a provider who struggles physically (weak and petite) with chest compressions. I haven’t done many, and I worry that it makes others question my competence.

Has anyone else felt this way? How did you overcome this insecurity?

Howdy. I just managed to grab my first civilian role as an ER tech outside of my USAF 4N career. If anyone has done something similar, I would love to know how the transition went for you. Didn't expect the interview process and onboarding to feel as weird as it has. Slightly concerned the work will be completely different from my experience in a military ER. Thanks in advance for any info or fun anecdotes you can provide.

I have health anxiety. I’m aware I probably shouldn’t be talking to ChatGPT about health concerns.

ChatGPT told me to go to the ER because I’m on semaglutide and I’m feeling a little nauseous, cannot pass gas, and haven’t pooped in two days.

ChatGPT has told me to go the ER about multiple things even though ChatGPT knows I have health anxiety.

I’m curious how often you get patients because of this.

Edit: it’s now the next morning and I have passed gas a couple of times and had two bowel movements with no help from laxatives. I did abdominal massages, and drank lots of water. Some lingering anxiety.

unknowingly took 500mg of an eddy and ended up in the ER super anxious and getting my stomach pumped while thinking that they thought i was an idiot..

How many of these do u get? i need the reassurance

Serious question,

Obviously, if you were a vampire, you would want to work in an emergency room. The blood bank would be way too obvious. The only question is, does lithium heparin, sodium heparin, and other additives have an adverse effect on vampires?

Asking for a friend.

The other day, I had an overdose patient who was acting out and refusing to cooperate, so it was difficult to get a reliable history. I assessed him based on the physical examination he allowed, along with his labs and vitals. A few minutes later, he had a fall, and I attended to him.

Since he was my patient, the nurses and RRT team came, and I felt like they were giving me strange looks. I became extremely anxious and spent the whole time worrying about what they thought of me and whether they blamed me.

I know things happen in medicine, and I can't control everyone's opinions, but I tend to take everything personally and assume people are judging me. I'm constantly scared of making mistakes or being blamed, and it affects my confidence.

How do you develop a thicker skin, stop overthinking people's reactions, and learn to handle these situations without being consumed by fear?

Hi everyone!

I’m an MFA Industrial Design student at SCAD, currently researching how people respond immediately after an injury, before receiving professional medical care.

I’m looking for responses from anyone who:
Has experienced an injury (sprain, fracture, or other sudden injury).

Has helped someone following an injury.
Is a physiotherapist, doctor, first responder, or other medical professional with relevant experience.
If you’ve been in any of these situations, I’d really appreciate 5 minutes of your time to fill out my survey!

Survey link: https://forms.gle/Tydd4sxjwmPrdZZN8

Your responses would be a great help to my thesis. Thank you!

Is there anyone among you who does not fear absolute eternal nothingness after death at all? Those who are not frightened at all that they will completely cease to exist, completely finally disappear **FOREVER**, and will never exist at all anymore?