Do American doctors meet paramedics in the ambulance bay??
Posted by FredGuy1648@reddit | AskAnAmerican | View on Reddit | 144 comments
Watching The Pitt has brought back an old question I have for American ED doctors.
As an Australian paramedic, the only people I ever see in the ambulance bay are other paramedics.
We bring the patient into triage on the stretcher, handover to a triage nurse, pass details to admin, wait for a bed, and then hand over to an ED nurse. Half the time we don’t speak to a doctor unless it’s a critical case going straight to resus.
In shows like The Pitt or Grey’s Anatomy, doctors wait outside for ambulances, get a quick handover, and take over patient care immediately. Is that just for storytelling, or is it actually like that in the US?
ExplorerLazy3151@reddit
I had/have heart problems. And have been taken to the hospital several times via ambulance and each time I was met by cardiologists first. Granted I had an lvad (artificial heart) so that might have had something to do with it.
A couple months ago my dad was taken to the hospital via ambulance for stroke symptoms and he was met by the ER doc. So I imagine it comes down to how busy they are, level of care, or if the level of care requires a specialist (like with my lvad).
SoAnon4thisslp@reddit
Oh, honey, if you’ve got an LVAD you go right to the front of the line! If they know you’ve got an LVAD and are coming in by ambulance, they’d be negligent if they DIDN’T have the cardiologist meet you!
Birdywoman4@reddit
No they don’t have time for that. They are busy in the ER and the ambulance attendants will bring the patient into the ER and have them show their insurance proof etc and then take them to a triage bay if there is room. ER’s in the USA are notoriously packed most of the time.
Sea-Friend9899@reddit
Mostly just TV exaggeration. In the U.S., EMS usually hands patients over to nurses first, and doctors get involved after triage unless it’s a critical case. You won’t typically see doctors waiting outside for every ambulance like in shows.
FredGuy1648@reddit (OP)
Oh cool thanks for such a fast answer! So yeah sounds similar to Australia then. I guess the process of handing over addresses and emergency contact details to an admin nurse would make pretty boring TV lol
TsundereShadowsun@reddit
Oh oh I have first hand experience in this!
So the whole doctor waiting outside ambulance thing totally DOES happen! I got into a motorcycle accident and it was EXACTLY like it is on TV! The ambulance doors opened, I got slapped onto a gurney, they were wheelin me around while doctors and such surrounded me and started yelling stuff to each other and all that stuff.
I can't remember if they started cutting my clothes off right away or if they like wheeled me into a room first? Idk I really only saw the ceiling and like, people, lol. But it was very cool.
Euphoric_Ease4554@reddit
The same thing happened to me after a serious car accident.
civilwar142pa@reddit
Yeah if the case is serious doctors will meet you so if you need treatment immediately no time is lost. But for non-critical cases, you get triaged before seeing a doctor.
saltporksuit@reddit
My friend watches Bondi Beach obsessively. Keeps asking me if that’s real life on the beach. Take that as you will.
VegaJuniper@reddit
It is real life, unless it is just fanta sea
jakerooni@reddit
Heh…
SabresBills69@reddit
it’s rare to get doctors outside ER. it’s usually brought in by the paramedics, nurses, others before the dr sees them. you have life and death events you can see a dr there. for example, they know a major disaster is sending patients in to this level 1 trauma center. so they do set up a triage to e alusteceho needs care first so some drs will act in the triage while surgical staff goes through prep work to treat these patients.
DefrockedWizard1@reddit
yep, having done 2 years of trauma surgery, we wait in the trauma room donning gowns and gloves
ArtificialSatellites@reddit
Absolutely right! I think this is one of those things that people forget a lot about TV when they complain about stuff being unrealistic - sometimes it's egregious and it takes away from the overall enjoyment of the show, but other times it's like, yeah it's unrealistic but they're not making a documentary, they're making a television drama.
Lucky-Paperclip-1@reddit
It reduces the cast, also. No need to hire someone else to act for the meet the ambulance scenes.
EC_dwtn@reddit
The funny thing is they already have this person in the cast though, the woman who plays the charge nurse. It's just more dramatic to have the star of the show making decisions rather than a side character.
MrLongWalk@reddit
Do Australian medical dramas deal with the logistics and bureaucracy of hospital admissions?
