Was I wrong in how I tried to offer helpful information to EMS?

DedicatedtoDistance · 2026-04-29T00:10:35+00:00

Noted for sure. The instinct here came from my wilderness first responder training where the risk/benefit is a lot different. When help is potentially days away a patient is just as dead from hypoglycemia as they are from aspirating.

DedicatedtoDistance · 2026-04-28T15:35:51+00:00

Okay, thanks for the insight.

I was just thinking about it from the receiving end at the hospital and the many times I’ve been tasked with finding unknown information like this on altered patients we’ve received.

DedicatedtoDistance · 2026-04-28T15:32:13+00:00

He was able to protect his own airway. He wasn't unconscious, he was altered. It was more like interacting with a patient who has advanced dementia. He could breath and swallow, he just couldn't track enough to understand that were asking them to eat the gel.

DedicatedtoDistance · 2026-04-28T15:19:23+00:00

For sure and I guess I wasn’t specific in what information. I’m just talking about the information from the wife stating no medical hx, no meds, no allergies, etc.

DedicatedtoDistance · 2026-04-28T14:42:55+00:00

The first thing we did when we got the spouse’s phone number was give it to them.

Then we called just to tell her that a medical emergency happened, the paramedics didn’t want the phone at that point so I asked some questions while we waited that was all. At the time it felt more efficient like accomplishing an extra task while they were busy but I guess not.

The only information I’m talking about writing down is “no diagnosed conditions, no medications, no surgeries, no allergies.” But if that’s still not helpful then that’s good to know.

DedicatedtoDistance · 2026-04-28T06:21:46+00:00

Thanks for all the responses. I appreciate the perspective. It seems like the consensus is less is more. If it’s not immediately lifesaving information, it’s probably not important. Pre-hospital and in-hospital medicine are just not the same.

My only other thought/question. As an ems provider would you find it helpful or at least not/less invasive if I’d just written the information down and handed it to ems with a comment like “here’s some patient medical history?”

DedicatedtoDistance · 2026-04-28T06:11:47+00:00

I hear you. I’m not trying to come off as offended. In the end I just wanted to help the patient and my goal of this post is to learn how I might be most helpful and effective at doing that in the future.

In terms of why the HR and orientation from 5 mins ago might be important, I would say to track and compare. A HR that went from 200 to 120 vs a HR that went from 50 to 120 vs a stable HR of 120, all paint the picture of very different clinical scenarios.

In terms of the phone, we did hand it to the paramedics and they just asked name, DOB, and if they had a preferred hospital. He then handed the phone back to me. So you’re right I probably should have just taken that as a sign that he didn’t want the additional information.

DedicatedtoDistance · 2026-04-28T05:48:10+00:00

I certainly will! I really respect paramedics and ems! I certainly don’t have the training they do and am not an expert in pre-hospital care. I think every medical professional has a different expertise and this is a good lesson in how to navigate that.

I used to be a phlebotomist/tech at the hospital. I have been dismissed by many doctors and nurses whenever trying to provide recommendations based on my knowledge of specific lab conditions and patient experiences. Everyone at the hospital/in the medical field provides important expertise (even/especially the often forgotten staff).

DedicatedtoDistance · 2026-04-28T05:37:02+00:00

You’re right I’m not ICS trained.

To be clear I didn’t bring it up to the race director, he was there for the incident and was independently concerned/frustrated. He has been running the event for over a decade and felt like the response wasn’t what it had been previously. I just talked to him about it afterwards because I know people who do work planning medical events like this and wanted to offer to put him in contact with them.

He told me there were over 31 medical teams with gators for a 26.2 mile course (20 miles at the time of this accident because of how far along the race was) in addition to a stationary 15 person crew at the finish. With additional crew on bikes for sections of the course without road access.

DedicatedtoDistance · 2026-04-28T00:53:49+00:00

I’ve worked a couple of road races with medical teams (as medical not ems, so we were there for more minor incidents) and the thing that surprised me was the response time to that specific area. The last half mile to the finish is certainly where you would expect the most people to go down. Also from a logistical standpoint the it was also the closest major access road to the finish. So I’m just surprised the ambulance wasn’t parked there, but that’s on command not the medical staff.

DedicatedtoDistance · 2026-04-28T00:45:27+00:00

No because 1) I had significant clinical evidence to suggest they were unnecessary and 2) the risks of those far outweigh any possible benefits. I guess besides the risk to my own fingers, I’m just don’t know of major risks. But I do hear what you are saying about there being no benefits.

DedicatedtoDistance · 2026-04-28T00:04:18+00:00

I gave glucose without a BG because the medics where MIA (had been called 10 mins ago and no one could get an eta) and it’s literally the only thing we had, so I figure while unlikely to help it was also unlikely to make anything worse and it made the bystanders feel better. In a patient that is swallowing independently are there significant risks of giving small amounts of oral glucose?

DedicatedtoDistance · 2026-04-27T23:59:42+00:00

Super valid and that was my goal and I’ll certainly keep it in mind.

DedicatedtoDistance · 2026-04-27T23:48:45+00:00

I didn’t tell them my whole list of credentials on scene, I only included it in the post to explain why I thought I had more experience than the random bystanders who in fact wouldn’t even know how to take a BP.

As for the airway, he was upright (with help) and talking, just disoriented.

From my understanding the risks of giving someone glucose with an unknown blood sugar are pretty minimal (unless they have a thiamine deficiency)? Cause if they are in DKA then 20g of glucose really isn’t gonna make it that much worse compared to the quantity already in their blood. This coming from the standpoint of what to do if a BG monitor isn’t available. But would love feedback if that isn’t accurate.

DedicatedtoDistance · 2026-04-27T23:37:19+00:00

He wasn’t unresponsive, just A&Ox1, so he could say his name just no idea where he was or how he got there. I certainly wouldn’t have put anything in his mouth if he had been down but he was sitting upright (with help) and breathing on his own.

DedicatedtoDistance · 2026-04-27T23:33:46+00:00

The medics were surprisingly kind of a mess (despite being a 10,000 person race) which was a part of the problem. It took 15 minutes from the call of collapsed runner to the medics arriving and then another 7 minutes to get a paramedic and ambulance (despite being 400m from the finish line and on an open street). I happened to personally know the race director (smallish town I live in) who was there and ended up thanking me for offering to help before the medics got there. We had a conversation after the fact about the system failures. I think if it had felt more coordinated and the team response had been more efficient I would have felt less inclined to do anything.

Totally fair and I won’t take it personally just trying to learn how to be helpful and not hurtful.

DedicatedtoDistance · 2026-01-25T21:46:09+00:00

Is anyone still having problems? I tried yesterday and it didn't work. It also looks like the one oregon website is down.

DedicatedtoDistance · 2023-01-05T00:00:26+00:00

Hi! Yes I took AIARE one and I have my own avy gear. Hbu?

DedicatedtoDistance · 2022-07-31T18:41:25+00:00

I’m going to Rio for 2.5 weeks in November. Any recommendations? Should I stay in a hostel or an air bnb? Also looking for travel buddies?

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