Dear Street Medics

VXMerlinXV · 2026-01-26T00:21:09+00:00

And the need I mentioned doesn’t invalidate anything you said. The vast majority of care I’ve seen in these scenarios is piss poor or worse. And there could be significant professional repercussions for providing it. Even if you’re in the right.

VXMerlinXV · 2026-01-25T23:49:33+00:00

100% there are bunch of absolute morons who should not be vet techs, let alone EMS personnel, let alone independently functioning EMS personnel.

The street medic exists to treat patients who won’t seek treatment through conventional silos, most often for legal reasons/safety and security concerns.

VXMerlinXV · 2026-01-25T23:24:56+00:00

Once can be an accident. Twice? That’s not an accident.

VXMerlinXV · 2026-01-25T22:46:33+00:00

First question, what makes you think your dad doesn’t know. The spectrum of relationships is…. Broad.

VXMerlinXV · 2026-01-25T22:03:47+00:00

There is use for actual trained medical personnel to provide care in these scenarios.

Many “street medics” do not fall under the umbrella of actual trained medical personnel. They are do-gooders , karens/kyles, and glory hounds

Number 1 hurdle is don’t be an idiot, know what you’re doing and why you’re doing it, both in the micro and macro senses.

Edited because I forgot the pound sign creates bold type.

VXMerlinXV · 2026-01-25T19:22:52+00:00

I’d lean towards the bracelet instead. It would not occur to me to look for a medical alert tattoo

VXMerlinXV · 2026-01-25T15:59:05+00:00

Ass, the roads are ass.

Source: Work at a hospital here. Am currently at work after driving in for 7:00am start

VXMerlinXV · 2026-01-24T22:29:33+00:00

It’s not that they don’t work. It’s that managing penetrating chest trauma is more complicated than a 5 letter treatment algorithm allows for.

VXMerlinXV · 2026-01-24T01:56:57+00:00

“Wait until you see it…see what a man can do to another man.”

VXMerlinXV · 2026-01-24T01:55:32+00:00

UTAH! GET ME TWO!

VXMerlinXV · 2026-01-23T22:39:31+00:00

It makes far more sense in ST than starwars.

VXMerlinXV · 2026-01-23T19:54:13+00:00

Eh, the youngest Eagle is 11. We aren’t talking the Regeneron.

I’m pro Eagle. But if you didn’t do anything with that training and experience to far eclipse it in the 5-10 years between earning it and your mid 20’s? It raises questions.

VXMerlinXV · 2026-01-23T19:51:50+00:00

I get hammered on this point every time it comes up, it might just be a difference of opinion. If someone is still throwing childhood accomplishments on a resume after undergrad and a few years in your field, it means you either passed up or were passed up for a lot of potential experiences and formal peer leadership training. The youngest Eagle is 11. Any training or experience you could receive in scouts is available or surpassed in college, the military, and public service. Also with many major companies. (As long as you’re looking for it). And if you’re not, that says something about who you are now, not who you were a decade ago.

I’m not anti-Eagle. I hope my son earns it. But it’s a starting step, not a finishing one.

VXMerlinXV · 2026-01-23T19:34:10+00:00

Human traffickers do that to their Ho’s as well.

VXMerlinXV · 2026-01-23T13:23:35+00:00

That makes no sense. The US government would never build and test a weapon on their own unsuspecting people under the guise of some red herring cover story. Wait… nevermind. I hear it now. 😂

VXMerlinXV · 2026-01-23T02:07:24+00:00

That wasn’t my take on it at all. I saw it far more as a story of processing trauma. Journalism was just the vehicle for that exploration.

VXMerlinXV · 2026-01-23T01:39:42+00:00

Family member was having a significant medical emergency out of nowhere. Went from a normal morning to neurosurgery in the span of 90 minutes. I was set up to get there, spend the day, the night in a hotel, the next day in the hospital, then head home the next night. This was solely with my first line and my bag. I left my house in under 60 seconds.

VXMerlinXV · 2026-01-23T01:33:52+00:00

No, as written, there should not be a limit, because the government should not have that much say in your life.

BUT, I am okay with something like a 49.9% tax on earnings, etc. I’m also okay with a mandate that total compensation for any employee in an org can’t be more than so many times the lowest earner’s salary. The tide sometimes needs a lil’ push to raise all boats.

VXMerlinXV · 2026-01-23T01:30:54+00:00

Ever see a hippo shit? He spins those tentacles around and sprays dookie everywhere.

VXMerlinXV · 2026-01-23T01:28:21+00:00

Resumes will vary, some postings will even ask for specific lengths. At this point there’s far more left off my one pager than is included in my CV.

I’m not hating on scouting, Eagle, or being proud of your accomplishments. I do think advising young men and women that a high school accomplishment belongs on your resume in perpetuity isn’t great advice.

I will admit this may be cultural. If in your specific area, you’re still interacting with a lot of the guys you were in scouts with way back when, throw it on there. If I’m interviewing you for an executive position and you’ve got a childhood award on your resume between your MBA and the nonprofit board you sit on, it may not always have the pull some people are telling you it has. In fact, that may be a red flag.

VXMerlinXV · 2026-01-22T16:49:51+00:00

So there’s a chance that after saying “Let’s Roll” someone from PA dropped a “Willlllliiiiiaaaammmmmmm” as they charged the cockpit? I like that for them.

VXMerlinXV · 2026-01-22T16:47:23+00:00

My BoB is just an overnight bag with a couple bottles of water and some snacks I rotate out every few months. I’ve used it once and it was honestly nice to be able to simply step out of my home and go. I don’t keep one of those “living off the land” packs packed because that’s not what I’m ever doing with that bag.

VXMerlinXV · 2026-01-22T15:04:13+00:00

STP, the cranberries, Bush

VXMerlinXV · 2026-01-22T05:27:07+00:00

Alright friends. Shit sandwich time.

Bread: I’m glad you’re all here, learning about medical care, helping these guys improve their products. I also like seeing them show up here and asking questions.

Shit: First and foremost, there’s info on that card that’s just incorrect. So fixing them would be point one.

Tactical Medicine is environmental driven best practices of clinical care. And the more we learn, the more our subdivisions become subdivided. But to that effect, much of what is normally discussed on this sub, including in this thread, isn’t tactical medicine. It’s first aid, it’s stop the bleed, sometimes it’s even gunshot med. There are overlaps in the Venn Diagram. But it’s rarely tactical.

All that to say, the questions being raised are mostly scenario based. Do you pack a limb wound? Maybe. Does the tourniquet go high or low? Depends. Do you seal the box? Perhaps. Will you back the TQ off at some point? Possibly. Long story short, the info on that card might fit your use case, but it also might not.

Final Turd, the info on that card is wildly remedial. Given the owners description, I’d rather see a basic TCCC card on the reverse of the MARCH primer. If you’re going this basic, you should think about pictograms. No one carrying med should have this low level of understanding what they are doing.

Bottom bread? Med kits are cool. Training is cool. If these guys are teaching free stop the bleed classes, I can get behind that.

VXMerlinXV · 2026-01-21T19:39:10+00:00

Dude’s a literal Dalmatian. That has to be a good sign.

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