ZaphodG@reddit
Yep. An RN typically does triage. They set the queuing order.
SavannahInChicago@reddit
Nope, I worked in a level 1 trauma in Chicago and we would hand out in the ambulance bay until EMS came. The trauma doctor would be there for handoff, along with the trauma residents, X-ray, ED techs, crisis workers, registration (me) and security. We were required to stay in the trauma area until the patient arrived.
lifeofGuacmole@reddit
I was sick enough coming in that the outside parking security radioed my arrival. The triage nurse met me at the policed metal detector. Dr met us as I was wheeled into the trauma unit. That’s the only time I’ve seen a Dr that quickly. Express lane felt unusual
IWasGoatbeardFirst@reddit
Similar. I drove myself to the ER, walked in, told the person at the front desk what was going on.
They took my name and asked me for my ID. While I was looking for it, I heard someone call a code over the speakers. Thought to myself, “sucks to be that person.” I looked up with my ID just in time to realize the voice on the speaker was the person at the desk and the code was for me.
Things happened pretty quickly after that.
lifeofGuacmole@reddit
Yes that’s the experience. I see 2 Drs running with different med iv bags. Oh someone is hurting bad. They stopped at my bed and began squeezing the meds in. That was a rough day.
captainstormy@reddit
Yeah, this is 99% true. There are cases where a doctor meets the patient coming off the ambulance. But those are typically very dire cases. You don't wanna be that patient for sure.
Ok_Umpire2173@reddit
You won’t see anyone waiting outside, just to clarify for non healthcare readers. The ambulance pulls up to an empty bay and lets themselves in. The transfer to a nurse happens generally in a room after a wait of 5-100+ minutes on a stretcher in the hallway.
PlanningMyEscape@reddit
This has been my experience as well. The docs are only there when it's critical case that needs MD intervention immediately.
AdvanceGreen222@reddit
man fr its mostly for drama, real life is way chillier
Zealousideal_Cod5214@reddit
Kinda similar to what The Resident does, then. They have them take them inside first, and there's even a whole episode that shows the importance of triaging when some new nurse doesn't triage properly.
EmploymentEmpty5871@reddit
No. We will get techs meet us in the door for a STEMI and lead us post haste to the cath lab. The doctors/team are there ready to go. Same for any major trauma, especially at a level 1 trauma center. They are all in the room waiting. They know what we have, we do phone reports, can send 12 leads. There is nothing they can do in the not so sterile ambo bay. They are ready to go once we transfer the patient. The hospitals we go to the ambo bay is steps away from the ER for a reason. Doctors are great in the operating room, most are not trained in EMS. That said car 99s will ride in the ambo, but are limited to the equipment on board. Makes for great TV, but that's it.
Impressive_Star_3454@reddit
I did hospital security for 10 years and more than my fair share in the ED.
It depends what the patient needs.
If it is a pregnant woman having contractions or baby was born in the ambulance, I've got half of L&D and NICU waiting with stretchers and such when they pull up. I get to call my Supervisor and have them lock down the elevators ahead of time for an express no stop trip up to the floor.
somecow@reddit
If there’s some serious shit going down, yes. But otherwise, just because you arrive in an ambulance doesn’t mean you’ll be treated and faster. The guy that cut his hand off with a saw yet still drove there himself goes first. The 5 year old kid that arrived by ambulance for a mild cough can wait.
InfluenceTrue4121@reddit
If your patient is crashing, dispatch will give the ER a heads up and they come outside. It’s happened exactly once for me- the patient was in a motorcycle accident and it was BAD.
Longjumping-Eye-4257@reddit
In a Level 1 Trauma Unit they do. Those units are required to have doctors present in the unit to provide immediate care in critical cases and they lead the care team in such instances.
Mundane-Caregiver169@reddit
Any American tv show that you can watch (regardless of overall popularity) is always hated by the group that it follows: for example chemists hate ‘breaking bad’, cops hate ‘CSI’, lawyers hate all of it.
rexregisanimi@reddit
Can confirm: my wife is a CSI and can't stand the "CSI" shows. I do Physics and have never seen the "Big Bang Theory" lol
Healthy_Blueberry_59@reddit
I am a teacher and Abbott Elementary is ridiculously accurate.
