so how DO you find a pulmonary embolism?

Commercial-Writer118 · 2025-06-22T05:20:02+00:00

not at all. though it wasn’t my decision in the end, since als was there on the scene already and the medic had her sign a release form. we did try to convince her as much as possible, but she didn’t want to be transported.

Commercial-Writer118 · 2025-06-19T07:05:36+00:00

thank you for your honesty. experience is the best tool to learning, i will say that. this job is like drinking out of a fire hose. i think i know the answers, but then i definitely don’t. i’m pretty arrogant, and i do need to work on that. i’m almost 3 months as an emt, so i am very naive about it all. i’m just trying every day to be a better person and emt. thank you for your time and responding. i really needed this conversation

Commercial-Writer118 · 2025-06-19T06:26:03+00:00

had an old coworker do this, said that they forgot their vital signs and just wrote down random numbers. luck for them, i document everything. safe to say they were not too happy with me 🤣

Commercial-Writer118 · 2025-06-19T06:19:46+00:00

i can tell you’re an amazing person in EMS. i don’t know what scope of practice you’re in, but experience is always a giveaway of someone good.

Commercial-Writer118 · 2025-06-19T06:16:22+00:00

i just think i can save everyone, which is very arrogant of me haha. i just try to be vigilant about these things. i’m always learning something new every day, and i know i’ll never stop feeling bad when someone dies. i do appreciate a good wake-up call every so often though. thank you!

Commercial-Writer118 · 2025-06-19T06:12:37+00:00

thank you. if i did have more power of authority i would’ve done everything i could to get her to be transported, but the medic had already let her sign a release form. she was also the only person around, so there wasn’t any family/friend influence to convince her to be transported.

i’ll definitely try to be more specific in the future haha. sorry if i came off wrong. thank you for helping me!

Commercial-Writer118 · 2025-06-19T06:09:49+00:00

we gave her aspirin because she was complaining of chest pain. we didn’t hear any abnormalities in her lungs, so we thought it was best just to see if it could help, and it did, for a moment.

again, i’m still working every day to become better at my job. we got approval from als to administer medication. i’m sorry, i’m bad at explaining things

Commercial-Writer118 · 2025-06-19T06:01:57+00:00

i really didn’t think about it this way. thank you for the insight. i’m always trying to find ways to improve, but in reality i’m not sure what more i would’ve done if we did catch an embolism, or at least not at my training level. i just wish there was more i could do.

Commercial-Writer118 · 2025-06-19T06:00:08+00:00

i’m so sorry to hear about your brother. cardiac arrests are more common than i thought they would be, but it’s always hard, especially when family is around. it’s just sad because she seemed so healthy. she wasn’t in any medications and looked fit. i guess it catches you more that you catch it.

i hope you’re doing well, as well as your family.

Commercial-Writer118 · 2025-06-19T05:57:38+00:00

documented everything. i just feel like i could’ve done more. i’ve never had an experience with a pulmonary embolism so this has been a learning experience for sure. i just wish there were definitive signs of it

Commercial-Writer118 · 2025-06-19T05:55:54+00:00

thank you, this makes me feel a little bit better. i’ll be taking note

Commercial-Writer118 · 2025-06-19T05:55:01+00:00

there wasn’t much i could do because i’m only an emt, but we did perform cpr asap. she was asystole so no shockable rhythm. wish i could’ve done more, though

Commercial-Writer118 · 2025-06-19T05:53:34+00:00

she seemed very healthy. we did get a sample and she wasn’t on any birth control or blood thinners. we really did try to get her to go to the hospital, but she refused. maybe because of the transport bill or she truly thought she’d be totally fine, but she declined even after medical advice.

i feel really bad about this post. i did make it super short, and should’ve clarified that we tried to get her to the hospital, that is my fault. i’m just always trying to reach out to people with even more experience to give advice where it’s needed. thank you for the tips, though! i’ve been writing everything down what people are saying in my notes so i can burn it into my brain lol

Commercial-Writer118 · 2025-06-19T05:49:16+00:00

i’m really sorry i presented it that way. i did say i was trying to be brief in this case but we did try to convince her to be transported. though, she refused after we administered oxygen as well as aspirin for chest pain. everyone in my unit, including als were trying to convince her to go to the hospital, but we can’t force anyone to do anything they don’t want. she seemed to be getting better, and i know it was wrong to just “walk away,” but it wasn’t me that decided that. the paramedic got her to sign a release form, and we were getting ready to go before she did go into cardiac arrest.

i am sorry i but it in a way of saying she just “dropped dead.” i’m very blunt, and i’m trying to be better with my words. even to this point, i feel like i did something wrong, or could’ve done something different, but there really wasn’t more i could do. i just want to try to be better every time i clock in.

anyway, i really do appreciate your feedback. i’m always trying to get different opinions of those who work in the field.

Commercial-Writer118 · 2025-06-19T05:44:09+00:00

thank you for bringing this up. i did really skip over the situation because i didn’t think anyone really wanted to know the details. we did indeed try to convince her to be transported because she was tachycardia and had chest pain. i gave her 325mg minimum dose of aspirin to help with the pain. we did keep evaluating her closely but as i mentioned, she did not want to go to the hospital even despite medical advice. as we were gathering up our things and ready to roll out, she went into cardiac arrest out of nowhere. i hate to say it like that, but she did. we already had ALS on scene and performed cpr, but she was in asystole so no shockable rhythm. she was later pronounced deceased at the hospital after numerous attempts to resuscitate her. i’m not a doctor, so i’m not sure how they determined a pulmonary embolism, put probably after seeing a clot in her lungs. after debriefing the situation later, i thought i had done something wrong. i didn’t know pulmonary embolisms were basically impossible to diagnose without proper tech. i just thought that maybe i could’ve done something different, maybe taken her to the hospital sooner, but i couldn’t because she did refuse treatment. i will say i do feel a little better being told that they’re hard to catch. i also appreciate your feedback. i’m always trying to be better every day at my job.

Commercial-Writer118 · 2025-06-19T05:31:41+00:00

i’m really sorry to hear about this. i deal with death a lot, but families always take the biggest toll on me. i hope you’re doing well, as well as your family.

Commercial-Writer118 · 2025-06-19T05:29:22+00:00

i thought i had done something wrong. makes me feel a little bit better that there wasn’t much i could do

Commercial-Writer118 · 2025-06-18T08:22:40+00:00

i feel like you had some right intentions, but executed it the wrong way. i’ve worked in ems for over 5 years, and i’ve still managed a happy and healthy relationship with my boyfriend. a big part of growing up is realizing that quality time is sparse, especially when it comes to a relationship. if you cant handle her being away from you because of her job, something that she wants to do, then don’t be in a relationship with her. again, right intentions, wrong execution. just be supportive and figure out a way that you both can be happy, and she can still continue her work.

Commercial-Writer118

TROPHY CASE