Mistakes that Ambulance Drivers Have Made in Movies/TV

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You have to respect EMTs and ambulance drivers. Not only are they underpaid and work in a highly stressful job, but Hollywood really has no idea how to depict what it is they actually do. They are usually portrayed as well meaning individuals who either know way too much (beyond what an EMT or even a doctor could know) or way too little.

Common mistakes depicted on TV and in the movies include the use of a tourniquet, which is placed one someone who is bleeding. This is not recommended in reality, unless it is for a very short amount of time. Tourniquets actually cut the blood supply, leading to a greater risk of a rotting limb. The idea of freezing lost fingers or toes is also a major risk since this can cause cellular damage. It’s better to keep the missing parts clean and cool, not frozen like…well, steak fingers.

Ambulance Drivers and Zombies

You wouldn’t think of World War Z as a source of relevant medical knowledge. However, the biggest blooper of 2013 hardly required EMT certification to spot. Watch for the moment when the family’s car is about to be hit by the ambulance. Gerry is shown driving and his life leans over the passenger seat, the camera angle changes just as the ambulance is about to collide. Suddenly, there is no one to be seen in the car and the ambulance driver is wearing some sort of safety helmet indicative of a stunt man. Apparently, zombies overtook the special effects crew on this one.

TV Shows and Movies

The TV show Bones got a few EMT facts wrong, such as in “Mummy in the Maze” where it shows an EMT administering drugs that only paramedics are qualified to handle. These are two levels of emergency personnel and each job has specific duties, and limitations.

In the thriller Unknown, Liam Neeson’s character of Dr. Martin Harris is resuscitated by EMTs using a defibrillator on a wet metal dock. In reality, automated external defibrillator should never be used on an individual who is wet because of the threat of electrocution. It’s the sort of blatant error that might prompt a real paramedic to call Liam up and say, “I will look for you, I will find you, and I will……”

Breaking Bad Error

Let’s face it; Breaking Bad was never intended to be a realistic medical show, or even a realistic drug warfare drama. It was stylized action that just happened to be convincing because of great acting and storyboarding. However, one mistake didn’t make it passed the Movie Mistakes website. When Hank is brought into the hospital, doctors and EMTs discuss his status, in which it is revealed that they’re going to give him two grams of oxygen. This is not medical terminology; oxygen is administered in LPM measurements, or liters per minute. Walter White would surely have known that, but needless to say, he wasn’t in the scene at the time.

What can we say…EMTs and ambulance drivers are much smarter in real life than they are in the movies!