Hey all! Making this post to make people aware of this job and ask questions, people I talk to about this job have no idea it exists. We go into hospitals in the US and build smart Operating rooms and install equipment used in surgery. Think of it as a IT/Field tech/Semi construction job with lots of pros and only some cons. Get to travel have all lodging and food paid for as well as awesome benefits and pay packages

Have you wondered what a day or night shift is like for a registered nurse? I have been working as an RN for almost one year now; it's a different world than what most (including myself) imagined. I work on a bustling medical surgical and telemetry unit at a level one trauma center. Many people have the idea the working 3 shifts a week is a piece of cake. Another common misconception is that nurses just take orders from doctors without question and thinking critically on their own. A typical shift can go any kind of way. I decided to shae real experiences in the format of each hour of 12+ hour shifts. The following is a glimpse into what it's like.

Before shift - Time to get my mind right! Whether it's through prayer, positive affirmations, or listening to music or silence on my way to work. Everyone has their own way of preparing. It always helps to tell myself that I will get through the day or night, it's just 12 hours, right?!

Hour 1 - Time to put on a brave face and clock in. I wonder what kind of assignment awaits me. I listen to what updates there are on the unit with others, what the population of patients are like today. Will I work with someone battling infection, unstable blood sugars, someone with a recently placed tracheostomy, tube feedings, alcohol or drug withdrawal, liver, kidney, or heart failure. Maybe I'll have someone on contact precautions with a contagious bacteria in their blood or urine or a virus. All of this crosses my mind before getting report from the off-going RNs. While getting information about my different patients, without fail - my work phone with my assigned number will go off a minimum of three times when trying to learn about the patients!

Hour 2 - Time to get to business, the nitty gritty of the shift truly begins. By now I've walked to each patient room, introduced myself and asked if they need me to bring anything when I come to assess them. I make sure to review each patient chart for tasks, medications, and whatever else need to be completed. Then is when I decide who I'm seeing first - it's always my sickest or most unstable patient then the better ones (though still sick) follow. I look to see if there is an antibiotic or something like seizure meds to give. I'm getting vital signs at this point - listening to heart, lungs, and belly sounds. I ask "silly questions" to make sure my patients who can respond, are still with it. Meaning they are neurologically okay, I look at pupils, how they are responding, feel pulses, look at IV sites and make sure to be prepared. Is there an ambu-bag (valve mask for a code) in the room in case something happens, does this person have the right identifiers and if needed, a bed or chair alarm on for safety? No falls are happening on my watch.

Hour 3 - Time is still scooting along and I'm on my feet making my way to my other patients. My work phone has already rung a four more times since getting report. This time it's a family member calling in about their family member who they are speaking with on a cell phone. I'm being called to be told that the patient needs a private room - that they are being mistreated thought I've been nothing but kind and gone above and beyond to accommodate their complaints. Mind you, this is the most stable patient of my bunch of four. Little do they know I have a patient gasping for air, asking me to remind them how to breathe. I take time to ask a coworker if they need any help, as I see them drowning too.

Hour 4 - Time to attempt to sit, gather my thoughts to chart assessment details and call the family member back from the third hour of shift. Before I can finish dialing, another call comes through on my work phone - though I've checked on all my patients before taking a moment to breathe. A patient is ringing out for more pudding, though I just got them some and left the room less than ten minutes ago.

Hour 5 - Time to administer medication and do some wound care. One patient calls out for help with using the bathroom right as I pull medication. A new stat order is in for a patient to get a So I hold off a moment on going to the patient with meds, put them in their medication box. A quick sprint to help this sweet lady who has. One patient states that they need their nurse (me) desperately, but is on their device the entire time I make it to the room. Only to find out they want a bottled water, when there is one unfinished right beside them.

Hour 6 - Time to reassess my sickest patients vital signs. It's also start to do AM bloodwork. I'm the bad guy with the needle to poke and draw blood, but remind my patients it's to see what their bodies are up to. I let them know how strong they are, that it'll be a quick poke - but be so helpful to hopefully getting them better or seeing if they are better.

