We recently wrote a post where EMTs share their best safety tips for dangerous situations. In the comments, nurses, doctors, and other hospital workers also gave their best advice. Here’s what they had to say:
1.“EMTs here who have worked in hospital settings. Please keep a list of your medical history, current medications, allergies, and emergency contacts in your wallet or in the emergency tab on your phone. If you pass out, help us treat you.”
— 28 Georgia
2.“Don’t put butter or Vaseline on the burn!!! This will only make the situation worse by causing infection. All it does is keep the heat in. Cool the burn with water, remove any jewelry (it will swell) and any clothing that is not on skin Call 911.
—59, New York
3.“ER nurses. DO NOT go to the emergency room for things that can be handled in urgent care. ERs are flooded with minute problems, which take away from the care of critical patients, OR less-critical patients will not ask for a tendency. as desired.”
“Due to our privacy policy, you don’t have to know what happened to other patients in the ER. We may have forgotten the warm blanket because we went down the hall trying to resuscitate him; you just don’t understand.”
—31, Florida
4.“The ER doctor is here. If you’re having chest pains you’ve never had before, call 911 or go to the ER and get checked out. Your loved one thinks it’s just heartburn.”
—52, Texas
“If you have chest pain, left arm pain, sudden fatigue, CALL 911 or go to the nearest ER IMMEDIATELY! I am an RN for 20 years, and I just lost a friend TODAY to a massive heart attack. She has been experiencing continuous chest pain for the past three days. Calling EMS even an hour sooner could have saved him. DON’T WAIT!”
— 54, North Carolina
5.“Retired ER doctor. If anyone is injured, don’t move them, and don’t give them water. Just call 911.”
—65, New Mexico
6.“Whatever you do, don’t remove the knife when you’re stabbed; if you keep it there, you’ll lose less blood.”
— Anonymous
7.“I’ve told all the kids in my family that I’ve been an EMT, then a paramedic, then an RN for years, and I’ve never pulled a dead person out of a seat belt. But I’ve scraped a few cliffs, trees, and bridge railings. Wear your seat belt !!!”
—70, Iowa
8.“Neuro ICU nurse: Don’t mess with a head injury. Even if you don’t have symptoms at first, take it seriously. Pain after an injury can be a very insidious sign of brain swelling. I’ve seen people checked. come out ‘OK’ in the post-accident exam , but went home with a brain bleed.
“Secondary brain injuries can occur days after the accident. This refers to the damage that occurs after an injury occurs, when the brain swells. Many secondary brain injuries cause more damage than the initial impact. Take it seriously. And, please, don’t drink if you’ve been drinking.”
— Anonymous, 36
9.“Former ICU nurse: It’s not fun, but filling out a health care proxy or authorizing a lawyer to make medical decisions that you can’t. very emotional may be forced to listen if you don’t want to be saved in some situations.
“Unless you decide otherwise, every effort will be made to save you, even if you’re only alive in a machine and in bad conditions. You may be 95 and frail, but full CPR will be done, and it’s not pretty. You can’t control what happens if you can’t speak for yourself. If no one is appointed, your family may argue and argue about what will happen to you. This can tear families apart. This could mean you don’t get the results you want. I know no one wants to think the worst, but do it. You never know what we see and how people are going to be.”
—36, Rhode Island
10.“If you think you or someone is having a stroke, don’t take aspirin or blood thinners. Without imaging, you could have a hemorrhagic type stroke, and those drugs can make things worse. Show it to your local emergency department so we can get the images first and then move on.” way to catch you.”
“I’m a stroke doctor, so I know how important this message is!”
—36, Illinois
11.“If you think you or someone around you is in trouble, don’t panic. Call 911 right away. There is something called the ‘golden hour’ in relation to strokes and heart attacks. If you get to the ER within the first hour of symptoms starting – chest pain, speech that is unclear, numbness, blurred vision, weakness on one side of the face and / or body, to name a few – we can almost stop anything that happens.
“But people always want to deny that it could be ‘something bad,’ or they don’t want to mess up the schedule. Well, a massive stroke or death really screws up the schedule. Always listen to your instincts; we are here to help, and everyone will be happy if it is anything. But it’s a wonderful day when someone saves his brain and soul because he’s not a horse that can’t resist.
—53, Ohio
12.“If you witness or encounter an accident, and you feel the need to help, the first thing you should do is be aware of your surroundings. Make sure the area is safe, for example downed power lines, oncoming traffic, fuel leaks. , and sparks/flames Remember , your safety can’t help if you get hurt.
— 59, California
13.“After a rear-end car accident, don’t stand between the two cars to assess the damage. If the third car doesn’t stop and hits two stationary cars, your leg could be crushed or even amputated.”
—71, Missouri
14.“If you’re a parent, don’t carry your LifeVac with you everywhere. Choking deaths are horrible. I’ve taken care of adults and babies who died or were close to death from choking. The Heimlich doesn’t work for everyone – especially if you’re overweight and the rescuers can’t catch it your hand.”
—31, Florida
15.“NP addiction here. If you see someone with an opioid overdose, give them Narcan as ordered. If that doesn’t work, give them a second dose if available. Even if someone wakes up after the first dose, they still need it. A second dose in 30-60 minutes because Narcan starts to wear off faster than fentanyl Always get people to the ER/clinic for an eval, even if they seem OK after waking up because the overdose can ‘restart’ after the first dose of Narcan wears off.”
-38, USA
16.“If you see an accident, don’t pull over and see if someone needs emergency services. DO NOT remove anyone from the car unless it’s on fire. Improperly removing someone can damage the C-Spine, causing neurological deficits.”
—31, Florida
And finally…
17.“Don’t lie to your provider (doctor, nurse, etc.) about the condition of your injury or other medical history. The patient withholds the name of a certain prescription drug because he is embarrassed, and the drug prescribed by the doctor to treat his condition will react strongly with his prescription that will cause an attack. a big heart if no one else comes in.”
“We don’t care what you’ve taken, what ingredients you’ve used, whatever. We just want to do our jobs and keep you alive. No information came out of the room. Besides, whatever you’re embarrassed to share, I guarantee we’ve heard 100 worse.
—31, New Jersey
Doctors, nurses, and other hospital workers, what other “emergency” safety tips should others be aware of? Feel free to let us know in the comments below, or if you prefer to remain anonymous, you can use this Google form.
Note: Some responses have been edited for length and/or clarity.
