This usually includes the patient…..
The Income On Board
If Beavis and Butthead Were Paramedics
The recent return of – in my opinion – the greatest TV show MTV ever produced definitely calls for some celebration. And what better way to do it than to feature the dynamic duo as the latest “celebrity medic”? They have certainly had their share of adventures, have always adapted well to their surroundings and no matter what situation they find themselves in, they always remain calm and never lose their cool. These are all traits that we look for in a good paramedic. Besides, having worked their dead-end job at Burger-World for years, I’m sure they would be ready for a new line of work. So let’s celebrate their triumphant return to late-night television by asking ourselves the big question:
What kind of paramedics would Beavis and Butthead be?
Shifts
It’s pretty obvious that Beavis and Butthead don’t really commit to anything, so assigning shifts would be pointless. Instead, they would be a better fit in a volunteer / on-call scheduling environment. This way they could respond to calls when they find time between watching music videos, trying to get beer, and going on whatever random journey they can think of.
Response
A traditional radio / quick-call system would prove itself to be ineffective. The noise would probably just annoy them and would most likely lead to destruction of the alerting device with some form of heavy object. Instead, Beavis and Butthead would just do what they normally do and “stumble” into emergencies during their everyday routine.
Radio Reports
When calling in to the receiving hospital, Beavis and Butthead wouldn’t utilize the traditional format for delivering patient information. Instead, they would key up the microphone and just ramble on random observations about their patient’s condition and appearance, similar to the way they comment on music videos.
Below is an example of a typical radio report from Beavis and Butthead:
Butthead: “Uhhhhhh, hello?”
Hospital: “Go ahead from County Hospital”
Butthead: “Uhhhh, heyyyy baby, we like have this guy who got hit by a car. He’s bleeding and stuff everywhere”
Beavis: “Hehe, yea, it’s pretty awesome”
Butthead: “Shut up dumbass, I’m giving the radio report”
Hospital: “How much blood has he lost?”
Butthead: “Uhhhhh, like, you know, almost all of it”
Beavis: “It’s not that much really”
Butthead: “Dammit Beavis, shut up! I’m trying to score with this chick on the radio.”
Protocols
Treatment in the field would depend on the person providing the care. When Butthead is attending, his care could range from actually attempting to address the patient’s complaint, to sitting there and just making derogatory comments about the patient. Beavis takes a much simpler approach to pre-hospital emergency care. He would simply provide “TP for their bungholes”.
Continuing Education
Being that Beavis and Butthead are lacking in the education department, reading material would be virtually useless. Instead, visual study aids would be utilized for them to retain information that is presented. Protocol updates would be delivered in the form of music videos and lectures from attractive women who offer points towards “scoring” for passing protocol tests.
Conclusion
While Beavis and Butthead might not be the best paramedics in the world – actually they would be more like the worst – things seem to always work in their favor. They may be lazy and absent minded, but when actually put what little bit of brains they have towards accomplishing something, they typically stick with it until they get their desired results. Not much would affect them, which would be beneficial during periods of high stress. If they actually did save someones life, it would most likely be on accident. But hey, a save’s a save, right?
My Taxes
Last Week I Fell Down the Stairs
A Special Thanks to My Fellow EMS Bloggers
Yesterday (Friday the 13th) Greg Friese and I challenged the EMS blogging community to participate in the “Celebrity Medic” series and do a write-up on what Tim Tebow would be like as a paramedic. I never imagined that we would get the response that we did. I got some really good laughs reading everyone’s take on the subject.
So why did we pick Tim Tebow? Well, it was Greg’s idea, really. Tim Tebow has received a lot of attention from the media and we thought it would be a good way to get everyone involved. To be honest, I don’t follow football like I used to, and I’m not much of a Broncos fan. I grew up going to 49ers games with my father and watching Joe Montana on TV, so needless to say I still consider them my team.
All of the Tebow write-ups were great, and in case you missed any of them, here is the lineup:
- Greg Friese wrote up a couple scenarios of “Paramedic Tebow” interacting with ER Docs, putting on training sessions and quickly climbing the ropes of the management ladder. Check out his version at “Everyday EMS Tips” HERE.
- Kelly Grayson pointed out that “Paramedic Tebow” would lead his peers in the amount of code-saves, but also pointed out that many of those “codes” could have been prevented by proper assessments and treatment to prevent patient’s from deteriorating to that point. In the end he concluded that Paramedic Tebow would recognize this and would strive to make himself be the best paramedic he can. Check out his version at “The Day in the Life of an Ambulance Driver” HERE.
- The Happy Medic concluded that “Paramedic Tebow” wouldn’t last long in the field. He mentions that Tim would most likely not be much help on scene, but would be there to put the finishing touches on treatment and take the credit for it. You can read his article at “The Happy Medic Blog” HERE.
- Captain Chair Confessions has a hilarious write-up pointing out several facts about “Paramedic Tebow”. He covers everything from scene times to not being able to work anything but a Baptist organization. Check out his article at “Captain Chair Confessions” HERE.
- Dave “The Social Medic” pointed out that “Paramedic Tebow” would be dispatched by doing “huddles” and would have all of his coworkers carry all of his gear and the patients for him. He also made some pretty big predictions for the Super Bowl. Check out his write-up at “The Social Medic Blog” HERE.










