I really wanted to stay anonymous, so I've changed my YT name. I was worried that I'd not receive good feedback etc you know what the internet can be like. BUT to each person who has commented, I wanted to say thank you. I have read every single one and I am humbled by your words. At a time when I feel low, you have provided some uplift. Thank you to @Syrmor for providing this platform and allowing me to speak, thank you for watching and listening to my stories, I have many many more that's for sure, but I wanted to show people a snipit of what it is like in our industry. Love you all! [redacted] :)
Dude I’ve had a few paramedics in my life :) the most memorable guy was the man who set my broken femur on the roadside after a motorbike accident. He went to cut my leather jacket off, and I snatched my arm and laughed you ain’t cutting this bloody jacket mate. I think it made his day. Wanna say you guys are appreciated massively, and I can imagine how much of your time goes unnoticed or taken for granted. But you literally save lives dude. Thankyou
Also second comment, I heard you saying you wanted to quit. You ever considered getting into being part of the air ambulance service? Would get to ride in a helicopter and see less of the common side of emergency response ? Just a thought*, much love dude. Edit : spelling
My brother is a paramedic and 90% of the calls are homeless or "my nose hurt." and in an emergency, people go "Wait let me grab my purse while I am having a stroke."
It must be tough being a paramedic when you have these constant, mundane calls like that, and then out of nowhere you get the 1 in 100 call where someone has their head chopped off or something
Had a call once where this guy tried to drive himself to the hospital with a bullet wound to the head. When we got there, he got out and tried to walk himself to the stretcher despite us trying to help him into it. 2 min interaction. Refer him as the tank now but haven’t seen him since
Been a paramedic for 7 years in the US and everything he says resonates. If you happen to read this, I completely understand your guilt about lying. A tactic you can try in the future is to shift focus, I'll tell the patient something like "right now our concern is your care" and immediately follow up with assessment questions. Of course, this won't work if they're persistent. In the end, priority 1 is patient care, and if their health was in danger and a single lie helped alleviate that danger, then so be it. That you would agonize about it shows your character.
_"That you would agonize about it shows your character."_ Couldn't agree more. Far more medical professionals are there simply for a paycheck, and couldn't care one bit less about the human under their care, than people know. I spent 30 days in a hospital once, and out of all the nurses and doctors I saw (it was a lot!), only 2 nurses came across as having genuinely cared about the person whose life was in their hands. That was 17 years ago, and I've seen a bunch of docs and nurses since; Those 2 are STILL the only ones I've felt actually gave a damn.
Ben, thank you :) I like this tactic and tried so hard to use it at the time, I remember it so vividly. Her attention was souly on the state of her mum, and I cannot blame her at all, but you're right. Her health at that point was paramount. Thank you 💚
It's relatively easy to find instances of people who fall into downward spirals because they were lied to during critical moments of their lives; but I've never heard of anyone who's life fell apart because the people around them were upfront and honest. I should probably end this with some kind of compliment so it doesn't sound like I'm trying to tell you how to do your job.
@@Quazi-Moto You're entirely right and the problem is real. That said, I don't think it's entirely fair to represent the issue as entirely being a result of the character and intentions of the staff. Believe me, chronic trauma doesn't take long to start legitimately burning out one's ability to be that emotionally present and sensitive. This is a big part of why issues like addiction and other behavioral illness show up disproportionately in populations that experience disproportionate chronic trauma, like poverty and homelessness in my case, or like exposure to constant secondhand and firsthand trauma in EMS or other first responder roles. Nurses bear a ton of horrible chronic trauma and are wildly ludicrously egregiously undersupported. And most of their job is, by nature, being between a rock and a hard place, trying to force patients' individual pragmatic needs to fit into systems full of flawed inane policies.
People who work medical jobs of any kind are selfless heros, the pay in the UK is criminally low considering the amount of hours they have to work and the situations they have to deal with on a day-to-day basis. Proud of my cousin who works as a paramedic herself
@@geordiebooth4988 I'm curious, how does it work down there for you guys? Big contract EMS for large areas like the western U.S. or city based because of how your population is concentrated? Do your fire departments run it or is it hospital based?
@@joelaugustin6407 Each state has its own statewide ambulance service. And we are all registered under AHPRA, the same organisation that sets out minimum practice standards and education requirements for all health care professionals in Australia. So paramedicine here is a 3 years bachelors degree now. It’s a very different system to the US. We are all government backed, public, under the given states department of health. Any private ambulance work is usually non emergency patient transport and don’t respond to 000 (911) calls.
I took an overdose and the crew that turned up to deal with me were amazing. My ex and my best friend had both contacted 999 after receiving a goodbye call from me. I was completely off my nuts, and tripping hard on the drugs I had taken, it was a suicide attempt and I expected it to work. I was surprised when they turned up and told them to go rescue someone who wanted to live. They said, well that's what we want for you. I will never, in a 1000 lifetimes forget their kindness towards me at the darkest point of my life. They were completely respectful, they were honest with me, and absolute bloody heroes. I cannot, for the life of me understand why our NHS staff are subjected to abuse and violence on a daily basis, when they are humans who go above and beyond for everyone of us.
I'd never use OD as a suicide method, to much chance they could save me. Gotta use much more lethal force than just some drugs. If I was gonna OD it wouldn't be on anything recreational either, regular drug ODs Luke aspirin are harder to treat. I'd really just not want to fail
I almost went to school to be an EMT but I didnt. It's a tough job. One er nurse said to me to think carefully before committing the time and money. Because he said, the minute you see a dead child that could be the end of your career. And if it isnt, itll stay with you. Personally I have enough invisible scars, so I didnt pursue. I have a great respect for anyone in this field. Thank you to this man and everyone who works in this field
Yea i feel you. I went to college to be a nurse but after my first semester I i realized it probably wasn't a good idea because I am not good at dealing with real life gore.
I've been an EMT for 5 years. I am really good at my job, and I have a real passion for my job. I still on the regular wish I never did it. Especially because now I don't think I could go back. It's not a popular opinion but I can't in good faith recommend it to people as a sustainable career.
I always wonder what place sociopaths have in the world and hearing about this job, I think they're the perfect fit. You have to see a dead child and go to sleep the same night and I think they're one of the few people who could do it
Sending all my wishes to this wonderful soul. As someone who has had a medical emergency with my baby girl, you do amazing. Hospital staff in general (the good ones) do so much and I’m so thankful. Keep that compassion. Know that we appreciate it more than you know.
Thank you for this, I've read every comment and really I am humbled and have shed a few tears. I appreciate your support 💚. I wanted to remain anonymous so I have changed my YT name, but I am reading and I am grateful.
I brace myself emotionally before these videos, most don't think this way and I appreciate the Realism of "working a job" but with integrity, in these regards. I get why people just go to work and don't care about things or the impact of their job and the weights they may carry, it's too much for them. Kudos to those who work with a purpose and have a level of integrity. My hat is off to you.
My friend mentally broke down the other day because his EMT job doesn't pay shit and we live in a bad area. Its crazy you can save lives for less then a line worker in a warehouse
@@alastor8091 Free healthcare is fine when the services are adequately funded, which they would be if resources were used properly because the resources are there.
My wife is a Nurse and she can relate to this. she's had to deal with family after patients pass away. Like he says in this video sometimes the family of patients get aggressive and threaten staff. It's not an easy life. But it can be rewarding as well. sometimes she works with patients who make a full recovery and it makes her feel wonderful. Definitely a hard job that's mentally taxing and not for everyone. Thank you for sharing your story. I think it's important everyone hears this.
Mine is as well. I always tell her that she has the 1 job that i dont think i could handle. Im not built to absorb and deflect that heartbreak everyday
This guy is in pain, you can tell the job is consuming him from the inside. And, despite that, he keeps on going. Had me to tears. To people like him: thank you, I'm grateful for who you are.
