What secrets do EMT's keep

1. We usually always know which nursing homes and rehabs are good and which ones are not.

However; just because we know though, does not mean we will always tell you.  We have are jobs on the line of we bad mouth places we service or our company has an interest in. We will usually only tell people we trust or if we are really connecting well with a patient prior to them going to a facility. Between the nursing staff we meet, the patients we take out of those facilities, the way they talk to and care for patients, we see a huge part of what goes on at care facilities. All of us know where we would and would not want someone we care about going if they needed time at a care facility.

2. We know which hospital would be better for you in an emergency and it is not always the closest.

A lot of people when they need an ambulance feel like they know which hospital that they want to go to. For most cases, the hospital that your care provider is affiliated or where you are having continuous care from for let's say renal insufficiency from, that is usually your best choice. When you got into an accident at home and broke your arm or have chest pain, any EMT worth his weight in salt will know which hospital you need to go to so do not argue if you really do now have a reason other than, it is closer to my cousins house, or my sister in law works there.

3. We do not care what your house looks like, as long as there is not an insect infection.

If we are there to pick you up for an emergency or a routine transport, unless your home smells horrible or is covered in trash we don't care if it is a bit messy, spectacularly clean, poor living or multimillion dollar home, we see a lot of homes you're probably not going to be memorable any longer than then the next call or next shift at the longest. So unless we walk into a bedbug or roach infestation we do not care unless we care for our own health and safety.

4. If it is approaching the end of the shift, we usually move a lot faster.

Most every worker does this at their job, EMT's are not any different. Unless we feel you really have an emergency going on, and we rush that in a different way, we will do all we can to "scoop and screw", meaning small talk is cut short, we move faster we talk faster, we drive a little faster, and we definitely do not have time for more than the immediate belonging to take. I need to pack, I need to eat, my pets..." we have little patience for this, we want in and out and on our way so we will say no move with a serious purpose if we do give in. Also, most of that is above and beyond our duties that EMT's do to be nice and provide great customer service because we actually do care, but if we have somewhere to be we cut down quickly.

5. We really do not care if all you have to do is complain about where you have been or where you are going.

Bad food at that nursing home, fine that stinks, every time you're there you have terrible food and you want to describe it in detail.... we are zoning you out. Fan on high, "mhmm", and "ya", we do not care. The more you complain the less we listen. We will not remember you and if we do it is not in a positive light. If anything we feel bad for whoever gets roomed with you or ends up caring for you.

There is more to it than being an EMT but that is a some of the honest truth.
We take the job mostly because we are looking for a stepping stone into something else, but we keep working at it because we really do enjoy the work and love helping people.
So be polite, ask questions, and stay positive and we may just tell you what we know that could benefit you.