Hour 7 - Time to keep up the smile in my voice, though I feel like I've had enough at this point. Reminding myself that we're half-way through the shift, but the end seems so far away. I've already been yelled at, belittled by someone I'm doing my best to care for. It's just not on their terms - so I try to not allow it to frustrate me. As I sit down to continue with documenting my findings, another call is in. Another patient is headed my way from the emergency department and it's time for report. At the same time, my phone buzzes again - I learn a patient I was just in to see vomited everywhere.

Hour 8 - Time has come for that super upset patient to leave against medical advice. Nothing I did in speaking with the spouse or patient helped, so I step out of their way. Do they know that majority of hospitals are packed and dealing with diversion? People are sick everyone, beyond the pandemic - I can only wonder if they'll get a bed somewhere else. Maybe waiting another 15 hours in an emergency department will work out better for them. I was going to bring antibiotics, but they want the IV taken out quickly. I contact the doctor sharing that I and the lead RN on shift have attempted to diffuse the situation, already had an administrator come talk to the patient. I scramble to get legal documentation for the patient and doctor to sign, after they attempted to talk the patient down. I think to myself, another bed opens up for someone in need who may or may not appreciate receiving the medical care and energy I poured in.

Hour 9 - Time to stop and hold the hand of a patient of mine who states "I'm so sick, I am dying." It may be terrible, but I'm glad to be able to give more time to this patient who is very sick. It's no exaggeration, there are no more treatment options for this individual. Medicine had given them extra years after a renal transplant, but their body is shutting down. Remember the patient who needed help remembering how to breathe? They state not having any physical pain, but emotionally pain is written all over their being. I attempt to encourage and let them know I am here with and for them.

Hour 10 - Time to absorb another the patient from the emergency department. There's no one there to get the room ready besides me. Did I mention they are on contact precaution for diarrhea that others have not yet collected. As this patient arrives to the unit, my phone goes off again. I ask for someone who is free to please check in on the patient calling out and another to please help me settle this liver failure patient who is confused.

Hour 11 - Time to glance at my watch and realize that I haven't had a moment to tend to myself. No sip of water, snack, or bathroom break. I sneak away to the breakroom to guzzle a bottle of water. I'm tired and feel beaten down, but at the same time feel glad that I'm doing my best to be there for patients who need it the most. Even if some people take away moments and energy, there is a strange balance in it all.

Hour 12 - Time to say goodbye to my patients and go home. But first, a thorough report of events and tasks that took place overnight. Goals and information is passed along to the next nurse, who will do their best with what they've got. Maybe there will be nurse aides on the floor to help, it's not easy having three patients who cannot do much for themselves. Then the ones who can do fo.

I reflect and know that I do the best I can. Despite how patients are behaving towards me, I treat all with respect, kindness, and dignity. Some shifts are tougher than others. On

I'm a mastering engineer based in Melbourne Australia.
I'm someone who wakes up at 3am; and works 12+ hours a day;
People always ask what I do and how I do it.

Really excited to share this with you.

I know this is a video moderators do not allow because they consider it spam; https://youtu.be/yfy-kMGifRU

So if you don't want to click through to the link to watch the video;

Here's a transcript which details what I do in my day;

Everyday I tell myself how lucky I am to do the work I do, so I don't waste a second, I try to make every bit count.

Hello, I'm Nicholas Di Lorenzo, I work as a mastering engineer in Melbourne, Australia.

Before working as a mastering engineer, I was an assistant, an intern, a student and a barista.

Now, I listen and work on peoples records, helping artists, producers and engineers nurture a sound which connects with their listeners.

Whilst the music I listen to and work on changes on a daily basis; my days tend to be pretty consistent, and I hope to share what my day looks like, from my perspective.

This is a typical day in my life.

I set my alarm everyday at 3 am,

and an extra one at 3:05 am, just incase I sleep through the first one.

I love early mornings. No distractions, calls or meetings. Just me, and my focus.

Before anything though, I must go to the gym.

This is my "coffee" for the morning, it's a great SHOCK TO THE SYSTEM to wake me up and energise me for the day.

When I get to the studio I put a coffee on, a real coffee on, make a protein shake and start going through my emails, messages, admin tasks, and answering questions from people in facebook community.

This is also the only time I'll respond to emails throughout the day unless it's an emergency.