Curmudgy@reddit
Unlike CSI, TBBT is a comedy, so you’re allowed to watch it so you can laugh at the physics they get wrong.
EdwardPotatoHand@reddit
I mean, we all DO physics, you just get paid to show your work..
Mundane-Caregiver169@reddit
lol good example!
Outlaw_Josie_Snails@reddit
I agree. However, many nurses and doctors have given praise to The Pitt as being one of the most accurate TV shows they have seen in regards to many aspects of the job.
Obviously, there will be some fluff added in.
Stefferdiddle@reddit
If you are referring to the Mass Casualty episode it could be likely a doctor might be out there doing triage. Like an intern level.
SnooMarzipans9730@reddit
Nope
Great_Chipmunk4357@reddit
Why does everyone think American tv shows and movies are documentaries to show the world exactly how Americans live. Their real purpose is to entertain Americans. We’re always commenting, “That’s not true.” or “No one would ever do that!”
themistycrystal@reddit
Not usually but if the patient is critically ill they might. I was met at the unloading area by an ER doctor when I was found unresponsive and with a blood pressure of 33/25.
wawa2022@reddit
It’s because tv doctors are always out smoking. WTF. No one smokes anymore but somehow all the tobacco companies convince tv shows to place their products in hospitals!
spintool1995@reddit
ED doctors and ED nurses? Do guys take an ambulance to the hospital just to be treated for ED?
MundaneHuckleberry58@reddit
No. I went from the ambulance into the ER trauma area. Nurses immediately took hold, & assembled the team of doctor specialists to assess my condition & plot my treatment together.
Heavy_Front_3712@reddit
When my son had his first seizure, they were waiting on us in the ambulance bay. He had had a reaction to the flumist, had a seizure in the car and was nonresponsive the whole way to the hospital(15 minutes). He was 13. The ER doc and a nurse and tech were in the bay. It was a very bad day, but my son is ok. This happened 12 years ago.
Flimsy-Surprise-4914@reddit
Yes they do it most hospitals. The hospitals are sometimes made so all they have to do is back into it
No_Seaworthiness8176@reddit
I've been transported to the emergency room three times by ambulance in my life. Once because I parked a motorcycle underneath a moving car, and the other two were both for anaphylaxis. Never saw any kind of medical professional in the hospital until after the paramedics got me all the way in and talked to other people first.
Tinkerfan57912@reddit
Yes they do, personal experience. I was met by a doctor and 2 nurses when I had seizures a few weeks ago.
WhichWitch9402@reddit
I’ve worked as an EMT and then later as a clinical laboratory scientist. When I was an EMT, most hospitals would have us bring patient in, nurse would get info, we’d transfer patient to bed and leave.
When I worked in laboratory, it was very similar. However, when it was a bad trauma/bad case, ER would call to have someone there to draw blood or bring over Oneg if patient was hemorrhaging. At our hospital you basically wheeled patient in and the trauma bays were right there and the ER doc was right there to direct activities.
Suppafly@reddit
Not usually.
If I recall correctly, whenever you see this on The Pitt, it's during a disaster or high casualty event when they have critical patients coming in, not normal situations where ambulances are coming and going dropping off normal patients to be triaged. They are out there to meet the ambulance because it's someone that was in a plane crash or building collapse or whatever. They also go out to meet the helicopters on The Pitt in similar situations.
Weightmonster@reddit
I think the doctors only wait in the ambulance bay if it’s a critical or mass casualty situation. Like if there’s a mass shooting or fire with severe burn victims or something like that.
Most ERs only have 1-2 doctors on staff at one time.
Low-Landscape-4609@reddit
No. Can't say I've ever had a doctor meet me as soon as I pulled up lol.
Having said that, I don't know if this is common in your country but in america, the EMS system is badly abused by the public. They have learned that it's an easy trip to the ER to avoid having to sit in the waiting room so they will call an ambulance for every little thing.