My father went out like Elvis, on the shitter. But jokes aside, it wasn't easy on me for the first year after I found him dead, went through five bottles of liquor in three months, and they weren't the small bottles either. I'm surprised I'm even still here. But the paramedics and the officers that showed up were exceptionally nice and did an amazing job of calming me down so I could talk to them about everything
I found my step dad after he died from a heart attack. The EMS people who came were amazing. I'll always remember the look of empathy and genuine care on the young emts face. He probably doesn't know how much he positively impacted my healing process.
I’ve worked in healthcare as a care attendant for three years now. A part of my job is washing and dressing bodies of patients who have passed away, either for the funeral home to pick up or before/ while the families say their last goodbyes and I can testify to say that you truly do never forget that wail that a deceased’s loved one may make when they get the news or see the body being taken to the funeral home.
Skimmed by as the interviewee spoke "about 9 times out of 10 they're on the toilet", and my brain helpfully combined the things and interpreted "I've been on the toilet for 12 years". I'm officially entirely too behind on sleep 😆
People that deal with life and death regularly (EMT, morticians, etc) really have to be so emotionally fortified. This guy is way stronger than I could be to even deal with it as well as he has.
I was an EMT and a Psych tech in an rough inner city. It changed me and how I see my fellow humans, When you look into the abyss, The abyss looks back into you No one prepares you for the absurdity and suffering of it all, especially when you are prone for things to imprint on you deeply. Grateful for everyone who I’ve worked with and all those who continue the good fight. God bless
I’m an EMT in training, I plan to go all the way and become a paramedic over the next few years. Lot of respect for this guy and every other EMS worker out there.
I have done counseling. The one case that haunts me to this day was the paramedic who had to treat a 2 year old baby and... I will spare you what happened to that child and it absolutely broke him. I still have nightmares about what he told me. No. I didn't experience it myself. He just described it and I'm fucked up just thinking about it. If I'm just getting the experience second hand and it was that bad, you can only imagine how borked he was..
Yeah secondary, indirect, vicarious trauma, all words used to describe the same thing. Humans, some in particular, have an incredibly powerful ability to empathize, our brains have mirror neurons that play an important part in that. Your brain can emulate another person's experience so impactfully to you that it can nearly duplicate the emotional trauma the victim suffers just by the slightest indirect exposure to it like seeing it, hearing it, or simply reading about it. None of us are perfect, except one, Jesus Christ, if you believe in that kind of thing. Christ's love is truly perfect. Our imperfect human love and compassion for others and even ourselves can fail, but His love never fails.
Sound like his branch is underfunded if he's working by himself a bunch. I can't imagine going to a house, telling a family their loved one died, and then going back to my ambulance and sitting in silence until the next call comes
I've been a nurse for 4 years, but I'm about to start as a paramedic in Australia next week. Though I know I'll see some gut-wrenching scenes and have to deliver bad news, every job sucks in some way. At least for this, it will be suffering for something worthwhile: being the best part of someone's worst day.
I’ve been thinking about being a nurse I’m starting my uni course of nursing next year and am curious to know what position you did and what kind of things you experienced?
Gut wrenching scenes and bad news don't even crack my top 10 of things that "suck" about this job... they're incredible opportunities for reflection and growth, if you frame them that way.
@@duckdumplings6624 I did various positions in hospitals as a student, but ended up being a GP nurse for 4 years. Clinically, GP nursing is as shallow as a puddle, but very wide; you do a bit of everything. ECGs, vaccinations, blood collection and cannulation (if you do extra training), spirometry, care plans. The hardest parts were managing parents when doing vaccines for kids, and learning to deal with phone calls. You really learn how to talk to people. GP nursing has the advantage of getting to know your patients quite well. You have constant repeats, especially if they have chronic conditions or wounds that require dressing and care. You have the sadness with losing old patients and their spouses and children coming to see you, but comforting them is part of the job. I'll advise you that ward work can become very routine, even though it gets deeper clinically. You'll start as a generalist, then advance your skills deeper in a few particular areas. I've seen cardiac nurses that are more knowledgeable than the average doctor in their department. However, put them on a renal ward, and watch them panic (eg: a dialysis patient has 70/40 BP? Emergency everywhere else. Renal ward, give them some Nepro and check on them in 20 minutes, they'll be fine). Explore wards and get placements in a variety of settings. Try a GP if you're good at customer service. Mental health if you have a soothing voice and are well grounded. ED if you like fast action and deeper clinical work (but remove yourself if you are burning out). Try age brackets, like geriatrics or paediatrics. Consider what body system interests you (cardiac, respiratory, renal, skeletal, neuro). If you want slow but intensive one-to-one focus, try ICU nursing.
As a paramedic intern in America, I have seen a fair share of nasty accidents and watched people die on me and luckily I have been able to cope with this by talking about it, it has helped me out so much mentally to move on when I talk about it and learn from those mistakes I have made
This channel reminds me of Channel 5 with Andrew. Raw, real, and a peer into what the average everyday person goes through. Thanks for the work you do.
This hits me, it's a brutal job that requires a strong mindset. It's funny how we call those who take lives heroes, yet we often ignore those who do their best to save them. That needs to change, I wasn't one for standing around clapping and never will be, but those in the medical professions deserve far greater respect in general, and much better pay. And we can help, by actually taking care of our own health as best we can, so that they see fewer dead folk on toilets and more dead folk peacefully tucked up in bed having died of very old age whilst they slept. I mean, amusingly, the best way to respect medial professionals, is to do your best to make their jobs practically needless. At least until old age finally gets you, unless you somehow achieve immortality first.
Syrnmor, these interviews are always insightful and touching. The one you did with a military vet a while back haunts me. This series is genius, giving people an anonymous soap box, or maybe not a soap box, but a space, to share their story, it's brilliant. Thank you.
My colleagues at the red cross are all amazing people. I've only worked there for six years, I have massive respect for all the full time paramedics that have been doing this for 15-25 years plus. Even those tough people told me that they had to take two days off, when they get called to a young child, and the child doesn't make it. It's devastating. I've seen some things that I'm never going to get. I've wheeled a twenty year old woman into the mourge when I was twenty four. She started treatment in the hospital when I started to volunteer, she was the first patient I was assigned to transport and care for in the hospital, 9 months later she was my last patient I wheeled into the hospital mourge. With tumours on her head visibly have grown from her then shaved head, it was inoperable. It was disheartening to bring someone to the walk in freezer with all those other people that died from old age/natural causes, when they are so close to your own age or younger. Or another sweet old lady that was always happy to see me, I transported the patients in their beds inside the hospital to their examinations, like CT, x rays, oncology etc. When she passed the hospital's psychiatrist asked me if I want to talk, because I seemed that I was really close to her. She also died on the same evening after throwing up blood on a trip outside with the bed, since she asked me to see the sun one last time. She knew it was ending, she must have felt it.
My dad was a paramedic for 20 years and I have nothing but respect for those who have the heart, guts, and mind to follow their soul into that profession.
I had a coworker who was in training to be a paramedic. He could not stand the sound of babies crying, and I never knew why until he told me about his first day shadowing. He was working in the morning so they went to waffle house, and one of the waitresses there was pregnant, like about to give birth any day pregnant. Well a few hours after that, they got a call about a birth and lo and behold it’s the waitress. Thing is, her baby didn’t make it. My coworker delivered a still birth on his first day. I didn’t know any of this until like a month after the fact when he told me. I never really got upset for him leaving me to work by myself whenever a baby cried after that.
my dad recently had a heart attack not too long ago, scariest moment of my life. it was me and my brother at the house and it was terrifying as we watched him scream in pain and we couldn’t do anything to help him. 911 came in the next 5 minutes and he got help, turns out he had 99% blockage in his widow maker in his heart. i’ll never forget this moment sadly, i’m glad me and my brother were there to do something.