Emails, notifications and back and forth messaging can be a big distraction during a busy day so I try to cut that out.

Next I'll bump into the studio for my first listening session, every morning guaranteed there are at least half a dozen new songs clients of mine are working on.

I lend an ear, offer some feedback and help guide them through their final stages of mixing before it comes to me for mastering.

​

The next hour of the day is dedicated to either reading a book, or working on a YouTube video like the one you're watching. This is an important part of my day as it's a brief activity where I have the free-reign to either help develop my own knowledge or explore a creative outlet to share what I know.

After this concludes I'm into my first 90 minute block of mastering work (All my blocks are in 90 minutes); I like to break up my days working infront of the speakers into "blocks" giving me time to get into a groove, but also an opportunity to take breaks and focus on other tasks so I don't tire out.

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After this first block of mastering there is a 30 minute break in my calendar where I'll either be on a call with a client discussing work or I jump on instagram live to have a chat with a colleague to document some of the people I interact and work with.

​

After this break I have another two blocks with x2 15 minute breaks in-between for more mixing and mastering work. Because these breaks are shorter; I like to use them to put on a coffee, watch some YouTube and just escape before I need to get back into the studio and put in some "hard yakka".

​

Then it's lunch time; my favourite for lunch is fish with tomato over a bed of rice, I like cooking, so this is always a fun tasty meal to have.

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After Lunch I move into my final 2 blocks of mixing & mastering; again with 15 minute breaks in-between, which also means more coffee!

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After my final block I'll batch export all my masters for the day; synch the deliverables to dropbox and email them across to my clients.

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Whilst everything synchs up to dropbox I have an hour or so to do some extra work; this typically involves either working directly on my business or self development.

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I like routinely analysing and creating opportunities to improve the way I conduct my business and myself, so I aim to never skimp on this part of my day; even through I might need an extra coffee to get through it.

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Finally, I'll wrap my day up to come home, spend time with the family and then do it all over again.

​

*UPDATED 28-5-21*

Greetings fellow Redditors.

First-time poster long time reader. I haven't felt like anyone would be interested in things I have to talk about, until now! I am soon to be placed on a big yellow bus, lights flashing and sirens blaring; hurtling through tight city streets and winding country roads. Wrestling drunks, dealing with diabetics, and occasionally dishing out a few rounds of CPR, on an NHS emergency ambulance.

Please note any patient/student/mentor information will be given completely anonymously, as I do not have permission for this post. Henceforth I shall not be using real names or ages and I shall be keeping my location under wraps also. I hope you understand.

If you wish to skip the introduction and get to the day to day life, scroll down to WEEK 1

Background: In September 2020, I began my journey to become a paramedic. In reality, it began several years earlier; learning about and gaining all the necessary qualification required for university. Perhaps if people like this post I shall give more details, but for now, I am a mature student (30s) who has given up everything to do this job.

The course I am on splits evenly between theory and practical/ the dreaded placement. When looking from the outside in, my looming placement looks like it will be the best part. It's a chance to put my newly learned skills into action. A chance to solidify learning. A chance to gain knowledge no classroom or lecturer could impart. But like a soldier aboard a landing craft, powering through the choppy surf toward the unknown, I can't help but think "I am ready?". Placement takes place in February. That means from late September I have had around 5 months to prepare. Well, apart from December, when I was off. So ok, 4 months. No problem. The first few weeks of the course fly by. I cover some CPR (think basic first aid class) and nail down the DR<C>ABC approach. Again, anyone who has done first aid knows what I mean. By December, I am walking into the room, assessing the patient, compressing their chest, throwing tubes down their throat, discussing the drugs (which I don't yet know how to give. They go through a little tube in the patient's arm called a canular), and then strapping them to a board to be taken to hospital. Great. Except, what if the patient doesn't need CPR and tubes down their throat? what if they have a leg missing? or even worse, what if they are up, about, and chatting away like a talk show host? oh no, I'd be fucked. We haven't covered this at all. "Excuse me Mr patent, but would you mind putting your heart into a rhythm that doesn't support life so I stand a chance of knowing what the hell I'm doing"