FredGuy1648@reddit (OP)
I find that crazy considering the US charges so much for ambulance trips! In my state an ambulance ride is $0 so I would understand seeing it as a free ride to the ED (even if it means waiting in the same triage line as everyone else) but i can’t fathom paying that much for something I know isn’t urgent!
violetxlavender@reddit
if you’re on medicare it’s free so plenty of people will call 911 instead of making a doctors appointment. gotta love those 3am calls for left toe pain lol
Curmudgy@reddit
Medicare, which is for seniors and disabled people, is not free. It’s Medicaid, which is based on income, that’s free.
violetxlavender@reddit
oopsie. fixed it
Low-Landscape-4609@reddit
What you have to understand, most people have figured out that nothing happens if you don't pay those bills. A lot of people don't pay them. The EMS service just writes it off on their taxes.
lilsmudge@reddit
I grew up on poverty Medicare and I would not in any way shape or form qualify it as good healthcare. Or all that particularly free.
Curmudgy@reddit
If it’s bases on income, it’s Medicaid, not Medicare. Medicare is for people over 65 and disabled people.
lilsmudge@reddit
Oops, you’re totally right.
gibdimkoofchji@reddit
Probably medicaid not Medicare. Different program.
Medicare, for the most part, is for old people.
Medicaid is for low (like…. Very low) income people.
Medicare isn’t great, but it’s a lot better than Medicaid because we love treating poor people shitty
Low-Landscape-4609@reddit
Kentucky wheel care is amazing. I got a friend that's on it and he gets just as good medical care as I do. Never has a bill.
The only time he ever has trouble is getting medications approved on occasion but he's perfectly happy with it.
lilsmudge@reddit
Genuinely glad to hear that! ‘Twas not my experience growing up at all.
Low-Landscape-4609@reddit
You know how it is though, people abuse it. My friend that is currently on it doesn't report his taxes properly so he can stay on it.
I called him out for it one day and then he stopped telling me how much he was bringing in. He does construction for a living but he runs his own company so I'm sure he doesn't report anything close to what he's bringing home.
lilsmudge@reddit
Eh.
I mean, yes, absolutely they don’t always follow the rules set down. However, my general experience and philosophy is that if someone has to scam to get a service that is a basic human thing like healthcare or food or housing; they probably fucking need it and the rules should be expanded. The line to who qualifies and who doesn’t can be so marginal and unrealistic.
As someone who does not currently use or qualify for Medicare (I’m poor but not destitute like I was growing up) I have absolutely no issue with paying more so that people can access services regardless. In a world of terrible injustices, I just don’t find that to be one of them.
Low-Landscape-4609@reddit
That's fair but medical providers can't work for free. Somebody has to pay for it. Be at the taxpayers or yourself. Nothing is truly free.
lilsmudge@reddit
Yep. And I’m thrilled to pay more taxes for something that actually benefits folks.
DudleyAndStephens@reddit
Amusingly in Maryland ambulance rides are not free (I think) but helicopter EMS evacuations are. Medevac helicopters are paid for by a surcharge on car registrations so if you get flown to a hospital there's no bill for the flight.
Obviously you can't call for a helicopter yourself the same way you call for an ambulance.
BlackEastwood@reddit
I dont know where theyre getting their information from, but no one I know would call an ambulance for anything short of life threatening because the cost. And even then, Ive heard of people getting getting up and leaving the ambulancevto not have to pay for the ride. Theyd rather take a cab/uber to the hospital.
AnatidaephobiaAnon@reddit
Firefighter/ paramedic in a large city and every single day people abuse it. We have people AMA from the hospital, go down to the bus stop and call 911 for a medic to come pick them up and take them to another hospital who will treat them the way they want. We will transport people who have things such as itching and sores from bed big bites and people who have stomach aches only to wheel them through the ambulance doors to be told to take them to the waiting room. We are nothing more than a taxi with lights and sirens to some people. Yeah, people will arrive at ED in an Uber or personal vehicle but there are a lot of people who think we are there special taxi.
There's a reason why the busiest medic units in my city will make 500+ calls in a busy month.
poopoofol@reddit
When I worked in a really depressed urban area, we had a frequent flier who would call 911 with vague complaints just to hop out of the ambulance and leave AMA to the liquor store across the street. The rest of the shift I'd see him gradually inching his way up the main drag back to his housing project with his rolly cart full of booze leaving a trail of empties in his wake.
BlackEastwood@reddit
Then my apologies. It sounds crazy that people would do that, and of the people I've known who are frequent hospital visitors, I've never heard of or seen that.
