I've been on calls that turned out to be diaper rash the "mother" did not recognize let alone know how to handle. Such small cuts to the fingers which one could not even squeeze out a drop of blood. Then the ones with the flu who refuse to accept they will have to feel bad for a couple of days until the virus runs its course.
Those are only a couple of call types I go on nearly every working day. People have become so helpless that they call for the least little thing. In 3 decades our run volume has gone from 1800 EMS runs to 4200 with only a 10% increase in population. These "minor" calls were unheard of when I started, they have their own category with subcategories now.
Jeez, you just triggered some flashbacks. New mother whose baby wouldn't stop crying, fed an diapered and baby went to sleep. Smashed fingernails, trip and fall, no KO, people just want to be checked out. Schools were the worst. Everyone got checked out for whatever reason, most transported for liability reasons.
There seems to be a big gap between a basic first aid class and a full blown EMT cert. That gap needs to be filled and it should be a class that doesn't cost $400 to attend. I had a Los Angeles County and California State paramedic license for 30 years and felt like I should look into a wilderness first aid class but it just seems so expensive for what it is.
