By Sarah Roebuck
EMS1
LOS ANGELES — In the Oct. 5 episode of “Saturday Night Live,” one particular sketch stood out – especially for anyone in EMS who’s had to make tough (and sometimes darkly humorous) decisions under pressure.
The sketch in question, titled “Water Park,” starts off with a relatable scenario: a medical emergency at the top of a water slide. As EMS providers, you’ve probably faced your fair share of situations in which your only options are bad, worse and … downright absurd.
In the episode, host and comedian Nate Bargatze plays an EMT, alongside his partner (Michael Longfellow) and two lifeguards (Devon Walker and Jane Wickline). The group finds themselves at the top of a towering water slide, debating how to handle an unusual situation: how to get a recently deceased park-goer back down. Should they carry him down all 255 steps, passing by horrified kids and exhausted parents? Or, as Bargatze seems to suggest, should they push him go down the water slide?
“I mean, he did wait in this long line, you know?” Bargatze said. “Seems like he really wanted to go down it.”
Meanwhile, Walker’s character is on board with the water slide idea, while Wickline plays the straight-laced lifeguard who’s, understandably, a little horrified at the suggestion. Longfellow, however, nails the deadpan humor, and you can almost hear an EMS crew’s banter in a less-than-ideal situation.
The whole thing plays out like a sitcom episode we never knew we needed: EMTs and lifeguards facing the challenge of an emergency mixed with the ridiculous logistics of a water slide. It’s the kind of moment that EMS providers can appreciate – a lighthearted exaggeration of the “what now?” scenarios you might occasionally encounter.
The sketch captures the sometimes bizarre nature of the job, where split-second decisions are necessary, and humor can be a coping mechanism. While sending a patient down a water slide isn’t going to make its way into any protocols anytime soon, the skit serves as a reminder that, in EMS, you’ve got to find a little levity, even when faced with tough calls.