Low-Landscape-4609@reddit
My friend, I worked in two different EMS services in two different states and we even joked about how much people abused the 911 system. They would call for everything.
Also, nobody pays their ambulance bills around here. Maybe they do another States but it's pretty common for people to throw those things away and forget about them.
Ananvil@reddit
Most people are incapable of paying
Quiet-Competition849@reddit
That’s because they are lying or dumb.
Ordinary_Ad_7992@reddit
I can't wrap my mind around that. Even if they don't mind abusing the system, it's so damned expensive! My husband had to be carried by ambulance once and it's one of the few things our insurance doesn't cover no matter how dire the situation.
DudleyAndStephens@reddit
The types of people who abuse the EMS system are the same types of people who are judgement proof. Who cares if you get endless bills when you have no intention of paying them and there's no way for the money to get collected.
Low-Landscape-4609@reddit
Pretty simple my friend. They just don't pay the bills. That's very common in my area.
It's a civil matter, it's not criminal. Usually it just gets written off. They don't put you in jail for it.
Genesis72@reddit
Yep, there are two types of people who are the largest users of EMS and neither of them pay their bills:
The desperately poor/homeless who have no other option. They're not going to pay because they literally cannot.
The elderly. They're all on medicare anyway so they aren't paying either.
dontlookback76@reddit
If they need the bed space and you're not a true emergent case, they'll kick you back to the waiting room. Let me tell you, you don't want to be the one taken back immediately because something bad is happening in those cases. Also any chest pains or difficulty breathing and you are looked at right away for possible heart attack/stroke/pulmonary embolism. All three true emergencies. So if you wait hours, congrats it probably wasn't a true emergency or you were given enough level of care so you're no longer in an emergent state. Too many use the ER as a primary care source or as a quick care. That's nor what it's there for. Unfortunately people can't afford maintenance meds so they're crashing from one emergency to the next because they can't afford metformin or a vial of insulin.
nchemungguy@reddit
They’ve finally smartened up to that here and will haul you out to triage now.
spicymack@reddit
They call because they are low income, often don't have transportation, often don't have a PCP, often don't have family, etc. You call it abuse, I call it a complete failure of the US healthcare system as a whole, along with poor social safety nets. Getting mad at the result of this instead of the source isn't going to fix anything.
Low-Landscape-4609@reddit
Not so fast. I was pretty familiar with most of these patients and they absolutely could have driven themselves to the ER.
Obviously, I understand the difference between some elderly woman that can't drive versus some young person that doesn't want to.
seaotterlover1@reddit
Don’t they still go through triage where you are? My uncle was on an ambulance call where the woman called them because of a skin tag. That sure isn’t taking priority over a heart attack. They still go to the waiting room depending on room availability and urgency.
Low-Landscape-4609@reddit
It just depends. You know how nursing homes are, they will call for something that seems serious but it really won't be serious.
Example, they'll call for somebody in hypertensive crisis and when you get them on the rig, their BP is perfectly fine.
Ananvil@reddit
My shop will have you take them straight to triage an then the waiting room if they're not dying. As it should be.
houdini31@reddit
Not in real life. Emergency room doctors are so busy and when the paramedics are unloading a patient any extra person just gets in the way at that moment
jvc1011@reddit
TV writers aren’t doctors and aren’t particularly well-versed in hospital procedures.
I know a number of TV writers. They’re frequently nerdy literary types.
honorthecrones@reddit
We had one ER doc who would meet the ambulance if the call to medical control promised something “interesting.” I remember the look of disappointment if it ended up not being as serious as we presented it to be. I worked in a small rural system though and I think he just got bored
These-Ad5332@reddit
Yes it happens but it's usually reserved for severe cases.
Case in point at 18 I was in a rollover crash. A team of doctors met the ambulance at the E.R. bay and immediately took over. It was controlled chaos.
panicnarwhal@reddit
yep, same thing happened when my 4yo was unresponsive following an amusement park accident. as soon as we got out of the ambulance, a social worker grabbed me and started explaining the trauma protocol at our children’s hospital, and there were already doctors and nurses right there. it all happened so fast
Reduxalicious@reddit
A good chunk of what you see Doctors doing on TV is actually done by Nurses.