The reality is, when I'm on the road, ill be following a fully qualified paramedic. They will hopefully know what to do, and what I should do. With any luck, until I find my feet, they will throw their had up my backside and wear me like a glove puppet. "go here, do this, grab that bit of kit'. It's a bit like a tandem skydive. the guy at the back knows when to pull the shoot, I'm just along for the ride. But like the skydiver, perched on the edge of the plane and staring at the ground, I can't help but feel a little nervous. Don't get me wrong, I have been in situations that scare me plenty of times. my previous job was in the military. there have been times where I genuinely thought this is it, the end. I have had the thoughts running through my head that I imagined would be my last. like "I hope my friends have the foresight to clear my browser history before my laptop gets handed over to my mother" But this time, unlike the skydiver, when my proverbial shoot doesn't open, it won't be me hitting the unrelenting earth, it will be you. my patient. And that reader, if why I am scared.

My placement is due to start in a few weeks. Mid/End of Feb. I aim to update this post at least on a week by week basis. ill let you know what I get up to, from the trivial to the trauma. I have found that when reading into the work of a paramedic, the books, blogs and TV shows are keen to cover the exciting, but leave out the mundane. understandable, but here I hope to convey all. I aim to show any prospective paramedics exactly what the job is like, so when the time comes for them to jump in with both feet as I have, they will at least know the depth of the water. anyone else reading, ill try to include as much of the "entertaining" as I can, but as this will be almost real-time I don't know what I'm in for. so at the least, I hope it will be informative.

WEEK 1.

Welcome back.

Before I started on placement, I had no idea if career-changing to the ambulance service was even for me. I mean I had a little experience having done some volunteer work, but nothing solid. As of completing my first 4 shifts, I can wholeheartedly say I have made the right decision.

So let me break it down for you.

Placement is where I, as a student at university, follow a qualified paramedic with at least 2 years post qualification experience around on their shift. I ride in the back of the ambulance, attend all the jobs they attend, and I am expected to get involved in the treatment of the patient. As a first-year student, I'm not expected to fully assess and treat anyone, but just observe, ask questions, and get involved where I can. As the course progresses, my level of involvement will increase, hopefully to the point where I treat the patient, and my paramedic mentor is there to ensure I don't fuck it up. essentially, my first placement block is finding my feet. with no real pressure.

For anyone reading this who is planning on going down the paramedic path, first placement is something to be excited about rather than apprehensive. Yes, you get involved in patient treatment, but you are there to ask questions and learn. nobody cares if you make a mistake, they don't expect you to know what you are doing, and they won't laugh at you if you don't know something. Even something as stupid as not knowing how to open the door to the ambulance (the can be fiddly little fuckers)

My first week consisted of 4 12 hour shifts. 2 days (7 am-7 pm) and 2 nights (7 pm-7 am). I will talk you through the jobs I attended, but for the sake of confidentiality, I will be omitting some details, mentioning no names, dates, or locations. I may also change the order in which I attended these, but the essence of what I encountered will still be there. Even though I am writing this anonymously, I must also stress any opinion given is mine and mine alone. So let's get started.

Before Placement

My placement began with an email in my inbox, stating who my team leader would be, suggesting I contact them to organise my shift. I hastily obliged. shortly followed by them telling me this is the first they heard of me coming to join them (something that happens a lot so nothing to worry about) and they will allocate me some shifts shortly. within the day they had organised for me to join 2 different paramedics over the following month. the university provided me with a task book to complete while there (the task book is where I get written feedback throughout, in order to assess and improve my performance, it's also what is used to grade this module of the course). now I'm excited and ready to go. my lunch is packed, uniform ironed, and all my kit laid out the night before.

My first job

I arrive on station about 30 mins early so I can get a tour of the ambulance, shown where the kit is and what each bag contains. I have some idea what all the bits and pieces are from my university sessions. I am introduced to my paramedic mentor, and the technician I'll be working with that day. Everyone is very friendly and keen to make me feel welcome. Just as we are about to make a start, we run into issues. There is very little oxygen on the vehicle, and the batteries for the positive pressure hoods (part of the covid PPE) are flat. So my first "job" was a tour of various stations in the area to sort out kit shortages. This isnt any sort of issue, ambulances are handed over from one crew to another at the end of a shift, so if the crew going off has just finished a job where some kit has been used, they may not have had a chance to re-stock. this just means I am eased into the day, have a chance to look through the various cupboards in the back, and I get to see what is available from different stations. Not very exciting, but still something I need to learn. Soon enough we are sorted and ready to become "Available" for a job, which doesn't take long.

