I’m not sure when it happen but I have become one of the ‘old guys’ in EMS. In a profession that is usually used as a stepping stone other things I have stuck around for 18 years now.
More and more lately I am catching myself starting sentences with “when I got into this business…” As my partner likes to point out every chance that he gets I started in EMS the year he started Kindergarten.
The biggest change I have noticed over the last 18 years is the emphasis on crew safety. I can remember a time when calling for a lift assist was unheard of. The service I work for now automatically sends a lift assist for any patient over 300#. EVOC and CEVO were unheard of. Back then every call was handled ‘hot’. PPE was available but very seldom used.
If I had to pick one thing from the ‘old days’ it is the sense of tradition and professionalism. As an outgrowth of the fire service EMS was steep in tradition. Through my career I have spent a nice chunk of change buying ice cream after every ‘first’. I mention this to a new provider not to long ago and almost nobody at the station had a clue of what I was talking about.
I mentioned professionalism. I am lucky to work for a services that still takes pride in the professional appearance of there employees. Buttoned down uniform shirts are required. Plain white t-shirts are part of the uniform code. Facial hair is limited to a mustache (will trimmed) not extending past the corner of the mouth (yes I did have to shave the fumanchu when I started). To many services are allowing there providers to wear t-shirts or even polo shirts. Unshaven and unkempt providers seem to have become the norm for some services. And then my biggest pet peeve. WHITE SOCKS visible in uniform.
I know it has been awhile since I have posted here. I will try to do so with a little more regularity but no promises. Stay Safe Kyle
To: All EMS Personnel
From: Chief of Operations
Subject: Proper Narrative Descriptions
It has come to our attention from several local emergency rooms that many EMS narratives have taken a decidedly creative direction lately. Effective immediately, all members are to refrain from using slang and abbreviations to describe patients, such as the following:
1) Cardiac patients should not be referred to as suffering from MUH (Messed Up Heart), PBS (Pretty Bad Shape), PCL (Pre-Code Looking), or HIBGIA (Had It Before, Got It Again).
2) Stroke Patients are NOT “Charlie Carrots.” Nor are members to use CCFCCP )Coo Coo For Cocoa Puffs) to describe their mental state.
3) Trauma patients are not CATS (Cut All To S***), FDGB (Fall Down, Go Boom), TBC (Total Body Crunch), or “hamburger helper.” Similarly, descriptions of motor vehicle accidents are not to include phrases like “negative vehicle to vehicle interface” or “terminal deceleration syndrome.”
4) HAZMAT teams are highly trained professionals, not “glow worms.” Similarly, the “Cop-O-Meter” is not to be used during HAZMAT incidents.
5) Persons with altered mental status as a result of drug use are not considered “pharmaceutically gifted.”
6) Gunshot wounds to the head are not “trans-occipital implants” or HVLT (High Velocity Lead Therapy).
7) The homeless are not “urban outdoorsman,” nor is endotracheal intubation referred to as a “PVC challenge.”
8) And finally, do not refer to recently deceased patients as being “paws up”, ART (Assuming Room Temperature), DRT (Dead Right There), or NLPR (No Longer Playing Records).
I know you will join me in respecting the cultural diversity of our patients to include their medical orientations in creating proper narratives and log entries.
“At the turn of the 19th century, the body of a young girl was pulled from the River Seine in Paris. There was no evidence of violence and it was assumed she had taken her own life. Because her identity could not be established, a death mask was made; which was customary in such cases. 