A doctor CAN meet in the bay but that would be a severe case.
BigEd369@reddit
I work in an ER. The vast majority of the time, it’s just nurses and/or paramedics meeting the ambulance crew. I’ve seen a doctor meet them a few times, but only when the initial report from the ambulance was something terrible. I’m usually the 1st person to meet with the ambulance crew, and all I do is get the persons name, find their chart if they have one or start a new chart if they don’t, get the patient onto the board, document their complaint, and make them a wristband. It takes a very short amount of time.
shelwood46@reddit
Mostly a tv exaggeration, but back in the 90s I was a firefighter and cut my hand at a fire scene, and the EMTs couldn't get the bleeding to stop and insisted on taking me to the local hospital. And when we pulled up and they rolled me in on a stretcher (they insisted) in my full turnout gear, everyone including the doctors from the ER were gathered at the bay (it was a slow night) because, as they told me, they wanted to know what kind of dipshit calls an ambulance for a cut hand. (They were mostly smiling but also... meant it.)
Fianna9@reddit
My favourite story of the telephone game was the nurses getting an update for a patient coming in ctas 1- the highest priority- and bitching about how dumb that was for a cut arm.
I had heard the original update from the crew. They had two tourniquets on and barely had the bleed under control. They nurses agreed that it was an appropriate ctas 1 and went to get the room ready
Fianna9@reddit
I’m in Canada, and I’ve never been met in the bay (outside of the pandemic and the doctors pronounced in my ambulance)
And most for a critical trauma we might be met in the entry by a nurse who escorts us to the trauma room.
Drives me crazy in med shows when the paramedics hand the stretcher over to the medical team too and the walk away…you still need that!!!
Ok-Race-1677@reddit
In Australia is it true 70% of hospital visits are due to animal and spider attacks? That’s what the tv tells me.
That’s how you sound.
Carlpanzram1916@reddit
Yup. Processes vary slightly between ERs and between calls. Technically the paramedic is only required to give a report to the nurse for an appropriate transfer of care. But ideally the MD will also be there, especially in a more critical patient.
All this will frequently happen in the ambulance bay because there just isn’t a bed to put them in yet and that’s where they wait.
Genesis72@reddit
Often times we would have an MD show up during hand off if either the patient was in really bad shape, or the chief complaint sounded interesting.
We'd show up, wheel the patient into a room and then the chief of Emergency Medicine would show up and be like "so whats up with this patient." Then you'd explain that the patient isn't actively dying and hed go back to his paperwork. I never handed off a patient in the ambulance bay though. Even the helicopter patients would get hand off in the trauma bay.
Carlpanzram1916@reddit
My ER has one nurse dedicated to the ambulance bay at peak hours so they can be offloaded and not hold up the EMS crews. When and where the MD sees the patient usually just depends on their availability. My current hospital is pretty well resourced so they’re usually really quick about seeing the runs
ToxDocUSA@reddit
When I was in residency it was drilled into my very soul to always be in the room to hear the medics hand off the patient. Y'all see and hear things that I have no access to other than through you, because let's be real about the utility of the EMS note that may or may not be available while the patient is in the er.
Current hospital the docs get no notice that an ambulance is coming so I usually am not getting to meet you. It's been somewhat annoying.
Mediocre_Daikon6935@reddit
The best set up I ever saw, and I’ve only seen it at one hospital.
Charge nurse is the only one that takes report. Charge nurse is next to the doctors, and PAs. If anyone has any questions, they are all together to ask.
Charge nurse then gives report to whatever nurse is taking care of the patient.
None of this hunting down the nurse responsible for the patient, who is busy pushing meds or whatever. None of this “the patient is way sicker than they thought” and the charge nurse/ doc doesn’t know about it and the poor nurse in the far corner is stuck.
Mediocre_Daikon6935@reddit
It depends.
In a big hospital, doctor is waiting in the trauma bay when we roll in with a mess.
In a small hospital? 10ish bed ER Maybe if it is bad/interesting and they have nothing else going on and are bored.
Was getting ready to leave the hospital once and a family brought a knee dislocation in POV. Doctor not only came outside, but helped get her out of the back of the SUV where patient was lying. Reset the knee as we moved her.
In a medium sized hospital? Can’t recall it ever happening.