My first ever job is to care home. A cat 2, which means it a blue light response (just not as urgent as a Cat 1 which would be something majorly life-threatening. Think "struggling to breath- Cat 2. Stopped breathing- Cat 1). My first run on blue lights was rather exciting. We didn't race through the streets as you would expect, it was more like we made good progress. We got to jump through red lights, and cars moved out of the way. We got there quickly, but we didn't race, it was all rather safe. Turns out the job is for a member of staff who was having difficulty breathing, although they were feeling a bit better by the time we got there. On goes the PPE and off we go. My role was to say hello to the patient, then watch what happens. The para asked a few questions, got some history of events and observations (blood pressure, temp, blood sugar measurements etc) then off we went to the hospital. No blue lights this time though. We booked the patient into the hospital then left them in the queue at A&E. Contrary to popular belief, going to the hospital via ambulance does not mean you get to jump the queue at A&E. The patient in this case was left on a bed where they could be observed by nurses until it was their turn to be assessed thoroughly. But in some instances, the patient is walked straight into the waiting room where people who arrived by their own means wait. Obviously more severe cases are seen as soon as they come through the door. It all depends on what is wrong. Either way, the patient we had just dropped off was happy enough to wait their turn, if anything, relieved to have to wait as this meant there wasn't anything seriously wrong, which I think is a good attitude to have. Back into the ambo, which had been cleaned by dedicated staff while we were busy handing over, and time to "go green" (this is where you press a green button on the computer to tell the control room you are ready to be given another job)

The rest of the week

I realise this post is getting quite long, and I'm not the most charismatic or engaging of writers, so ill summarise the rest of the week with a little less detail, although if anyone wants to know more, drop in a comment and ill divulge what I can.

The first day went quite quickly, we had a few more jobs, most of which were a non-event for us, although they were obviously concerned for the patients. most were a rinse and repeat of my first job. we got a little bit of time sitting on station, and on a few jobs, I learned of different pathways for treatment. for example, in more than one instance, it was deemed that a patient did not need to go to the hospital, or did not want to go. The ambulance service cant force you to go anywhere. if we think you need to go to A&E we will tell you this, if you don’t want to go you don’t have to. in this instance, the paramedic will probably contact the out of hours GP (General practitioner) and ask them for advice, the will speak to the patient and probably advise them to come with us, or arrange for them to visit/be visited by their own doctor. So its completely up to the patient what they do, although if a paramedic is telling you that you should go to A&E, it's not because they just want to spend more time with you in the back of their ambulance. So if you want to stay at home and die, that's your desiccation. (this sounds like a harsh way to put it, but this is a genuine option for some. For example, someone who is on end of life care and doesn't have long left may not want to pass away on a hospital ward, but rather in their own home with their family around). The only exception to this is when someone has "reduced capacity". this loosely means they are not in the best frame of mind to make decisions about their care. someone who has suffered a head injury may become combative, even if they are usually the most compliant and placid person ever. in instances like this, we can "force" you, sometimes with the help of police. this however is a general overview, there is much more to it and decisions to take someone against their will are not taken lightly.

So far I have picked up someone who was delirious from a train station (possibly from taking 'legal highs") and was essentially a zombie, I have visited the police holding cells, helped a patient suffering a mental health crisis, which meant letting her vent for around 3 hours. this may seem a waste of time but it really isn't. if a patient feels like they want to end their life, and our crew listening to them and referring them to different specialists means they no longer feel this way, then essentially that is another life saved. nobody wants to show up to a suicide attempt when it's too late. I have been in all sorts of houses, some incredibly posh, somewhere I feel like I should be wiping my feet on the way out (and I was thankful for the covid PPE on those jobs). we caught some smackhead trying to break into the back of the ambulance, then there was the TRAUMA job.

