Public expectations about EMS are often shaped by television, billing misunderstandings and outdated assumptions about how the system works. The result is a persistent gap between what patients think will happen and what EMS clinicians actually do in the field.
Q: What myths about EMS need to die?
We asked EMS1 readers the biggest misconception the public has about EMS and several key themes emerged in the more than 250 responses, including hospital prioritization, the use of lights and sirens during transport, career realities and more.
Have something to add? Share your thoughts in the comment field below and read on to see what other EMS myths were identified.
MYTH #1: Patients transported via ambulance are prioritized in the ED
One of the dominant themes identified by readers was the belief that arriving by ambulance guarantees faster treatment in the emergency department.
- “If you call 911, you’ll be seen quicker.”
- “That you’ll automatically get a room or be seen by going to the hospital in an ambulance.”
- “You’ll get an ER bed faster if you go to the hospital via ambulance.”
- “You will get seen quicker by taking an ambulance to the ER.”
- “That taking an ambulance to the ED gets you a fast pass to a room to be seen by a doctor quicker.”
MYTH #2: EMS providers are ‘just ambulance drivers’
The idea that EMS professionals do little more than pick up patients and drive them to the hospital was another persistent theme.
- “That paramedics are just ambulance drivers!”
- “EMS personnel are not ‘ambulance drivers!’”
- "[EMS providers] are not Uber drivers, they transport people who have legitimate emergencies.”
- “That we just pick up and drive with lights and sirens to the hospital.”
- “That we’re an Uber.”
- “That ambulances are taxis.”
- “That we are glorified taxi drivers.”
MYTH #3: Lights and sirens enhance every transport
Reader comments also surfaced the use of lights and sirens during transport as an industry protocol the public doesn’t understand.
- "[That using] lights and sirens is an acceptable safety risk when compared to the transport time decrease.”
- “That we ‘need’ to use red lights and sirens! The use of red lights & siren is very infrequently needed! Risk vs. benefit.”
- “Not every call needs lights and siren.”
MYTH #4: EMS is a miracle solution in an emergency
Responses also discussed the lack of understanding of EMS providers’ abilities, scope of practice and responsibilities.
- “All ambulances carry lifesaving meds. Nope. Try again. Only ALS.”
- “That EMS doesn’t ‘diagnose.’”
- “That EMS can save everyone.”
- “That EMTs transport dead people.”
- “Everyone that gets put in an ambulance lives.”
- “That response time makes a difference in almost all calls. It doesn’t.”
- “That every ambulance service provides equivalent care.”
MYTH #5: EMS professionals are paid well with good benefits
A clear source of frustration in reader comments focused on the public’s perceived lack of awareness around the realities of the job.
- “That we actually get paid a lot of money!”
- “That we are superheroes! We have a breaking point!”
- “That we make a lot of money. You can if you want to work 160+ hours every two weeks.”
- “That you can make a decent living 😳.”
- “The pay is great!”
- “That we get paid a decent wage”
- “It’s rewarding ... “
- “We have excellent health and great insurance.”
EMS1 readers respond
Readers share more myths that need busting.
“As long as EMS workers are classified as non-sworn ‘civilian’ employees (just like the secretary in city hall), nothing is ever going to change for EMTs and paramedics. Until EMS becomes a sworn taxpayer funded governmental public service member of the uniformed services with parity in pay, benefits and a public safety with the same hiring standards as police and fire, EMS will always be an abused stepchild service. And that ain’t no myth, it has been the reality since modern 911 EMS was born. P.S. Let the private EMS companies handle non-emergent patient transfers. I was in EMS 50 years, so I know something about this stuff.”
“When speaking to public about people joining EMS. The reason given because they want to help people should not be accepted. In classes and also awareness for people possibly joining EMS, people should be informed you are the miracle that someone is waiting for on the worst day of their lives and you have to be the one that makes the tough decisions on how to help them get out of the bad situation that they are in and at minimum stay alive.”
“That the Glasgow Coma Scale has a clinical use in EMS. If you need a number to tell you the patient is not well, you’re doing it wrong.”
“Need to clearly state that EMS personnel are not at high risk for occupationally acquired communicable diseases.”
