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Funny EMS Videos More Top 10 Subscribe June 1, 2011
Top 10 Ways to be a TV Medic
By Kelly Grayson EMS1.com Columnist

It was 3:24 in the morning, and I was kneeling on a full-motion waterbed in a sweltering mobile home, with only a dim lamp for illumination. Praying fervently that the warm, damp spot under my left knee was a leaky mattress, but knowing I couldn't be that lucky, I asked the woman on the bed The Mother Of All Dumb Questions:

"So Ma'am, what seems to be the problem this morning?"

Given that she looked like she had swallowed a watermelon, was panting like a winded racehorse and cursing like the little girl on The Exorcist, she understandably looked at me like I had lost my mind.

"Oh, nothing much," she answered with exaggerated politeness, "I just got lonely and figured you might like to play a little gin rummy. What the hell does it look like I'm doing?"

Okay, so I'm not real quick on the uptake at oh-dark-thirty in the morning, but I quickly recovered, put on my inscrutable paramedic face, and sent my partner to the rig for the obstetrical kit.

Seeking to gather a little resuscitation-oriented history and reestablish myself as someone worthy of respect and trust, a confident and capable practitioner of the art of prehospital emergency care, I smiled reassuringly and asked her the only question that could make me look even dumber:

"So, are you having contractions right now?"

Yeah, not my finest moment.

After the call, it occurred to me that if I had looked and acted more like a Hollywood medic, I'd have had instant credibility no matter what stupidity escaped my lips. After all, how else to explain NBC's 'Trauma' lasting for 18 episodes?

On that note, I give you the Top Ten Ways to Look Like a Hollywood Medic:

10 Have a tailor on retainer. Never mind that uniforms are made to fit average body types. Never mind that they should be cut loose enough to allow a wide range of physical activities. If your flight suit doesn't showcase your marvelously sculpted butt or your uniform shirt doesn't look like it was sprayed on over your pecs and biceps, no one will ever believe you're a real medic.
10

Be sexy. It's not enough for you to know it, unmarried males 18-35 with disposable income need to know it, too. That means you look your best on shift, and never have bed hair or dragon breath.

So ladies, whenever you can, show off your cleavage. Nothing says, "I am a caring and highly trained professional" quite like dangling your décolletage in your male patient's face while you check his pupils. Next time you really need medical control orders, nothing works quite as well as a seductive purr over the radio that makes the doctor feel as if he should be paying $3.95 a minute to hear you ask for a dopamine drip.

10

Never do transfers. Hollywood medics only do 911, baby, and they all work for the fire department. Moreover, Hollywood medics only get the good 911 calls. They never get sent to ingrown toenails 5 minutes from shift change, or asked to take a dialysis patient home from her appointment.

So next time the dispatcher sends you on a transfer or minor emergency, refuse the assignment on the grounds that such mundane calls are not worthy of the television drama that is your life.

Afterward, you'll have all the free time you need to make your way to Hollywood and try to get hired at one of those fire departments. Don't forget to have them forward your unemployment checks.

10

Talk to your patients. I'm not talking about explaining procedures to them, or obtaining a history, or offering reassurance. Heck, everyone does that. No, the Hollywood medic will grip the patient's hand and urge them to fight, don't give up, and hang on sweetie, you're gonna be okay.

If you don't do that, they'll have no reason to wake up from their cardiac arrest, gaze up at you gratefully through tear-filled eyes, and whisper, "Thank you." Which brings us to...

Read the Top 6 Ways to be a TV Medic at EMS1.com
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EMT to EMS Mgmt Paramedic to RN (ADN) AS/BS in Firescience
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