How Often Do Paramedics Save Lives?

[SolidSnake]

I hear it's nowhere near as much as you'd think. I've been considering a career in EMS. Saving lives isn't my only reason for wanting to become an EMT-P, I'd be just as happy with non-emergency calls, but I have been wondering, mostly just out of curiosity, is there a percentage or something about how often a typical paramedic will be a decisive force in a life being saved?

Are lives saved very often just by transporting the patient to the hospital in a timely manner?

Sorry to sound like a starry-eyed kid who wants to be a hero, that's honestly not why I want to be a Paramedic. I've just been curious.




ALSO: Who would be more qualified to deal with an emergency medical situation? Are RN's better trained?

 

[STXmedic]

I hear it's nowhere near as much as you'd think. I've been considering a career in EMS. Saving lives isn't my only reason for wanting to become an EMT-P, I'd be just as happy with non-emergency calls, but I have been wondering, mostly just out of curiosity, is there a percentage or something about how often a typical paramedic will be a decisive force in a life being saved?

Are lives saved very often just by transporting the patient to the hospital in a timely manner?

Sorry to sound like a starry-eyed kid who wants to be a hero, that's honestly not why I want to be a Paramedic. I've just been curious.

I don't know the percentage, but it's not high. I've been in a very busy 911 system for 3 years and can only say I've potentially saved a small handful of lives.

Now, making people comfortable? Easing pain? Easing nerves? All the time. Every shift.

ALSO: Who would be more qualified to deal with an emergency medical situation? Are RN's better trained?

Please don't open that can of worms. You'll start a riot on here...

 

[Aidey]

In 8 1/2 years my live saving rate is up to around .00015%

And yes, some lives are saved by transporting people to the hospital in the timely manner, but for the most part it has almost nothing to do with how they got to the hospital. It is the fact that they got to the hospital that saved their life, not the transport method.

As for the 3rd question, RNs have better education, but aren't always better trained (don't ask, it is another thread). It totally depends on the RN and the emergency. There are a ton of different types of RNs. An RN who works in dialysis is different than a nurse who works in the ED.

 

[Veneficus]

I hear it's nowhere near as much as you'd think

Depends.

I've been considering a career in EMS. Saving lives isn't my only reason for wanting to become an EMT-P, I'd be just as happy with non-emergency calls,?

A very good attitude, especially since less than 5% of calls most places are actual emergencies.

but I have been wondering, mostly just out of curiosity, is there a percentage or something about how often a typical paramedic will be a decisive force in a life being saved?

No, and I wouldn't believe it if there was.

It depends on many factors like education, ability, where you work, what your standing orders are, what equipment you have, and largely luck of the draw.

You could save 100 lives in a week or you could save none in an entire career. We now know that most disease processes are chronic, so rather than "saving lives" a better way to look at it is intervention to make life better for a little while longer.

Are lives saved very often just by transporting the patient to the hospital in a timely manner?

Sometimes.

Sorry to sound like a starry-eyed kid who wants to be a hero, that's honestly not why I want to be a Paramedic. I've just been curious.

No worries mate, I was a starry-eyed kid who wanted to save lives. Some might argue I still am. (especially my wife)

ALSO: Who would be more qualified to deal with an emergency medical situation? Are RN's better trained?

This is not a simple answer.

Paramedics are trained (barely educated) to deal with emergency medical situations. They are very good at their niche role. Some are arguably better than anyone else.

RNs have a better base education, which is a foundation that allows them to branch out into different specialty fields. (like emergency) I have worked with RNs who are equal any medic in the emergency field. In some countries outside the US, RNs are "the paramedics" so to speak.

But a fresh out of school basic RN is probably not going to be as competent or comfortable in an emergency setting than a fresh out of school medic. (providing they both started from nothing and didn't have prior experience)

As life stands today, you will have a better future with a BSN who then additionally trains to work in emergency than a paramedic.

 

[the_negro_puppy]

How can you even quantify such a thing?

Nevertheless your question is somewhat valid. TV has led to the impression that EMS is all CPR and rescuing people from car wrecks.

This sort of work makes up only a small portion of our work. People call 911/000 when they lose their ability to cope with a situation that may be vaguely medically related.

You will spend far more time dealing with the elderly, those with chronic health problems and persons from the lower-socio economic status. Many of the calls won't require much intervention though occasionally you will get to give drugs or perform procedures that mean the difference between life and death for some patients.

Even indirectly by assessing patients and transporting them to the appropriate facility based on their conditions can make a significant difference- taking a STEMI to a cath lab, stroke to a stroke centre.

 

[Shishkabob]

I can say without a doubt I have saved one person from certain death in the past year. I've also prolonged life in a few more. I can also say a handful of people have had better outcomes due to what I've done.


But no, it's not as often as the public thinks, it's actually pretty rare. About 80% of our calls don't need an ambulance. Of the 20% that do, less than half are life or limb threatening, and of that, only about half do we do stuff that actually potentially benefit the patient enough to be considered "life saving".




In a true emergency, I'd rather have an experienced medic than an otherwise equivalent ED RN, however, you'll make more as a nurse.

 

[firecoins]

How many calls do we get where lives are actually endanger? Not many.

 

[OzAmbo]

Im sure i read it but someone mentioned improving outcomes which is cool

Buddy, you wont save a life very often. In 5 years i can put my hand on my heart and say i have had the life changing experience of saving 1 life and i felt i could have just about walked on water afterwards, but its a feeling that seldom comes around and its something i dont think i will have the privilage of feeling anytime soon

What i can honestly say though is i have relieved a heck of a lot of pain and suffering in the least 5 years. Yeah, pain relief ad holding hands is not sexy medicine, but if put in in perspective and if you really are a true patient adviocate then deivering this basic patient need delivers an immense amount of satisfaction both at a personal and professional level.

