FDNY Ride Along...

[Chief1C]

I think I'd rather have the shrimp on the barbie, than Ben on the barbie.

[Kiwiology]

I've been in health care for well over a decade in the United States and I do not typically see physicians being treated like "psedo-royalty."

I'll elaborate; medicine in US seems much more glamorous than here (and I'm not talking about Grey's Anatomy etc) just in general the medical establishment seems to be portrayed in a much higher regard than here or elsewhere eg NHS in UK. Driving down the highway here I haven't seen massive billboards for a hospital or glossy magazine ads; when I was in ED in California for a stomach infection it was like being in a hotel (seriously it was real flash) and the Physician looked more like a male model surfer than a Doctor.

I realise there is probably a lot of subjectivity and in-somebodies-endo in there but still, after nearly 2 years in US to me it seemed like Medicine and Physicians are treated a lot better than other places I've lived eg UK

[miscusi]

Well, In closing, I have gone on the ride along. I was shocked to see that most of the calls were mostly nothing at all. EDP, homeless etc... but the men were professional, everybody was friendly, and a word of advice to anyone else to go, Wear a suit. why ? I kept getting stopped by security everywhere who wondered who I was. Without a uniform, so many questionable looks esp from the police. It got better when I clipped my ID card to my shirt, but still afterwards some security still didnt see that... I was wearing casual clothing. Im pretty sure that had I wore a suit I would have been more seamless.. I did buy lunch, and the guys were really happy about that. I have learned more than I bargained for ! I think I will go ride along again soon !

[ERDoc]

I was shocked to see that most of the calls were mostly nothing at all.

Welcome to the world of emergency medicine, it's not all guts and glory (I just got back from vacation and my first two pts were back-to-back buttock abscesses). I'm glad you enjoyed your ride along. I would have to recommend NOT wearing a suit. As professional as it looks, it's not the right enviorment. You need to wear somthing that looks nice/professional but still allows you to function. You should ALWAYS be wearing your identification. Good luck.

[Kiwiology]

Welcome to the world of emergency medicine, it's not all guts and glory

My new definition for emergency medicine is "hyper acute (as defined by the patient) GP service with the occasional really crook person thrown in"

Sad part is it's like 99% accurate

I would have to recommend NOT wearing a suit

Yeah what is with that like one of our Consultant's wears a suit without a jacket in ED like you're not allowed to wear your own scrubs even if the hospital launders them because it breeches infection control but you wear suit pants and shirt with tie out your closet which did not go through the hospital laundry and that's OK?

Next thing we'll be going back to the days when the Chuirgeon comes in off the street in his suit and hacks the patients limb off then cauterises the wound in boiling oil ... actually that would make medicine much simpler and very easy to learn. We could probably prescribe some antibiotics and at least make him wash his hands and use sterile instruments and you'd have the best of old, easy medicine and new, less death due to preventable causes medicine!

Oh and it would avoid the bad dead people ju ju from Semmelweis and Baron Lister

[Steve Whitehead]

I don't work for FDNY EMS. I have had hundreds of riders in my career.

What you wear and what food you buy will probably be less important to the crew than how engaged you are in learning about prehospital care. This doesn't mean that you need to pepper the crew with questions all day long. There is no appropriate amount of questions vs. observation. I have some ride-alongs who drill us with somewhat obvious questions all day long and we patiently answer them all, but it's clear that this is what they think they are supposed to do. (ie. "seem interested")

Don't "seem interested", be interested. What they do is really interesting. Appropriate questions stem from genuine interest. And those are never anoying.

Bring your personality and have fun. This is a great field of work. I hope you enjoy your first ride as much as I did.

[Richard B the EMT]

Cap? Did we mix up string postings, here?

[Kiwiology]

Cap? Did we mix up string postings, here?

I have asked the Surgical House Officer to come review for ? forumectomy

[miscusi]

well, the fdny ride-along is observation only anyway, so yeah, the focus was on food and what to wear ! pt interaction is strictly prohibited..

[Just Plain Ruff]

I don't understand, why was it your responsibility to pay for their food?