TRAUMA

I had done a few shifts by this point, and a good few jobs, so I had found my feet. Still, a lot to learn though. I had not long since arrived on station when I got my first Cat 1 through, a stabbing. this is when the attitude of the crew changed, this wasn't a quick but safe drive through traffic on blue lights, this was a race to save a life. I was attempting to read the job information through the little hatch in the back of the ambulance, while been thrown around like a ship in a storm. we had to "standoff" which is where we wait for the police to go in first to make sure the attackers were detained or no longer a threat to us, in which time we put on our covid PPE. this was only around 2 minutes before we could proceed. As we pull up there were police cars everywhere, people out in the streets to see the commotion. I marched into the house carrying the lifepack (the defib with all-out monitoring equipment on) thinking this looks like something out of a TV drama. it was dark but the place was awash with blue flashing lights. Looking down I noticed a trail of blood on the floor from the front door, so I know it was probably serious. The patient was sitting in the living room, head covered in blood, with members of the family trying to help, some naturally in hysterics. The patient had not been stabbed but had been viciously attacked. for what reason we don't know, that is only really known to the patient and their attackers. And obviously, the living-room light didn't work, great. working by torchlight it is then. I jobbed off one of the police to hold my torch while the paramedic carried out a head to toe assessment. I have to give him credit here as even though he was focusing on the patient, he was still taking the time to turn to me and explain what he was doing and why. the patient had suffered a serious head injury as well as other injuries. with the limited amount of light, it was decided the first job was to move the patient to the ambulance so we could work on them in the light. the wheelchair was brought in (there was no way we could fit the stretcher in here) then tables, chairs, and prams went flying as we made a path to get them out quickly. all eyes were on us as we left the house, people curious as to what was going on. the street had been taped off by the police, and they were swarming all over to ensure everyone's safety. It was only once in the ambulance could we see the extent of the injuries. the patient had a "boggy mass" on the back of their head, which is where the skull has cracked so you can essentially feel their brain under the skin. not really a lot we can do for this, apart from administering pain relief and some specific drugs to help the blood clot (TXA for anyone interested) the patient was then driven 20 or so minutes to the nearest trauma centre. on the way, they kept passing out, so my job was to keep them talking, as well as talking with the paramedic about the various drugs been given. I also got to carry out the observations, which is no easy task when been thrown around the back of a van speeding on blue lights. once at the hospital, we rolled them into resus (skipping the queue this time) where we were met by the waiting trauma team. the paramedic gives the handover and everyone listens. then they go on to carry out all the assessments we had done on the scene again (this isn't because they don't trust the crews, but it to see if anything has changed, and because the hospital is a well lit and more forgiving environment, they can pick some things up that may have been missed) the doctor noted some pain in the patient's neck (the paramedic asked at the time of arriving and the patient said there was no pain), this meant we should have immobilised them (keep their head still with collars and blocks) basically he made us look like a bunch of dickheads in front of the hospital staff haha. my nerves got the better of me when I was asked by the doctor to pass him a light off the wall during the assessment. I turned around to see some bits of kit that couldn't have looked less like a light if they tried. so I just passed him everything, in the end, I just handed him my own torch, which i made sure to get back. once all the action was over, it was an odd sensation wandering around the resus room. this is a place that is off-limits to the public, even the patients own family are asked to sit in the relative's room and wait to hear from the staff while they work on them. but it was more than just wandering around, I was a member of staff there (even if a very junior one). I kept expecting someone to ask me what I was doing and show me the door. but instead, I just looked about, popped my head into various places and asked questions, all of which the real staff were more than happy to answer (probably thanks to the word STUDENT emblazoned across my jacket).

all in all my first week was amazing. I didn't get as many BIG jobs as come of the other students who are out at this time, I didn't have the most exciting of starts, but I did get my feet wet. I tried to push myself to get involved in as much of the process as possible, taking on tasks I had never done before, and asking as many questions as the staff could answer. I feel like I have been eased nicely into the job. I now have a few days off to reflect, where ill be digging through my books and asking myself "what could I do next week to push myself further?". a question for which I already have a few answers. so to that end, I will leave this post here for now. I'll get another week or two under my belt and if there is still interest, ill update this post with more of my fresh out the box (well not even out the box yet) experiences on an NHS frontline emergency ambulance.

