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Controlling Emotional Responses A n EMT who works with the ambulance service for a major hos- pital was asked to talk about experiences he had with traumatic events in which he had to separate himself from the emotions, such as losing a patient or tending to a very sick child. He was also asked for advice he would give to new EMTs on how to deal with this aspect of the job? He responded: “I am fortunate enough never to have lost a patient. I have tended to terminally ill patients. For any of these situations you must remember that you have one job and that is to safely transport the patients and help keep them stable until they reach their destination. If they are ill or they pass en route, you have to follow your protocols. When that call is done, you have to remember that there are more patients waiting for you and you cannot be emotionally distraught when you’re treating them. You always have to have a clear head for your next patients, because you never know what is going to come your way down the road.”

What Do EMTs Do?

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