My husband is an EMT and starts paramedic school in August. I worry a lot about his mental health in the future but he wants to help people and I’m so proud of him
I honestly think people that can work in a job like this have to be the smartest and most quick witted people you can think off. This is something you can't teach beyond a certain technical point and being able to learn from observation and experience is incredibly demanding and hard. Getting actually good in a high level stress job that also requires you to act calmly with people in their worst moments is a feat on its own. The best of us with the hardest jobs should get the recognition they deserve.
Smart... not necessarily. Quick witted, definitely. Calm under pressure, absolutely. Increasingly I think these are just immutable personality characteristics though... while you view it as a "hard" job, I don't think I could ever do anything else. I would fail spectacularly in an office... so let's also recognize all the accountants out there that can look at balance sheets for hours and still be sharp enough to find the single arithmetic error that almost crashed the company 😀 it takes all kinds to make the world go 'round.
cheers man. im in the US and have been in EMS for 8 years and a medic for 1 now. after 1 year of being the paramedic i left healthcare. now i have a job that is peaceful and stress free. ill never go back to full time healthcare. thank god that there are people who still want to be healthcare workers because it is an absolute shit job. you also did a much better way of accurately portraying EMS than any piece of fiction or media has, with a realism that they often forget.
"You knew what you were getting into" bruh people don't have future sight. You won't REALLY know how it is until it happens. You can prepare as much as possible and it is tbf your decision but you really won't know how it will be until you're there.
As an emt of course we know what we’re getting into and the things we can see and have seen on video before, but nothing can prepare you for being in that moment and knowing what to do and staying level headed to do your job.
My family had a paramedic and her daughter from Kyiv stay at our place for a few months. She told the absolute madness that was going on in the first hours and days of the war. She and her team rescued injured soldiers from radar stations and told how they drove during air raids.
My family had a paramedic and her two daughters from Moscow stay at our place for a few months. She told the absolute madness that was going on in the first hours and days of the war. She and her team rescued injured Russian soldiers and told how they drove during air raids. But slightly more tragic than your story.
@@flytrapYTP I dunno what needs explaining.. do you doubt my family's paramedic and her two daughters from Moscow?? And it's tragic aspect that slightly outdoes OP??
@@JaMeshuggah You making this into some weird tragedy measuring contest? Sharing that you have a similar experience is fine, going ahead and saying it is "slightly more tragic" is rude when the entire war is a ongoing tragedy.
@@Ozzianman whoa it sounds like you lack empathy for what my paramedic and her two daughters went through. Really tragic and sad how you invalidate their experiences and kick them while they are down.
As someone who works EMS in the US, a lot of what was mentioned really resonates with me and hits home. Between being treated like complete garbage by the public, treated like we’re a taxi service, the countless mundane calls you do, then that one really bad one that comes up, it really takes a toll on you. Especially when you get those days where you get some really fucked up call, have to deal with the family screaming and crying and then the call after that bad call is just something completely ridiculous bc that person abuses the 911 system, idk about others in this field, but I know for me personally, you can’t help but experience those dark moments of losing your humanity slowly. It’s something people can’t quite understand unless they’ve worked in the field themselves. In the end though, it’s a job that I can’t see myself not doing, and while it can be mentally and psychically taxing, all you can really do is to just try and make the best of it and learn as much as you can so that you can actually make a difference for others
I listen to a podcast called "sawbones" that is sort of a comedy/medical podcast about medical history. One of the presentors is a doctor and she once said "if I'm the first one on the scene of an accident, of course I will help. But I'm a family doctor, if there are EMTs on the scene, I'd rather leave it to them. They are better equipped and have much more skill when it comes to accidents and urgent care". You guys are amazing! I've wanted to become a paramedic myself, but I don't think my mental health could handle it.
Both paramedics I know have told me about some incredibly traumatic experiences. On top of that is seeing how it clearly affected them. One being brand new and the other already retired
watching most of your videos i cry because all of these stories are so sad yet comforting in the fact that many people feel the same way even if we think we are alone in our thoughts.
I couldn't handle it. I can barely handle hearing about it. Shit, I used to want to be a therapist until dealing with a suicidal ex. I'd be good at the job, but I can't handle the intensity of others' suffering. I feel too much of it.
Bro i love your channel its the truth, you will never see stories like this in the news. Real visceral stories from real people, real workers, servicemen and stuff its amazing. I love it so much.
People like him are angels of this world. I couldn't do what they do, and I have the highest respect for the important work paramedics do for our society. They're the lighthouses in the valley of shadow and death. I wish him the best in life, such a kind hearted man.
I've been binging these types of videos like mad and it's just.... Harrowing the confessions in these videos, man. It's unlike nothing I've never seen before and I know that more exposure would be bogging down the incredible work of the creators of these channels but more people need to hear these stories; some are just.... Appalling others are unbelievably hopeful and everything in between. I didn't know this side of this hellscape existed but I am so glad to have discovered it.
I have a professor who’s a death investigator and says the worst cases he gets are children and always feels bad when they call EMTS first instead of his branch because most of the time the EMTS are still kids fresh out of college/HS
Staffing shortages? High Turnover? Lots of sick days used? Sounds like EMT's in the UK aren't getting paid fairly either. In the US the crew in the ambulance barely makes more an hour than the crew in the fast food shop.
Nice job man, another great video. I enjoy these interviews and RL accounts so much. Corny as it may sound - the juxtaposition of a meme vr avatar accompanied with a real persons profound and surreal life experiences hits different. Your style and content is so captivating. Love the medium, love the people. Can't put my finger on WHY it hits so much, but the niche is so on point. Grateful to have found you. This channel is awesome.
Holy shit. The average career span of a paramedic is only 5 years? Dude is a gift from god--if you believe in that kind of thing. Seriously, we need more people like this.
@@beemerwt4185 In paramedic role specifically, or including the time on EMS teams leading up to that before obtaining the higher cert? I don't doubt that you checked the figures, just wondering about context/parameters. Every state I've looked-into-details-about requires EMT experience before being admitted to paramedic training so it makes sense there could be an overall EMS-career-years value being discussed. 5 just still sounds awfully generous to me if it's meant to be years serving as a medic specifically 🤷♂️ (Of course, my previous figure is a good several years outdated by now, it's occurring to me, so perhaps a change isn't that crazy.)
Something about watching this channel where spiderman is standing in a feild talking about death and medical work is so strange. With headphones on in public I can only wonder what someone thinks seeing my screen.
Being emt is so rough. My uncle(my mom told me this he never talks about it) had to respond to a call about a plane breaking up over a forest. He had to go out there and get bodies out of the trees that were still strapped to the chairs. Like that alone can fuck someone up. I imagine all the suicides and ods is just mentally taxing ontop of telling someone their child is dead. Paramedics see and deal with so much it's overwhelming to think about.
I know a doctor, he says for anyone considering going to medical school, they should become an EMT for a year first, as it is the best preparation for being a doctor.
The comment about hearing the anguish in a parents scream when they are told their child has died... I have heard that scream, and it still haunts me 10 years later. My daughter was a toddler, fighting for her life in a nicu ward when the child next to her died and was unable to be revived, and the little boys mother made that terrible scream. That experience broke me for a few years. I couldnt even talk to my friends about it because it was too painful to talk about, and they just wouldnt understand.
A lot of my relatives work in medical field, from all the stories they told me while growing up I knew early I didn't want to work in that field myself. I remember one story my aunt told me when she as paramedic was called to a family where one of their elders passed away during the night. The family members wanted to recuperate that person even though the old lady in question was 90+ and died of natural courses in her sleep. She didn't wanted to do it (since it was a peaceful and expected dead) but family insisted so she did cpr. She told me she could hear the old lady's ribcage creak just from doing so which made the family even more freak out.
It’s an odd coincidence you release this today, I just finished my A level exams and will be going to university to train as a paramedic this September. Im very excited for the job, but I know that it’s going to be very stressful and gut-wrenching as well, and I’ll see many different sides to people. It’s always interesting to see other peoples point of view in healthcare, especially a paramedic considering I’ll be doing this in a few years time, so thank you for posting this and thank you to the person for talking about it!
