What to do in a Medical Emergency:

Medical Emergencies are difficult to deal with, people always wish they knew what to do, and sometimes in the absence of what to do next panic sets in.  I've been a Paramedic for 4 years, an EMT for 4 before that and an Emergency Medical Dispatcher for 1 year.  Over the years we have lovingly joked about what to do in an emergency and what we wished the public knew when they were having their own emergency. EMS (Emergency Medical Services) Professionals all have their own little brand of humor.  Just because something isn't serious doesn't mean I can't smile through it.  We see the worst of the worst, and we find ways to "grin and bear it."  Here are some helpful hints on what do to in an emergency.

• Don't freak out. You set the tone for the whole scene by staying calm.  By staying calm, you can keep everyone else calm.  911 is there to help, if we get the hint that the scene isn't safe, we will hold back the Paramedic's until the Police Department is on scene and tells us that it's safe.  Other plus sides of staying calm, your heart rate stays down, therefore, if you are having any kind of serious medical emergency you can help minimize the damage by keeping your heart rate down, and also think more clearly.
  
  If you are bleeding, by keeping the heart rate down, you are slowing down how fast you're bleeding out.  Also, if you are having Chest Pain, by staying calm, you are helping reduce the amount of damage, same with a stroke.  In short, nothing good comes from a freak out.... Stay calm.
• Call 911.By staying calm, you can assess the situation. Are they in need of Immediate intervention?  Or do you need a ride to the doctor's office because you are out of medications?  EMS is more than happy to help, but taking an ambulance doesn't always mean you get to pass the waiting room.  I've dropped people off in the waiting room plenty of times.  If you have questions on when to call 911, check out this super official link about: When to call 911
• Please be prepared to give them the address of your emergency, as well as phone number.  We can't send the paramedic's to help if we don't know where you are.  Most Land line phones will give us an exact address, however cell phones will break it down to a 2-4 block radius of where you are.  We can start someone that way, but unless we know exactly where you are, its a needle in a hay stack.  We will ask some other questions to decide what kind of directions we should give you before you get there.  The big questions right off the bat are.... "Are you with the pt now? How old are they?  Are they awake? Are they breathing?"  We can talk you through anything from how to control bleeding, delivering a baby, to CPR and giving medications that can help the patient while the paramedic's are on their way.
• Stay with the PatientThe 911 Dispatcher has lots of questions, so please stay with the patient unless you are in danger.  We will ask questions like, "Are they completely alert?  Are they changing colors?"  We get better information on how we need to direct you to help them this way.  Please stay with us and don't try to skip ahead.  
• Assign someone to go meet the Paramedic's and direct them to the PatientSometimes you are in your home, and the patient is in the furthest back bedroom, or in the back yard, or you are in a large mall, and we have no idea which store you are in, or how to get to that store.   We will ask questions about if you have a gate code that we need to get into your community, or if you have a hidden key somewhere if you can't get to the door to unlock it.
• Put away your family pets

I'm sure that Fido is a perfectly sweet little pumpkin, but when tension is high, and his family is sick and there are strangers in his house, animals will protect what is theirs, or worse yet... Get scared and run. I have pup's, and I know that one will look tough, and the other will run to safety, while the third will do everything to get all the attention.   Please lock them up or assign someone to lock them up so that they aren't going to get scared, hurt us, run away or steal the show.

• Make a list of their medicines

This is a great one to do ahead of time, and store in your wallet, along with a list of your medication allergies and medical history.  Bonus points for keeping it up to date, and adding Doctor's names.  Trust me, I've seen it all, from some medication names scribbled on a piece of paper, or with organized names and dosages, to my pet peeve: 

December 13, 1941 - I got the hiccups for 2 daysJuly 4, 1942 -  fell from tree house, no injuriesSeptember of 1942 -  I think I'm allergic to hay, and pollen

Just give me the good stuff like:
Allergies: Pencillin
Medications:  Mobic, Lovostatin, MetforminMedical History: High Cholesterol, Diabetes, and Arthritis.  
Surgeries: Hysterectomy and Hip replacement
Dr. McDonald -  Primary Care PhysicianDr. Smith - CardiologyDr.  Brown - Endocrinology

What to do in someone else's Emergency or if you see an Ambulance, Fire truck or Police car with their light's and sirens:

• Pull to the right and stop.The Most dangerous part of my job is driving.  I endanger myself to get to the call, and then again to the hospital.  Please help us get home to our families by pulling to the right and stopping.  We don't want to get in a wreck on our way to the call, because that means that we now need 3 ambulances, fire trucks and police cars driving emergency around the city.  (One for the original call, one for you and one for me.)

I'm sure I'll think of some more to add, but for right now... This is what I have.

Remember, Stay call, dial, and cooperate. 

Yield to emergency vehicles, because you never know where they are going.... It may be for your loved one.  If it is: Slow down.

Drive safely and arrive.