*updated 28-5-21*

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It's been a while since I have had the time to do this. To make things more difficult I also misplaced my notebook in which I write down the jobs I get, which makes it difficult to write about as everything blurs into one. to give a little context of how easy it is to forget, I was standing in the hospital with my mentor at the end of one shift, talking about an earlier patient, when it occurred to both of us that we couldn't remember his name. furthermore, we couldn't even remember what our first job was that day! certain jobs stick with you, others fade as soon as you hand the patient over, it just seems to be the nature of the job.

I have decided to do things a little differently this time. I'm going to take you through each day as I have it written down in my book. unfortunately, I can't remember every exact job, so ill expand where I can.

Day 1

1. overdose, zopiclone. the patient took it as they had been up all night drinking and taking coke, so naturally was struggling to sleep. had told a friend over the phone what they planned to do, friend calls us. the patient was asleep when we got there at a little after 7am off to the hospital, no sleep for you.
2. chest pain. I remember nothing about this job, so it's safe to assume that it was a non-event.
3. seizure. another non-event. I would like to point out when I say non-event, I mean non-event for me. as in the patient didn't really require any medical intervention. I'm not saying these people were time wasters or anything.
4. unresponsive/ hypertension, off to a nursing home. the patient is sat in a chair in a conservatory. fuck me it's hot in here. diagnosis... the patient was hot. still, she didn't come around until we had her on the back of the ambulance, so off to hospital where we get to hand over a perfectly healthy patient. still, best to get checked out.
5. bleeding from vagina. As a guy, I took a bit of a back seat on this one haha. off to the hospital, end of shift.

Day 2

1. Cat 1! unresponsive, turns out the elderly Pt (patient) with Alzheimer's had merely had a fall. left at home, offered to have the fall team come around and assist with improving living conditions, install handrails etc. Pt refused.
2. Overdose. bit of an odd job this one. we show up at the home of a very confused family who had no knowledge of any 999 call. it transpired that the teenage Pt was the subject of some school bullies who called us for a laugh. We give the Pt a quick assessment for safeguarding reasons then they were back to playing grand theft auto.
3. no job for ages, we decided to go on a drive around the city and take pictures of the sunset.
4. leg pain. Pt speaks very little English, luckily his son was born here so could translate, both very friendly and I chat to the son about Ramadan. non-event. paramedic calls the out of hours GP to book an appointment for the next day. this is a lengthy process as we have to wait for the GP to become free and call us back. I go to sleep on the stretcher, it was about 4am.
5. head injury, Pt had been drinking (tells us they had only had one, which is hard to believe, but then their drunk demeanour could be the result of the injury). acquired injury chasing a mouse. off to hospital.
6. Hypo. Ahhhh a real job! Pt looks BIG SICK, on the floor, pretty much unresponsive. the paramedic gets a canular in, delivers 10% glucose. Pt makes full recovery. a good job to end a slow night.

Day 3

1. abdominal pain. young adult living at home with parents, who drive, and could drive to hospital considering this has been going on for 1 week. just saying. still, they are all very friendly and have a beautiful dog to whom I give most of my attention. out of hours GP called. left at home.
2. another abdominal pain, 1 week. had called GP who called us. Pt and partner get drunk in the meantime. the suitcase is ready when we get there and we walk past two perfectly good cars on the driveway. taxi for one. I'm sensing a pattern. the most noteworthy thing about this job was the shout out to a CAT 1 not far from us. Sorry guys, can't help, we have a drunk lady to taxi to hospital. The queue in A&E is huge, pretty much every ambulance in the area is here. the dispatchers may have fucked up a little here sending the crews to all the shit jobs to clear them. to give a little context, our call had a 3h response time, we got there within 40min. perhaps with a little thought, we could have been available for the CAT 1 call? Well at least we can chat to the other crews, our Pt is sleeping off her alcohol in the corridor.
3. chest pain. turns out to be a panic attack. I find myself feeling sorry for this Pt as they are elderly and alone. A victim of the covid pandemic. they have no TV, no internet, and very little contact with their family. it's a sad situation. we make them a cup of hot milk (its about 4am again) and I look through all the ambulance services information on local assistance groups. after spending some time with them, the Pt is much happier, and we have given them some numbers to call of local groups that can assist.
4. CAT 4. my god this call is a piss-take. comes through as Pt is living alone, the flat is a mess and they don't have food. call came in at 10 last night, we get it at 4:30am. Pt was not the caller. pretty sure this is a job for a social worker, not an emergency ambulance. so off we go and wake them up, and they are not happy! they had been discharged from hospital, the hospital is aware of their living condition and advise against discharge, but Pt has the capacity to make their own decisions so they, therefore, have no choice but to allow them to return home. Pt has no food, but they do have cigarettes and drugs. there are also flies everywhere. we do our best to remove the rubbish causing the flies from the house, then leave the Pt at home where they want to stay. adding a little insult to injury, another shout out from control for anyone to attend a CAT 1. end of shift.