Hearing a paramedics story these days knowing that a lot of them have full feelings for patients ive heard of a fair few medics actually crying while i have hour half long seizures that wont stop no matter what they hit me with ( i was told this a few days later when i woke up) mad respect for all paramedics you guys go through some tough shit
Yeah, thats rough. But it can be weird on the other side too. My dad died and the paramedic told me like it was my car and the engine couldnt be fixed. One of the other paramedics consoled me though. I just took the first guys attitude as hes done this so much its become routine.
Even if sometimes paramedics can't save people, i've been saved by them (not in the UK though) barely 3months ago. It could not have been so, if i didn't have the reflex of telling my relatives i'd be too sick to take care of myself the following day, and sure enough i have no memory of that day, having my heart f*cked. If they didn't take me to a hospital i'd be dead for sure, so i'm glad for the people around me, they chose to get me to a hospital even if at first i refused to (apparently - no memories of it). As STookie said : they do make a difference, and they do genuinely help people. I thank them for that, especially since i know i'd cry myself to sleep evryday in their situation.
I've been a paramedic for a bit over six years now. We are only being called to emergencies and as he said unlike him not as common practitioners, that seems to be really unique to the UK.
I have had the displeasure of being born with a lot of bad in my genes which has lead to me having a lot of experience with paramedics. They are some of the most wonderful people i have had they joy of being around when i am the sickest in my life. Was times when i had to be driven really, really fast to the ER and they have always gotten me there. They often care more than the people on the hospital do weirdly enough. They do so much! I have always tried to show appreciation for the ambulance personnel because they do so damn much and i always feel like an asshole because i feel like i make their day worse when they have to take care of me. Hearing him talk makes me feel like they desereve way mor ethan i can give back. It must be horrible to see people in the worst everyday, but at the same time. I WOULD have been loooong dead if people like him didn't do what he does so i thank him for what he does for us all in society. They are the heroes of our everyday lives.
hi spiderman if you’re reading this, i’m 16 and i’ve always wanted to be a paramedic. my plan after high school is jumping straight into getting my emt certificate.many of the topics you’ve covered are my greatest fears. i wish there was more videos like this of anonymous honesty in the medic field, i really appreciate this video. thank you.
Thank you for sharing spider man. I really love hearing these perspectives of real life. Life is short, live it to the fullest of whatever you want to do ❤️
It's all good until you get that call that keeps you up at night, not with tears, but because you feel nothing. That worries me more than anything else in this field. Don't lose your compassion my friends.
Hell, in the states, one of the phrases we HAVE to say before allowing to signs refusal is "by signing this you are releasing me of all Liabilty UP TO AND INCLUDING DEATH." You understand that you will likely die if you do not go to the hospital. Oh well. I loved that you said the same things we said to family members, "call us back if/when he passes out and he can't refuse."
I heard burnout will happen most to those that think their work is above their own needs those who think "this is no big deal I love this people have it worse then me" sure some have it worse but half if then are dead you understand? take care of yourself don't devalue your feats and accomplishments just cuz you climbing k2 every goddamn day doesn't mean its not hard or Any less deserving of praise you are a goddamn hero and I hate that its overused and it makes you think you aren't human anymore and to an extended you really aren't at times but heros too need to refill their energy bar and top off on things take care of your vessel and flush your brain every now and then actually do it daily 10 min no more no less and remember I you no longer can or want to do it there will always be someone else to fill your shoes pick up your torch maybe you can teach them before you pass them the torch but don't overstay just because you think no one would do it instead if you people are awesome don't forger that you are people too after all people will manage and you can ride this ride until you don't want to anymore don't forbid yourself from trying another different fruit life has to offer life has to be worth living or else its not life go and eat what you want to eat be who you want to be and this night you will decide if you continue or switch and next night you will do the same live your life but be sure to live YOUR life
From German EMS... The UK health care system seems seriously troubled... It would be unthinkable to just work on your own when your teammate gets sick or to have an unqualified trainee lead a case on his own. Damn.
@@JohnSmith-mc2zz similar here in Germany. An emergency ambulance requires a minimum crew of an EMT (Rettungssanitäter) and a paramedic (notfallsanitäter). If we find a dead guy, we look for clear indicators of death, otherwise we start cpr til a doctor arrives. For most serious calls, they try to dispatch an emergency medicine trained doctor as well, together another paramedic. No-one is ever dispatched alone.
@@JohnSmith-mc2zz EMTs in the US are not allowed to declare death but can look for obvious signs of death (decapitation, pooling of blood, etc.) but once CPR is initiated, it cannot be stopped until directed by medical control to do so.
I really wanted to stay anonymous, so I've changed my YT name. I was worried that I'd not receive good feedback etc you know what the internet can be like. BUT to each person who has commented, I wanted to say thank you. I have read every single one and I am humbled by your words. At a time when I feel low, you have provided some uplift. Thank you to @Syrmor for providing this platform and allowing me to speak, thank you for watching and listening to my stories, I have many many more that's for sure, but I wanted to show people a snipit of what it is like in our industry.
Love you all!
[redacted] :)
Good job sir. I take off another one of my hats for you. If I'd wear more to take off, but well, I'd be naked.
As a fellow brit I thank you man
Dude I’ve had a few paramedics in my life :) the most memorable guy was the man who set my broken femur on the roadside after a motorbike accident.
He went to cut my leather jacket off, and I snatched my arm and laughed you ain’t cutting this bloody jacket mate. I think it made his day.
Wanna say you guys are appreciated massively, and I can imagine how much of your time goes unnoticed or taken for granted. But you literally save lives dude.
Thankyou
Also second comment, I heard you saying you wanted to quit. You ever considered getting into being part of the air ambulance service?
Would get to ride in a helicopter and see less of the common side of emergency response ?
Just a thought*, much love dude.
Edit : spelling
Thanks for your services, I could imagine how difficult it could be some days.
My brother is a paramedic and 90% of the calls are homeless or "my nose hurt." and in an emergency, people go "Wait let me grab my purse while I am having a stroke."
It must be tough being a paramedic when you have these constant, mundane calls like that, and then out of nowhere you get the 1 in 100 call where someone has their head chopped off or something
@@maybetomorrownewmaker Unfortunately that 1 in 100 is often significantly less obvious than a decapitation, but otherwise you are correct.
lmao that was me with a fully collapsed lung i went to my car to get my hospital bag before going inside the ambulance
Interesting.... Thanks for sharing!
Had a call once where this guy tried to drive himself to the hospital with a bullet wound to the head. When we got there, he got out and tried to walk himself to the stretcher despite us trying to help him into it. 2 min interaction. Refer him as the tank now but haven’t seen him since
Been a paramedic for 7 years in the US and everything he says resonates. If you happen to read this, I completely understand your guilt about lying. A tactic you can try in the future is to shift focus, I'll tell the patient something like "right now our concern is your care" and immediately follow up with assessment questions. Of course, this won't work if they're persistent. In the end, priority 1 is patient care, and if their health was in danger and a single lie helped alleviate that danger, then so be it. That you would agonize about it shows your character.
Amazing advice Ben.
_"That you would agonize about it shows your character."_
Couldn't agree more. Far more medical professionals are there simply for a paycheck, and couldn't care one bit less about the human under their care, than people know.
I spent 30 days in a hospital once, and out of all the nurses and doctors I saw (it was a lot!), only 2 nurses came across as having genuinely cared about the person whose life was in their hands.
That was 17 years ago, and I've seen a bunch of docs and nurses since; Those 2 are STILL the only ones I've felt actually gave a damn.
Ben, thank you :) I like this tactic and tried so hard to use it at the time, I remember it so vividly. Her attention was souly on the state of her mum, and I cannot blame her at all, but you're right. Her health at that point was paramount. Thank you 💚
It's relatively easy to find instances of people who fall into downward spirals because they were lied to during critical moments of their lives;
but I've never heard of anyone who's life fell apart because the people around them were upfront and honest.