But it really just depends on the doctor.
UntidyVenus@reddit
My personal experience was loaded onto a stretcher, taken to the hospital, and left outside in the driveway for about 3 hours in 100 degree heat. Just pushed to the side. Eventually I started just screaming because I was in pure panic mode and a nice lady in the parking lot helped unstrap me so I could walk around and check in
Aquarius_K@reddit
The way our hospital is situated the ambulance bay doors open directly in front of the nurses/doctors station (small rural hospital) so it's kind of moot. The doctor will see it rather they want to or not.
Ognissanti@reddit
On 9/11 in Lower Manhattan, absolutely. I was there.
stabbingrabbit@reddit
Very rarely a nurse may meet us in the bay. But never a doctor.
Avery_Thorn@reddit
I was in the ER for something relatively minor, and a trauma case came in. They called it on the PA, and a whole trauma team met them at the door, and started working on the patient in the parking lot while they wheeled them in.
They worked so hard to try to save that person. But... no.
It's not every case. If someone is stable, they are not going to. But if they think it will make a difference or if they think there is a hope... they will.
Antique_Pineapple504@reddit
Even in the Pitt, they don’t meet paramedics in the bag unless it’s a highly critical case or they’re already out there for some other reason (like Robby checking on his bike or Whitaker talking to Ogilvie). They then don’t really meet paramedics as they come in unless it’s trauma, otherwise Dana sends them to an open room so it’s not really that different from how people are describing in real life
DudleyAndStephens@reddit
Yeah, The Pitt just massively exaggerates the number of really critical cases that arrive at the ED. I have to laugh at the fact that this season had two ED thoracotomies in a single shift!
Wadsworth_McStumpy@reddit
Sometimes. The ambulance crew will be talking to the hospital about the patient, and if it's something really time-critical, then a doctor (or several of them) might meet them at the door. Usually, though, they deal with a Registered Nurse, who does triage and then calls the doctor.
Having doctors meet every ambulance on a show saves the cost of hiring people to play nurses, and often makes for more drama, so they usually do it that way.
auntiecoagulent@reddit
LMAO, no. That's just a TV trope
alphaturducken@reddit
I haven't been in EMS for a hot minute now but more often than not, the patients were handed off to nurses. Doctors only met us there if it was real serious. You didn't want to be the patient who met the doctor in the ambulance bay
WhatveIdone2dsrvthis@reddit
Critical cases only and even then it's case-by-case.
Genesis72@reddit
I believe that it has happened, but I spent 8 years in EMS and I never had this happen to me. Closest we came was the MD would be with the team that would meet you in the Trauma Bay.
Sometimes if it was chill (or super busy and there were no nurses available) the doctor would meet you and take report for a non-emergency patient too.
But always in the patient's room.
WhatveIdone2dsrvthis@reddit
I’ve gone out to receive them several times just to get quick information, but usually I’m setting up in the bay as you’ve experienced
BeesAndNickels@reddit
No. Registration meets them out there if it’s a code 3, and walks them back to the resuscitation room where the MD and staff are waiting. Sometimes the doc will stand in the hallway just to get information while the medics are rolling into the room. Have never seen one go outside to meet an ambo.
Curmudgy@reddit
FWIW, the hospital shows today often show doctors doing things that they’d rarely, if ever, do in real life. I’m not a medical professional, but even I know that doctors don’t generally administer CTs or MRIs, and aren’t going to be answering questions from randoms in the ER. In any decent sized hospital, you can’t even get past the ER waiting room without first speaking to a receptionist.
I guess I’m lucky that I’ve never had to be around the ambulance bay so I don’t know for sure that doctors aren’t meeting ambulances, but it seems unlikely unless the ambulance crew has called ahead to alert the hospital that a critical case is arriving.
nchemungguy@reddit
I was a paramedic for ten years. It only happened twice. Once it was an ER doc and the other it was an interventional cardiologist who had us bypass the ER entirely and take the patient directly for a heart catheterization.
He was one hell of a doctor.
GhostOfJamesStrang@reddit
The Pitt is terrible at portraying all of this stuff.
It's spoon-fed nonsense that creates drama, but is so far from reality it's hilarious.
Outlaw_Josie_Snails@reddit
Are you truly saying this from the perspective of a nurse or doctor who works in a hospital?
