" Probably an unpopular opinion . "
After a shift as an Advanced Emergency Medical Technician (AEMT) in rural Utah, Anna Syme (aka@the_singing_farmwife) got to thinking about the trauma EMTs and medical professionals witness on a daily basis. Curious about others' experiences, sheturnedto TikTok with the question: “I’m bored, medics/EMTs/RNs/doctors, tell me the one thing you will or won’t do/purchase because of the trauma you’ve seen in the field?”
Note : word of traumatic injuries , child insult , and dying . Some reply have been edited for clarity .
1.“As a paramedic I am BEGGING everyone to have carbon monoxide detectors in their house.”
2.“Look both ways before hititng the gas when the light turns green.”
3.“Motorcycle. Motorcycle. Motorcycle. Motorcycle. Motorcycle. You can do everything right, doesn’t matter. One other person makes a mistake, done for.”
4.“EMT. Get ur feet off the dash please.”
5.Similarly, “ER tech here and hairclips while driving.”
6.“Never arguing with strangers [about] anything. You never know who’s carrying and has a temper. Taken one too many victims of this to the OR.”
7.“Also can we please treat every gun as if it’s loaded especially when cleaning.”
8.“As someone who took care of the elderly, please MOVE. Go on walks, exercises, go biking. Do things that stimulate the mind, memory. Please take care of yourself.”
9.“Never leaving my kids to be watched by anyone other than myself or husband. I work for a children’s hospital and the child maltreatment cases are horrifying and almost always by mom’s new boyfriend.”
10.“never ever ever take my eyes off of a child near any body of water.. it takes a split second..”
11.“As simple as this, wash your damn hands, especially around babies. Seen too many babies in the ICU because grandma thought it was cute to let them suck on a finger to calm down.”
12.“As a 911 dispatcher who has done both police and fire… when purchasing a home ALWAYS CONSIDER response times in your area.”
13.“Xray tech. No doing my own lawncare/landscaping after age 65. WHY is your 85 y/o grandpa trimming the trees on a ladder?!”
14.“I will never clean my grill with a metal brush.”
15.“rad tech here… I’d never go to a chiropractor.”
16.“RT here. Wear a mask when gardening/working in a field or hiking through caves! You don’t want those pathogens in your lungs. Trust.”
17.“I will never not wear eye safety glasses/goggle when working with handsaws/nail guns/anything sharp and I will never wear metal rings when using machinery.”
18.“This is gonna make some people mad lol… I’m a labor nurse and I’ll never get pregnant after seeing all the complications associated with pregnancy.”
19.“EMT: please take your meds as prescribed. Don’t adjust them on your own because you think it will fix something faster or because you googled something.”
20.“I’m an RT and a solid amount of my ICU patients are post dental work (usually a tooth abcess). I’ve seen eyes removed, brain death, jaw necrosis, pacemakers put in 30 y/o men. FLOSS & BRUSH!!!!
21.“Dermatology — WEAR SUNSCREEN! TAKE CARE OF YOUR SKIN! It’s your largest organ! We see people with a range of spots, lumps, bumps. Just saw a 24yr old that neededMohs [surgery]. It can happen to ANYONE.”
22.“RN, probably an unpopular opinion: Stopped drinking when I started working in the ICU. Liver failure and alcohol withdrawal related complications are no joke and ridiculously sad.”
23.Similarly, and lastly, “A lot of good ones mentioned. But working in GI and the amount of people we had to save who were drowning in their own [blood] from alcohol cirrhosis is enough to make me strictly limit alcohol, if any.”