I should probably end this with some kind of compliment so it doesn't sound like I'm trying to tell you how to do your job.
@@Quazi-Moto You're entirely right and the problem is real. That said, I don't think it's entirely fair to represent the issue as entirely being a result of the character and intentions of the staff.
Believe me, chronic trauma doesn't take long to start legitimately burning out one's ability to be that emotionally present and sensitive. This is a big part of why issues like addiction and other behavioral illness show up disproportionately in populations that experience disproportionate chronic trauma, like poverty and homelessness in my case, or like exposure to constant secondhand and firsthand trauma in EMS or other first responder roles.
Nurses bear a ton of horrible chronic trauma and are wildly ludicrously egregiously undersupported. And most of their job is, by nature, being between a rock and a hard place, trying to force patients' individual pragmatic needs to fit into systems full of flawed inane policies.
Paramedics deserve more pay and recognition
amen
“Who is your favorite super hero?”
“British paramedic spider man.”
🕷❤💙🕷🇬🇧🚑
this needs more likes
People who work medical jobs of any kind are selfless heros, the pay in the UK is criminally low considering the amount of hours they have to work and the situations they have to deal with on a day-to-day basis. Proud of my cousin who works as a paramedic herself
If you know of anywhere paying it's EMS, FD or PD well, please tell us, maybe they can convince everyone else. Criminal is a nice way to put it.
Some of them are heroes. Some of them are just collecting a paycheck. Some of them are criminals.
@@joelaugustin6407 Australia
@@geordiebooth4988 I'm curious, how does it work down there for you guys? Big contract EMS for large areas like the western U.S. or city based because of how your population is concentrated? Do your fire departments run it or is it hospital based?
@@joelaugustin6407 Each state has its own statewide ambulance service. And we are all registered under AHPRA, the same organisation that sets out minimum practice standards and education requirements for all health care professionals in Australia.
So paramedicine here is a 3 years bachelors degree now.
It’s a very different system to the US. We are all government backed, public, under the given states department of health.
Any private ambulance work is usually non emergency patient transport and don’t respond to 000 (911) calls.
I took an overdose and the crew that turned up to deal with me were amazing. My ex and my best friend had both contacted 999 after receiving a goodbye call from me.
I was completely off my nuts, and tripping hard on the drugs I had taken, it was a suicide attempt and I expected it to work. I was surprised when they turned up and told them to go rescue someone who wanted to live. They said, well that's what we want for you. I will never, in a 1000 lifetimes forget their kindness towards me at the darkest point of my life. They were completely respectful, they were honest with me, and absolute bloody heroes.
I cannot, for the life of me understand why our NHS staff are subjected to abuse and violence on a daily basis, when they are humans who go above and beyond for everyone of us.
glad you're here man!
They should've listened to you
I'm glad you made it. I hope you use your life for good, no matter how small.
I'd never use OD as a suicide method, to much chance they could save me. Gotta use much more lethal force than just some drugs. If I was gonna OD it wouldn't be on anything recreational either, regular drug ODs Luke aspirin are harder to treat. I'd really just not want to fail
Thank you for your kind remarks. I hope the same is true for you too.
I almost went to school to be an EMT but I didnt. It's a tough job. One er nurse said to me to think carefully before committing the time and money. Because he said, the minute you see a dead child that could be the end of your career. And if it isnt, itll stay with you.
Personally I have enough invisible scars, so I didnt pursue. I have a great respect for anyone in this field.
Thank you to this man and everyone who works in this field
Yea i feel you. I went to college to be a nurse but after my first semester I i realized it probably wasn't a good idea because I am not good at dealing with real life gore.
@@stupid90able oh fuck I hadnt even thought of that 😱
I've been an EMT for 5 years. I am really good at my job, and I have a real passion for my job.
I still on the regular wish I never did it. Especially because now I don't think I could go back. It's not a popular opinion but I can't in good faith recommend it to people as a sustainable career.
I always wonder what place sociopaths have in the world and hearing about this job, I think they're the perfect fit. You have to see a dead child and go to sleep the same night and I think they're one of the few people who could do it
It took 6 years after laying hands on my first dead baby before the PTSD time bomb exploded. Idk how I held it off for so long.
Sending all my wishes to this wonderful soul. As someone who has had a medical emergency with my baby girl, you do amazing. Hospital staff in general (the good ones) do so much and I’m so thankful. Keep that compassion. Know that we appreciate it more than you know.
Thank you for this, I've read every comment and really I am humbled and have shed a few tears. I appreciate your support 💚. I wanted to remain anonymous so I have changed my YT name, but I am reading and I am grateful.
Tell that to the people I've met.
I brace myself emotionally before these videos, most don't think this way and I appreciate the Realism of "working a job" but with integrity, in these regards. I get why people just go to work and don't care about things or the impact of their job and the weights they may carry, it's too much for them. Kudos to those who work with a purpose and have a level of integrity. My hat is off to you.
Takes me multiple sittings to watch these videos but they're consistently my favorite interviews off all time
My friend mentally broke down the other day because his EMT job doesn't pay shit and we live in a bad area. Its crazy you can save lives for less then a line worker in a warehouse
im switching jobs from a line cook to an emt. they pay exactly the same. depressing isnt it?
@@Doggybudder then why would you switch jobs
@@imhopelesslyaddictedtofent4266 Because the work is more meaningful than flipping burgers
@@Element7099 thats exactly why my paramedic buddy bulls triple digit hour shifts everytime he can, and its not for the 2x-3x overtime
paramedics deserve so much more recognition :-(
yeah but they aint gonna ever get the recognition that they deserve because money. Money is what makes the world go around and nothing but money.
@@comdrive3865 Dark truth
@@marcoconuts the only reason being that becoming a paramedic requires much more advanced training than becoming an emt.
@@marcoconuts personally, i believe all health care workers are heroes and they all deserve recognition !
“We’re understaffed”
“We’re treated as GPs”
“We’re treated as social workers” my brother in Christ I have discovered why you all are stretched so thin
yeah theres also not enough GPs and social workers, hence why paramedics are being shoved onto this, takes weeks to see a GP and Social Worker :(
@@echothehottie at least its free right?
Because their government isn't paying them what they're worth, since they don't want to raise the taxes for it any higher.
>be american
>get shot
>ambulance trip costs 1000$
>die waiting for the uber
@@alastor8091 Free healthcare is fine when the services are adequately funded, which they would be if resources were used properly because the resources are there.
As a former, professional firefighter/aemt this hits painfully close to home.
My wife is a Nurse and she can relate to this. she's had to deal with family after patients pass away. Like he says in this video sometimes the family of patients get aggressive and threaten staff. It's not an easy life. But it can be rewarding as well. sometimes she works with patients who make a full recovery and it makes her feel wonderful. Definitely a hard job that's mentally taxing and not for everyone. Thank you for sharing your story. I think it's important everyone hears this.
Mine is as well. I always tell her that she has the 1 job that i dont think i could handle. Im not built to absorb and deflect that heartbreak everyday
"Make people comfortable as they die" that struck me. Hearts to all healthcare workers out there you make the world a better place.
It’s quite fitting that his character is a hero.
This guy is in pain, you can tell the job is consuming him from the inside. And, despite that, he keeps on going. Had me to tears. To people like him: thank you, I'm grateful for who you are.
My father went out like Elvis, on the shitter. But jokes aside, it wasn't easy on me for the first year after I found him dead, went through five bottles of liquor in three months, and they weren't the small bottles either. I'm surprised I'm even still here. But the paramedics and the officers that showed up were exceptionally nice and did an amazing job of calming me down so I could talk to them about everything
Shit's hard man. Good luck.
I found my step dad after he died from a heart attack. The EMS people who came were amazing. I'll always remember the look of empathy and genuine care on the young emts face. He probably doesn't know how much he positively impacted my healing process.