that's a lot for now ill add more later

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Any questions or comments, feel free to ask and ill try and get back to you as soon as I can.

Thanks for reading.

Don't have any photos (sorry!) for privacy and confidentiality of the people I help. Enjoy!

If you’re like many people, you’ve probably never heard of a crisis counselor or you might have a few misconceptions of what it entails. One misunderstanding I have heard is that crisis counselors and crisis lines are only there for suicides; to send help and to talk you down from the brink. While that is part of what we do, it goes beyond that. Crisis counselors are highly trained staff or volunteers that help people in various crises like homelessness, anxiety and more. I have been a volunteer crisis counselor for almost two years now at an organization called Crisis Text Line. People can text in for free 24/7 to get help and we answer them. I love the work I do and chatting with people who volunteer in our unique community. We have students, professionals, veterans and even people over 50. We also have people who are Deaf or hard of hearing, blind or visually impaired, those who have physical disabilities like me and even people with various forms of autism. We have others that have various forms of mental illnesses too, similar to the people we help who are called texters. It’s an awesome organization and no shift is quite like the next. Here’s what one recent shift from 6-8 PM was like for me to give you a taste of what we do. 5:45- My computer pops up a reminder fifteen minutes before my shift starts. I open up the site we use for shifts and get ready to receive the verification code I need to log in tonight. 5:50 . I log in and check the ‘queue’, where we can see the number of people texting in tonight. It’s yellow which means we don’t have enough counselors logged in right now to respond to the number of people texting in. I take two conversations for now since the queue seems to be dropping now. I message back and forth with a woman concerned that her mother might be being abused by her father. We talk a little about what she’s observed and tried so far to help her mother; her mother denies anything wrong and the texter isn’t sure what to do. I click over to our referrals tab where we have resources grouped by topic including domestic violence. I give her a couple referrals and she decides that she is okay to go so I wish her well and begin filling in my notes on her profile. We leave notes after every conversation should the texter reach out sometime in the future so the next counselor knows some about them. My second texter fails to respond after I send two messages to check in on them. I end the conversation after about ten minutes with no response and wait for my next texter. It’s quiet now and nothing new is going on so I head to group chat. I chat in random for about ten minutes with my fellow counselors where we chat about food and the upcoming palooza, a three day conference we can attend and meet each other. 6:21 I pick up a new texter who is very curious about what we do and what it is for so I chat with them and answer some of their questions. 6:30 My texter wants to know how to know if you have depression or not. I answer and tell them it’s based on symptoms they might have that characterize depression. My texter is still confused so I head to referrals and find an article on depression signs and symptoms. I offer to answer any questions and explain that the article explains and might help them understand. They don’t have any other questions and stop texting me back so after five minutes I send a message to check on them and close the conversation. I finish writing notes after a couple minutes but it’s a slow night and there aren’t any texters so I head back to group chat. 6:50- I take on two texters who are having reactions to recent medication changes. One of them has bipolar disorder and explains that she usually has to deal with anger outbursts but lately she’s been down and hasn’t had energy or motivation to do anything. The second texter is a male whose doctors say he is fine even though he can’t sleep and always feels hot. He shares that he has had depression for five years and feels hopeless that he’ll ever get better. I chat with him until about 7:50, then log off because you can’t have a whole conversation in 10 minutes and I'm wiped.