 

[Altair1017]

What about a critical care paramedic? Does the increase the number of life or death calls?

 

[STXmedic]

What about a critical care paramedic? Does the increase the number of life or death calls?

Critical Care paramedics are typically picking patients up from the hospital (ICU or ED). Usually these patients are already stabilized for transport. The CCPs job is to monitor them and their interventions, and make sure they don't get worse on the trip.

Don't get me wrong, their job is by no means a cake walk; it takes a lot of knowledge and experience to be a good CCP. They handle incredibly sick patients on a regular basis. As far as saving lives, it kind of depends on your definition of a save. Again, it's usually more maintaining life than saving them from death.

 

[J B]

My emt-b instructor said, "you don't have to save a life to make a difference".

 

[Fire51]

Paramedics do save lives when it comes down to it but those chances like ever one has said don't happen a lot. They do help make patient more comfortable when in pain. A great example is my father told me that he had a cancer patient that was in extreme pain and was pleading him to make her feel better, he gave her some good pain meds, she thanked him, telling him that she was in no pain and has not felt that great in years. She died a little bit later that day but she was pain free and comfortable. The family even thanked him for helping her go in peace. I would say that is just as good as saving a life, paramedics in my eyes do make a difference.

 

[VFlutter]

As an RN I feel like I truly save a patient 2- 3 times a week. Most of those patients should not be saved. The vast majority of my saves are STEMIs which are one of the few conditions we can actually make a difference.

 

[EpiEMS]

is there a percentage or something about how often a typical paramedic will be a decisive force in a life being saved?

Frankly, as far as I can tell, lives are sometimes (not often) saved by an EMS intervention. Some, not all, interventions are cost-effective. For example, placing AEDs in BLS ambulances can be life saving, and it is cost-effective. This is one of my favorite little readings on heath care cost effectiveness ("Five-Hundred Life Saving Interventions and Their Cost Effectiveness", published in 1995, admittedly, but still relevant) and it has some relevant info. But, to get to the point: it happens, but it's not that often, and certainly isn't as often as you'd see on TV. Most of the EMS world is related to caring for patients --making them feel better-- and helping them access the right health care resources, not saving lives.

Are lives saved very often just by transporting the patient to the hospital in a timely manner?

On scene interventions stop the clock. Rapid transport to the right facility is what saves lives. At least, this is what it seems like to me, I'm not exactly an expert on the matter.

ALSO: Who would be more qualified to deal with an emergency medical situation? Are RN's better trained?

If I have a cardiac arrest on an airplane, and there's an RN, paramedic, and physician on board, I'd rather have the paramedic run the code. Now, that being said, if the physician was, say, an ER MD or an anesthesiologist, say, that might be a different story. But your average paramedic is better trained insofar as skill-based competencies to handle a patient in an emergency in a non-hospital setting than most other personnel.

 

[EpiEMS]

Most of those patients should not be saved.

This is a very important point. Are these often patients who don't have, say, adequate living wills in place or something like that?

 

[MackTheKnife]

I've been out if the prehospital arena for awhile, but here's my $1.50 worth: The PMs that gave less than 1% save rate aren't looking at the pt in acute CHF or full blown PE they treated and transported. Or the pt with non-specific chest pain that wound up needing a CABG and survived because they were convinced to take transport. They are focusing on the cardiac arrest or multi-trauma pt who was already "tits up". As for PMs vs RNs, overall PMs. They are more able to operate independently without the support of ER staff or hospital support. That's not saying that's 100% the case. Flight nurses are a prime example of being in the same league as PMs.

 

[STXmedic]

 

[MackTheKnife]

Hmmm?

 

[VFlutter]

This is a very important point. Are these often patients who don't have, say, adequate living wills in place or something like that?

That is usually the case. Many people are not adequately prepared for end life decisions, families do not want to let go, or religious/cultural preferences do not allow for DNRs. We have a large Jewish population who are almost always full codes.

As for PMs vs RNs, overall PMs. They are more able to operate independently without the support of ER staff or hospital support. That's not saying that's 100% the case. Flight nurses are a prime example of being in the same league as PMs.

Ah the classic pissing contest. I usually try to avoid it but to say only flight nurses are in the same league as paramedics is humerous.

I will totally admit most paramedics are great at running textbook ACLS codes and are better at emergencies than non critical/acute care RNs. But in the Units we do not run "ACLS" codes. They are quite different than what you are used to seeing. And we are more independent than you would think.

Being my arrogant self I think I can handle emergencies/codes at the same level, if not better, than most paramedics with similar experience.

 

[MackTheKnife]

That is usually the case. Many people are not adequately prepared for end life decisions, families do not want to let go, or religious/cultural preferences do not allow for DNRs. We have a large Jewish population who are almost always full codes.



Ah the classic pissing contest. I usually try to avoid it but to say only flight nurses are in the same league as paramedics is humerous.

I will totally admit most paramedics are great at running textbook ACLS codes and are better at emergencies than non critical/acute care RNs. But in the Units we do not run "ACLS" codes. They are quite different than what you are used to seeing. And we are more independent than you would think.

Being my arrogant self I think I can handle emergencies/codes at the same level, if not better, than most paramedics with similar experience.

No pissing contest. I qualified my statement by not being absolute and offering a comparable equivalency.