Five bottles of liqour in three months is not bad. On a bad day Ill do a bottle per day
I’ve worked in healthcare as a care attendant for three years now. A part of my job is washing and dressing bodies of patients who have passed away, either for the funeral home to pick up or before/ while the families say their last goodbyes and I can testify to say that you truly do never forget that wail that a deceased’s loved one may make when they get the news or see the body being taken to the funeral home.
Being in nursing for 12 years, I've long thought paramedics are the most over worked and most under payed.
Skimmed by as the interviewee spoke "about 9 times out of 10 they're on the toilet", and my brain helpfully combined the things and interpreted "I've been on the toilet for 12 years".
I'm officially entirely too behind on sleep 😆
People that deal with life and death regularly (EMT, morticians, etc) really have to be so emotionally fortified. This guy is way stronger than I could be to even deal with it as well as he has.
I was an EMT and a Psych tech in an rough inner city.
It changed me and how I see my fellow humans,
When you look into the abyss,
The abyss looks back into you
No one prepares you for the absurdity and suffering of it all, especially when you are prone for things to imprint on you deeply.
Grateful for everyone who I’ve worked with and all those who continue the good fight.
God bless
I’m an EMT in training, I plan to go all the way and become a paramedic over the next few years. Lot of respect for this guy and every other EMS worker out there.
I have done counseling. The one case that haunts me to this day was the paramedic who had to treat a 2 year old baby and... I will spare you what happened to that child and it absolutely broke him. I still have nightmares about what he told me. No. I didn't experience it myself. He just described it and I'm fucked up just thinking about it. If I'm just getting the experience second hand and it was that bad, you can only imagine how borked he was..
Vicarious trauma is real. I hope you have the help you need
@@seanymoseley - I just take all that crap and push it down deep inside until it becomes an ulcer, like god intended.
...
Wish I was joking.
Yeah secondary, indirect, vicarious trauma, all words used to describe the same thing. Humans, some in particular, have an incredibly powerful ability to empathize, our brains have mirror neurons that play an important part in that. Your brain can emulate another person's experience so impactfully to you that it can nearly duplicate the emotional trauma the victim suffers just by the slightest indirect exposure to it like seeing it, hearing it, or simply reading about it. None of us are perfect, except one, Jesus Christ, if you believe in that kind of thing. Christ's love is truly perfect. Our imperfect human love and compassion for others and even ourselves can fail, but His love never fails.
Tell us in detail
@@TheEldritchGod what is this flag?
This guy deserves a break. He's done more than enough for humanity. I hope he's able to recover and make some peace with what he's gone through
Sound like his branch is underfunded if he's working by himself a bunch. I can't imagine going to a house, telling a family their loved one died, and then going back to my ambulance and sitting in silence until the next call comes
Underfunded is a fairly universal constant of EMS.
I've been a nurse for 4 years, but I'm about to start as a paramedic in Australia next week. Though I know I'll see some gut-wrenching scenes and have to deliver bad news, every job sucks in some way. At least for this, it will be suffering for something worthwhile: being the best part of someone's worst day.
I’ve been thinking about being a nurse I’m starting my uni course of nursing next year and am curious to know what position you did and what kind of things you experienced?
Gut wrenching scenes and bad news don't even crack my top 10 of things that "suck" about this job... they're incredible opportunities for reflection and growth, if you frame them that way.
@@duckdumplings6624 I did various positions in hospitals as a student, but ended up being a GP nurse for 4 years.
Clinically, GP nursing is as shallow as a puddle, but very wide; you do a bit of everything. ECGs, vaccinations, blood collection and cannulation (if you do extra training), spirometry, care plans. The hardest parts were managing parents when doing vaccines for kids, and learning to deal with phone calls. You really learn how to talk to people.
GP nursing has the advantage of getting to know your patients quite well. You have constant repeats, especially if they have chronic conditions or wounds that require dressing and care. You have the sadness with losing old patients and their spouses and children coming to see you, but comforting them is part of the job.
I'll advise you that ward work can become very routine, even though it gets deeper clinically. You'll start as a generalist, then advance your skills deeper in a few particular areas. I've seen cardiac nurses that are more knowledgeable than the average doctor in their department. However, put them on a renal ward, and watch them panic (eg: a dialysis patient has 70/40 BP? Emergency everywhere else. Renal ward, give them some Nepro and check on them in 20 minutes, they'll be fine).
Explore wards and get placements in a variety of settings. Try a GP if you're good at customer service. Mental health if you have a soothing voice and are well grounded. ED if you like fast action and deeper clinical work (but remove yourself if you are burning out). Try age brackets, like geriatrics or paediatrics. Consider what body system interests you (cardiac, respiratory, renal, skeletal, neuro). If you want slow but intensive one-to-one focus, try ICU nursing.
As a paramedic intern in America, I have seen a fair share of nasty accidents and watched people die on me and luckily I have been able to cope with this by talking about it, it has helped me out so much mentally to move on when I talk about it and learn from those mistakes I have made
This channel reminds me of Channel 5 with Andrew. Raw, real, and a peer into what the average everyday person goes through. Thanks for the work you do.
This hits me, it's a brutal job that requires a strong mindset. It's funny how we call those who take lives heroes, yet we often ignore those who do their best to save them. That needs to change, I wasn't one for standing around clapping and never will be, but those in the medical professions deserve far greater respect in general, and much better pay. And we can help, by actually taking care of our own health as best we can, so that they see fewer dead folk on toilets and more dead folk peacefully tucked up in bed having died of very old age whilst they slept.
I mean, amusingly, the best way to respect medial professionals, is to do your best to make their jobs practically needless. At least until old age finally gets you, unless you somehow achieve immortality first.
Big respect to this guy, we appreciate you brother
Syrnmor, these interviews are always insightful and touching. The one you did with a military vet a while back haunts me. This series is genius, giving people an anonymous soap box, or maybe not a soap box, but a space, to share their story, it's brilliant. Thank you.
My colleagues at the red cross are all amazing people. I've only worked there for six years, I have massive respect for all the full time paramedics that have been doing this for 15-25 years plus. Even those tough people told me that they had to take two days off, when they get called to a young child, and the child doesn't make it. It's devastating. I've seen some things that I'm never going to get. I've wheeled a twenty year old woman into the mourge when I was twenty four. She started treatment in the hospital when I started to volunteer, she was the first patient I was assigned to transport and care for in the hospital, 9 months later she was my last patient I wheeled into the hospital mourge. With tumours on her head visibly have grown from her then shaved head, it was inoperable. It was disheartening to bring someone to the walk in freezer with all those other people that died from old age/natural causes, when they are so close to your own age or younger. Or another sweet old lady that was always happy to see me, I transported the patients in their beds inside the hospital to their examinations, like CT, x rays, oncology etc. When she passed the hospital's psychiatrist asked me if I want to talk, because I seemed that I was really close to her. She also died on the same evening after throwing up blood on a trip outside with the bed, since she asked me to see the sun one last time. She knew it was ending, she must have felt it.
My dad was a paramedic for 20 years and I have nothing but respect for those who have the heart, guts, and mind to follow their soul into that profession.
I had a coworker who was in training to be a paramedic. He could not stand the sound of babies crying, and I never knew why until he told me about his first day shadowing. He was working in the morning so they went to waffle house, and one of the waitresses there was pregnant, like about to give birth any day pregnant. Well a few hours after that, they got a call about a birth and lo and behold it’s the waitress. Thing is, her baby didn’t make it. My coworker delivered a still birth on his first day. I didn’t know any of this until like a month after the fact when he told me. I never really got upset for him leaving me to work by myself whenever a baby cried after that.
my dad recently had a heart attack not too long ago, scariest moment of my life. it was me and my brother at the house and it was terrifying as we watched him scream in pain and we couldn’t do anything to help him. 911 came in the next 5 minutes and he got help, turns out he had 99% blockage in his widow maker in his heart. i’ll never forget this moment sadly, i’m glad me and my brother were there to do something.
