Why we stop.

Dan over at Emergency Care posed an excellent question at the end of his latest post. “Why do you help? Why do you run in when others won’t?”

This question stemmed from the incident in Connecticut. A man got struck in a hit and run and no one came to his aid.

What makes us different? Why do we choose to help instead of staring like New Yorkers (no offense to any native New Yorkers). The most obvious answer would be that it’s our job. When we’re trained to respond in an emergency, it is our duty to act. We know what to do and its become second nature. I personally have a desire to help people. Perhaps it is just because I’m fresh to the field. Everything is new and exciting, I haven’t become jaded. I also believe most emergency responders are adrenaline junkies. It’s almost a job requirement. We do it for the rush.

The uncertainty of what will be awaiting at a scene also intrigues me. I mean sure, some calls will become repetitive, but the thought of having to sit at a desk doing a “normal” job makes me cringe. I haven’t had the opportunity yet to save a life, but I imagine the feeling is amazing. Thats what will make this job extraordinary, the ability to make a difference.

Now for these people that did nothing - I would like to think that they were frozen in fear. Since they aren’t trained to respond they obviously don’t know what to do. Unfortunately, I think they all stood there gawking and not necessarily from fear. People walked right past without giving him a second thought. Maybe its just me, but I couldn’t just walk past someone that got hit by a car and not attempt to help with or without training. I’d at least call 911. Granted 4 people did call, and were probably some of the ones standing there, but what are the rest of their excuses.

I know this story is a couple weeks old, this was meant to be posted earlier, but I was out of town.

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