I ask because many nurses and doctors have praised "The Pitt" as being one of the more accurate TV shows representing many aspects of the job (procedures, challenges, the psychology of it, the human condition, stress, etc.).
Obviously, there will be some fluff added in.
What are some things you found that were inaccurate, especially procedurally?
machagogo@reddit
No. But it ads interesting contrast and scenery so it's not the same thing over and over again.
90% of what you see on a TV show written for the comedy/action/drama first.
Any other thought is a distant 2nd.
jcvtx1800@reddit
Surgeon helped pull my gurney out of the ambulance when I had a heart attack. They had my clothes cut off and a camera in my wrist before we entered the doors of the hospital. I would expect that this is an exception, certainly surprised me.
Smart_Engine_3331@reddit
In my experience, it's usually nurses and support staff. Doctors come around occasionally to check on you, but unless it's a life or death issue, they are not likely to get heavily involved.
BlueSkyMourning@reddit
I don't know. The only time that I had relevant experience I was out of it.
pfizzy70@reddit
In my hospital, the ED docs are often in the ambulance bay doing their initial rapid medical exam. Docs aren't waiting there, but they'll see the patient there if no rooms are available immediately. Gets the ball rolling. They always meet the ambulance crew for trauma and critical patient handoffs.
Blonde_Vampire_1984@reddit
It’s possible to have a team of EMTs make a dramatic handover to hospital staff like you see on TV, but it’s exceptionally rare. The patient would need to be incredibly unstable medically for this to happen. Like, crashing, coding, actively being resuscitated, or possibly delivering a baby.
It makes for much better story telling though, to cut out the super boring administrative tasks.
violet992@reddit
LOL. No.
tomatocrazzie@reddit
It depends. My MIL had a heart attack almost exactly a year ago. 31 minutes after calling 911 she was at the hospital in their cath lab getting a stent. My wife arrived at the hospital the same time as the ambulance pulled up and she said the med team met the ambulance outside and they were prepping her for the procedure as they wheeled her to the cath lab.
Timlugia@reddit
Yes if it’s trauma, stroke, or STEMI activation.
Cinisajoy2@reddit
Now 37 years ago, the ambulance guys took me all the way to Labor and Delivery. They were reloading the ambulance when all patients went through the same door. I had been driven there.
Cinisajoy2@reddit
If it is critical, one rushes the patient to a room and the spouse to a special waiting room.
scottypotty79@reddit
Usually only for trauma entries
bluesky557@reddit
I've been in the ER with my dad a bunch lately, and contrary to what everyone else is saying here, I have seen doctors meet the patients as they are brought into the hospital on the stretcher by the paramedics. Not every time, but it definitely happens.
Thick-News-9415@reddit
Im and overnight pharmacy tech in a hospital, and the only time I've seen doctors or nurses working outside getting a patient is if they pass out on their way walking in or if they get kicked out of a car in parking lot injured (gang related shootings) and they call for a cardiac arrest overhead. Ems always wheels them in and hand off to the charge nurse. Trauma rooms are right next to the ambulance bay.
OK_Stop_Already@reddit
There's some stuff that's wrong in The Pitt, particularly EMS and handoffs, but the rest has been said to be very accurate
FallopianFilibuster@reddit
It does happen but it’s rare. Sometimes a nurse is waiting by the ambo back doors. If we roll right into a resus room we are talking to doctors within seconds of being in the building
beamerpook@reddit
Not really. The nurses will take in the patient, get them stabilized, and then the doctor will come to diagnose the patient. Depending on triage, it couldb be minutes or the next day.
You would not believe how many people come in on Sunday night just because they want an excuse note for work on Monday. Or pregnancy test, or STD
SideEmbarrassed1611@reddit
Dramatic. The doctors in the ER are either making a quick bed visit to check on a patient or doing paperwork.
geekteam6@reddit
The Pitt is famous for being highly accurate about how it depicts every day hospital work, so I imagine, yeah, that's how it's often done in many US hospitals.
introvertedbunny@reddit
No never, ems and hand offs are horribly portrayed in the Pitt, it happens just like your hospital with triage nurse etc.
SuspendedAgain999@reddit
They’re just grabbing some fresh air