My husband is an EMT and starts paramedic school in August. I worry a lot about his mental health in the future but he wants to help people and I’m so proud of him
I honestly think people that can work in a job like this have to be the smartest and most quick witted people you can think off. This is something you can't teach beyond a certain technical point and being able to learn from observation and experience is incredibly demanding and hard. Getting actually good in a high level stress job that also requires you to act calmly with people in their worst moments is a feat on its own.
The best of us with the hardest jobs should get the recognition they deserve.
Smart... not necessarily. Quick witted, definitely. Calm under pressure, absolutely. Increasingly I think these are just immutable personality characteristics though... while you view it as a "hard" job, I don't think I could ever do anything else. I would fail spectacularly in an office... so let's also recognize all the accountants out there that can look at balance sheets for hours and still be sharp enough to find the single arithmetic error that almost crashed the company 😀 it takes all kinds to make the world go 'round.
Same same@@starkraft2506
A hard job; but a very necessary one. Norns be kind to this gentle soul.
cheers man. im in the US and have been in EMS for 8 years and a medic for 1 now. after 1 year of being the paramedic i left healthcare. now i have a job that is peaceful and stress free. ill never go back to full time healthcare. thank god that there are people who still want to be healthcare workers because it is an absolute shit job. you also did a much better way of accurately portraying EMS than any piece of fiction or media has, with a realism that they often forget.
"You knew what you were getting into" bruh people don't have future sight. You won't REALLY know how it is until it happens. You can prepare as much as possible and it is tbf your decision but you really won't know how it will be until you're there.
As an emt of course we know what we’re getting into and the things we can see and have seen on video before, but nothing can prepare you for being in that moment and knowing what to do and staying level headed to do your job.
Exactly.
My family had a paramedic and her daughter from Kyiv stay at our place for a few months.
She told the absolute madness that was going on in the first hours and days of the war. She and her team rescued injured soldiers from radar stations and told how they drove during air raids.
My family had a paramedic and her two daughters from Moscow stay at our place for a few months.
She told the absolute madness that was going on in the first hours and days of the war. She and her team rescued injured Russian soldiers and told how they drove during air raids. But slightly more tragic than your story.
@@JaMeshuggah ??
@@flytrapYTP I dunno what needs explaining.. do you doubt my family's paramedic and her two daughters from Moscow?? And it's tragic aspect that slightly outdoes OP??
@@JaMeshuggah You making this into some weird tragedy measuring contest?
Sharing that you have a similar experience is fine, going ahead and saying it is "slightly more tragic" is rude when the entire war is a ongoing tragedy.
@@Ozzianman whoa it sounds like you lack empathy for what my paramedic and her two daughters went through. Really tragic and sad how you invalidate their experiences and kick them while they are down.
thank u mr spider-man. you’re a king amongst men and i pray for peace in your heart
As someone who works EMS in the US, a lot of what was mentioned really resonates with me and hits home. Between being treated like complete garbage by the public, treated like we’re a taxi service, the countless mundane calls you do, then that one really bad one that comes up, it really takes a toll on you. Especially when you get those days where you get some really fucked up call, have to deal with the family screaming and crying and then the call after that bad call is just something completely ridiculous bc that person abuses the 911 system, idk about others in this field, but I know for me personally, you can’t help but experience those dark moments of losing your humanity slowly. It’s something people can’t quite understand unless they’ve worked in the field themselves. In the end though, it’s a job that I can’t see myself not doing, and while it can be mentally and psychically taxing, all you can really do is to just try and make the best of it and learn as much as you can so that you can actually make a difference for others
I listen to a podcast called "sawbones" that is sort of a comedy/medical podcast about medical history. One of the presentors is a doctor and she once said "if I'm the first one on the scene of an accident, of course I will help. But I'm a family doctor, if there are EMTs on the scene, I'd rather leave it to them. They are better equipped and have much more skill when it comes to accidents and urgent care".
You guys are amazing! I've wanted to become a paramedic myself, but I don't think my mental health could handle it.
Both paramedics I know have told me about some incredibly traumatic experiences. On top of that is seeing how it clearly affected them. One being brand new and the other already retired
watching most of your videos i cry because all of these stories are so sad yet comforting in the fact that many people feel the same way even if we think we are alone in our thoughts.
I couldn't handle it. I can barely handle hearing about it. Shit, I used to want to be a therapist until dealing with a suicidal ex. I'd be good at the job, but I can't handle the intensity of others' suffering. I feel too much of it.
i started playing vrchat because of these videos and now i'm making a version similar of my own. thanks syrmor, luv u
Bro i love your channel its the truth, you will never see stories like this in the news. Real visceral stories from real people, real workers, servicemen and stuff its amazing. I love it so much.
People like him are angels of this world. I couldn't do what they do, and I have the highest respect for the important work paramedics do for our society. They're the lighthouses in the valley of shadow and death. I wish him the best in life, such a kind hearted man.
I've been binging these types of videos like mad and it's just.... Harrowing the confessions in these videos, man.
It's unlike nothing I've never seen before and I know that more exposure would be bogging down the incredible work of the creators of these channels but more people need to hear these stories; some are just.... Appalling others are unbelievably hopeful and everything in between.
I didn't know this side of this hellscape existed but I am so glad to have discovered it.
Syrmor is doing a public service by providing this forum for people to unburden themselves and for others to listen and learn 🙏 Godspeed, Syrmor~
I have a professor who’s a death investigator and says the worst cases he gets are children and always feels bad when they call EMTS first instead of his branch because most of the time the EMTS are still kids fresh out of college/HS
Staffing shortages? High Turnover? Lots of sick days used? Sounds like EMT's in the UK aren't getting paid fairly either. In the US the crew in the ambulance barely makes more an hour than the crew in the fast food shop.
Nice job man, another great video. I enjoy these interviews and RL accounts so much. Corny as it may sound - the juxtaposition of a meme vr avatar accompanied with a real persons profound and surreal life experiences hits different. Your style and content is so captivating. Love the medium, love the people. Can't put my finger on WHY it hits so much, but the niche is so on point. Grateful to have found you. This channel is awesome.
Holy shit. The average career span of a paramedic is only 5 years?
Dude is a gift from god--if you believe in that kind of thing. Seriously, we need more people like this.
The average is now 3 years for newly-qualified paramedics
Could'a sworn it was 2-3 years for USA paramedics, last I heard, so 5 impressed me tbh
@@ItsAsparageese It is 5 in the US, and anywhere between 3.5 and 5 in Britain.
@@beemerwt4185 In paramedic role specifically, or including the time on EMS teams leading up to that before obtaining the higher cert? I don't doubt that you checked the figures, just wondering about context/parameters. Every state I've looked-into-details-about requires EMT experience before being admitted to paramedic training so it makes sense there could be an overall EMS-career-years value being discussed. 5 just still sounds awfully generous to me if it's meant to be years serving as a medic specifically 🤷♂️ (Of course, my previous figure is a good several years outdated by now, it's occurring to me, so perhaps a change isn't that crazy.)
Love your videos, Syrmor. Your videos got me interested in VRchat and I love the community
doo den
This guy is deserving of a Spiderman avatar, because he is a bloody hero.
"The paramedic thinks I'm clever 'cause I play guitar
I think she's clever cos she stops people dying"
- Courtney Barnett
Something about watching this channel where spiderman is standing in a feild talking about death and medical work is so strange. With headphones on in public I can only wonder what someone thinks seeing my screen.
Being emt is so rough. My uncle(my mom told me this he never talks about it) had to respond to a call about a plane breaking up over a forest. He had to go out there and get bodies out of the trees that were still strapped to the chairs. Like that alone can fuck someone up. I imagine all the suicides and ods is just mentally taxing ontop of telling someone their child is dead. Paramedics see and deal with so much it's overwhelming to think about.
I know a doctor, he says for anyone considering going to medical school, they should become an EMT for a year first, as it is the best preparation for being a doctor.
