This Question From Paramedic Jokes | 17 Answers
where a guy was in a motorcycle accident. He was smashed like a pancake on the road. The accident was across the street from a diner. He told me they knew the guy he was “a low life drug addict” who wasn’t worth anything. So they started making jokes about getting some spoons from the diner to spoon him up off the road. He thought this was so funny. He said when we get calls for these dregs we take our time. Do all EMTs really think like this? Who are we to judge who is worthy of saving a life? I was really bothered by his joking. It was very upsetting to hear. What happen to the compassion in the medical community?
I stuck this in R and S since this is normally where I post.
17 Comments so far
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i don’t know what’s going on in the world today…no manners or morals. i was an EMTA nearly 25 years ago…if we were reported for speaking like that, we would have been canned. i think you should file a formal complaint with the city (if it was a city ambulance) or what ever company owned the ambulance. i don’t care how jaded you become in your job, humor is something you save for when you are back at the station. no life is worth more than another.
I disagree with the other peoples answers here. They sound like excuses or compliance, not that you can change anyones attitude towards anothers life but what you witnessed is a self-righteousness that has overcome the american face. “We are better than you because we are ___ and you are that.
Im up here and you’re down there.”
Its a false sense of security that is a by-product of the fear and hate mongering, the divisionist garbage on mainstream media. No matter what that EMT persons personal views may be about some poor soul trapped in the nightmare of addiction he has a professional decorum that SHOULD be maintained. But for what reason does he or others have to act professionally when police are free handed to shoot and tazer people. When the leadership takes no responsibility to the global community, when the country is literally going broke and few if any are ever brought to justice for the billions of dollars that are being looted out of the economy?
What you’ve witnessed was a self righteous, sense of entitlement, a sick superiority complex. For whom the bell tolls.
Its an easy way to deal with the worst part of their job. Ive been deployed twice, jokes (as messed up as they are) are a coping mechanism. If it makes you feel better, I still dream about some things that i hope you never have to bear.
almost forgot, i am deeply sorry for your loss and im not saying its right, its just a way,
My initial reaction was revulsion. I do not feel that any human being is worthless. My second thought was maybe the job has left your friend kind of shell shocked. This “joking” is a way of dealing with that.
Sometimes it is because ppl are just desensitized and cruel. It is also true that Humans find ways to deal with traumatic events that most of us never have to see or deal with. Seeing dead bodies all the time can wreak havoc on the mind if you don’t find a way to cope.
I think it’s safe to say that these EMT’s wouldn’t be so flippant if they personally knew the deceased.
Humor is one way people deal with distressing/disturbing events. That’s all you’re seeing here.
That they aren’t censoring themselves around others is poor judgment and unprofessional, and they’d probably get reprimanded by their superiors if it was reported.
I heard the EMTs joking when my mother died. She had been dead for a week when she was found, so needless to say, it wasn’t a pretty sight. The one guy was saying something about, “Whoa, this one’s a stinker.” People are callous and insensitive, and unfortunately, there is no class to teach sympathy and empathy.
I’m truly sorry to hear about your Mom. In her case I think the EMT was totally out of line, insensitive and a total jerk. I honestly think you should lodge a formal complaint.
In the case of the man who was smashed on the road-I think it’s easy to say what is ‘politically correct’ or what is ‘textbook protocol’ however …these EMT’s have become desensitized -they HAVE to….it’s like a coping mechanism -otherwise they would go stark raving mad. Think for a minute of the things they see-people with metal through their head or leg, people smashed up being held together by an object which, once removed -they will die. The Trauma, the heartache, the tragedies-we are only lucky they chose this job because God knows-the rest of us could NOT do it.
That’s pretty low. It might be a way of dealing with a terrible situation though. I like to watch ‘Trauma, Life in the ER’ and shows like that. I seen the doctors making bets on the blood alcohol level of accident victims.
Its not fair to judge a community by an individual or an individual by a single overheard conversation. These people are more calloused than the rest of us because death and disfigurement is part of the job. I’m not advocating this kind of behavior myself just playing devil’s advocate.
That’s sick. No, I don’t think it is an attitude shared by EMTs. Maybe a few, but it is certainly a terrible thing to say. Anybody who can make a joke like that and think it is funny has bigger issues than a horrible sense of humor.
That wasn’t cool. What’s next, are EMT’s going to scale their quality of service based on whether your tie goes with your jacket?
I work in a business in which customers can go across the street if they don’t like my service, and I have to be extremely careful and sensitive in how I deal with people. It seems to me that, once a person gets a paycheck from the government, they act like they answer to nobody. And to me, a government job isn’t even a real job, in terms of the economy. They can all stop thinking the world of themselves and they can stop wasting the public’s trust and resources.
I know that un-ethical lawyers are part of the problem, too. They’re feeding that whole attitude out there today that life is all about getting by with whatever you can, and not basing your choices on any sense of right and wrong.
I’m glad there’s a God who’s going to sort out this mess.
It sounds like there wasn’t much left of this person to rush to.
we shouldnt be partial to people,,, amd i think it is sick that they made jokes how do you know the guy became a low life trhough depression or bad blows in life …noone knows what his life was like… he should of been treated like a person and the emt should have been there on the dot
not all but most… i have not made it that far yet., right now i just sit back and watch and listen…. but it is done as a way of coping, to relieve the stress.. drs, nurses, police officers all do it… most still have compassion and care… even the ones who do the joking…. if they dont have compassion, then they should not be doing the job…. something i learned in school.. most people make these jokes, but they are not to be made where the public can hear them, and really should not be repeated to anyone… because someone who doesnt understand what all an emt goes through would not understand why they say what they do… btw tell your friend that is hard to eat pancakes with a spoon, they should have gotten forks!!!
I don’t know what to say,except one day it may be some of his
own family they have to listen as someone else make,s fun
of them,, God will repay people like this.
They have a pretty tough job scrapping people up off roads and such. It is a mechanism to deal with it.