The comment about hearing the anguish in a parents scream when they are told their child has died... I have heard that scream, and it still haunts me 10 years later. My daughter was a toddler, fighting for her life in a nicu ward when the child next to her died and was unable to be revived, and the little boys mother made that terrible scream. That experience broke me for a few years. I couldnt even talk to my friends about it because it was too painful to talk about, and they just wouldnt understand.
A lot of my relatives work in medical field, from all the stories they told me while growing up I knew early I didn't want to work in that field myself. I remember one story my aunt told me when she as paramedic was called to a family where one of their elders passed away during the night. The family members wanted to recuperate that person even though the old lady in question was 90+ and died of natural courses in her sleep. She didn't wanted to do it (since it was a peaceful and expected dead) but family insisted so she did cpr. She told me she could hear the old lady's ribcage creak just from doing so which made the family even more freak out.
It’s an odd coincidence you release this today, I just finished my A level exams and will be going to university to train as a paramedic this September. Im very excited for the job, but I know that it’s going to be very stressful and gut-wrenching as well, and I’ll see many different sides to people.
It’s always interesting to see other peoples point of view in healthcare, especially a paramedic considering I’ll be doing this in a few years time, so thank you for posting this and thank you to the person for talking about it!
beautiful video, I love hearing everyone's stories
I know it's a lot of work but the subtitles really helped.
THANK YOU!!! I am close to finishing all of your videos posted on your channel. Was getting a little sad 😅
*deepest respects to those who do these vital jobs you are heroes!*
MAJOR respect to him and all his ilk.
I simply could not do their job. Never.
I was a Combat Medic in the US Army and a civilian Paramedic that just recently retired after 33 years. It was a wild ride.
I really appreciate that people like you take on these jobs to help other people. It really is selfless. Thank you for all that you so.
To any healthcare workers watching this video. Thank you and please try to love yourself today.
Hearing a paramedics story these days knowing that a lot of them have full feelings for patients ive heard of a fair few medics actually crying while i have hour half long seizures that wont stop no matter what they hit me with ( i was told this a few days later when i woke up) mad respect for all paramedics you guys go through some tough shit
Really glad I heard this. Gives me an appreciation and makes me thankful that there are caring ppl out there doing this job
This job sounds incredibly heart shattering respect to everyone who is strong enough to do it
Yeah, thats rough. But it can be weird on the other side too. My dad died and the paramedic told me like it was my car and the engine couldnt be fixed. One of the other paramedics consoled me though. I just took the first guys attitude as hes done this so much its become routine.
When my grandmother in mother's line died my mother instantly blamed it on the medics so I can imagine how mentally taxing confirming death might be.
As a paramedic. I approve of this video for any future ems peeps looking into this job.
I honestly have so much respect for our NHS workers. Thank you for all your hard work man.
Even if sometimes paramedics can't save people, i've been saved by them (not in the UK though) barely 3months ago. It could not have been so, if i didn't have the reflex of telling my relatives i'd be too sick to take care of myself the following day, and sure enough i have no memory of that day, having my heart f*cked. If they didn't take me to a hospital i'd be dead for sure, so i'm glad for the people around me, they chose to get me to a hospital even if at first i refused to (apparently - no memories of it).
As STookie said : they do make a difference, and they do genuinely help people. I thank them for that, especially since i know i'd cry myself to sleep evryday in their situation.
I found it hilarious at first to see Spiderman talking so conversationally, but damn what a ride. Glad I sat thru the whole the thing.
I've been a paramedic for a bit over six years now. We are only being called to emergencies and as he said unlike him not as common practitioners, that seems to be really unique to the UK.
What a legend, we really need those people
God bless you for sharing these storys 🥺
The cheery music at the end conflicts with the message lol.
That aside, this was beautiful to watch. Ty both
I have had the displeasure of being born with a lot of bad in my genes which has lead to me having a lot of experience with paramedics.
They are some of the most wonderful people i have had they joy of being around when i am the sickest in my life.
Was times when i had to be driven really, really fast to the ER and they have always gotten me there.
They often care more than the people on the hospital do weirdly enough.
They do so much!
I have always tried to show appreciation for the ambulance personnel because they do so damn much and i always feel like an asshole because i feel like i make their day worse when they have to take care of me.
Hearing him talk makes me feel like they desereve way mor ethan i can give back.
It must be horrible to see people in the worst everyday, but at the same time. I WOULD have been loooong dead if people like him didn't do what he does so i thank him for what he does for us all in society. They are the heroes of our everyday lives.
I love and appreciate the work you do
hi spiderman if you’re reading this, i’m 16 and i’ve always wanted to be a paramedic. my plan after high school is jumping straight into getting my emt certificate.many of the topics you’ve covered are my greatest fears. i wish there was more videos like this of anonymous honesty in the medic field, i really appreciate this video. thank you.
Thank you for sharing spider man. I really love hearing these perspectives of real life. Life is short, live it to the fullest of whatever you want to do ❤️
It's all good until you get that call that keeps you up at night, not with tears, but because you feel nothing. That worries me more than anything else in this field. Don't lose your compassion my friends.
Great video! Really scarry but motivating to live life to the fullest.
It hits me where it hurts: *personal experience.*
Hell, in the states, one of the phrases we HAVE to say before allowing to signs refusal is "by signing this you are releasing me of all Liabilty UP TO AND INCLUDING DEATH." You understand that you will likely die if you do not go to the hospital. Oh well. I loved that you said the same things we said to family members, "call us back if/when he passes out and he can't refuse."
I heard burnout will happen most to those that think their work is above their own needs
those who think "this is no big deal
I love this
people have it worse then me"
sure some have it worse
but half if then are dead
you understand?
take care of yourself
don't devalue your feats and accomplishments
just cuz you climbing k2 every goddamn day doesn't mean its not hard
or Any less deserving of praise
you are a goddamn hero
and I hate that its overused
and it makes you think you aren't human anymore
and to an extended you really aren't at times
but heros too need to refill their energy bar and top off on things
take care of your vessel and flush your brain every now and then
actually do it daily
10 min
no more
no less
and remember
I you no longer can or want to do it
there will always be someone else to fill your shoes
pick up your torch
maybe you can teach them before you pass them the torch
but don't overstay just because you think no one would do it instead if you
people are awesome
don't forger that
you are people too after all
people will manage
and you can ride this ride until you don't want to anymore
don't forbid yourself from trying another different fruit life has to offer
life has to be worth living
or else its not life
go and eat what you want to eat
be who you want to be
and this night you will decide if you continue or switch
and next night you will do the same
live your life
but be sure to live YOUR life
Is this from something, or just impromptu excellent free verse?
This is really, really good. I needed this callout. Thank you.
From German EMS... The UK health care system seems seriously troubled...
It would be unthinkable to just work on your own when your teammate gets sick or to have an unqualified trainee lead a case on his own. Damn.
It's DEEPLY troubled. The UK healthcare system is run by criminals - and I'm not being hyperbolic when I say that.
It's been going on for a while. The government has been systematically cutting funding for the NHS for over a decade and it's really starting to show.
@@JohnSmith-mc2zz similar here in Germany. An emergency ambulance requires a minimum crew of an EMT (Rettungssanitäter) and a paramedic (notfallsanitäter).
If we find a dead guy, we look for clear indicators of death, otherwise we start cpr til a doctor arrives.
For most serious calls, they try to dispatch an emergency medicine trained doctor as well, together another paramedic.
No-one is ever dispatched alone.
@@gusjeazer Its called "first response" in Canada. Short crews basically get there to try and just stabilize until the transport crew shows up.
@@JohnSmith-mc2zz EMTs in the US are not allowed to declare death but can look for obvious signs of death (decapitation, pooling of blood, etc.) but once CPR is initiated, it cannot be stopped until directed by medical control to do so.
Well….this isn’t the picnic convo i wanted to have today.
Really appreciate you Syrmor.
Jesus, Symor. You are great at opening people up to talking about real life in the virtual. Like some sort of counselor.