How Paramedics Work

In this Stuff You Should Know episode, Josh and Chuck dive deep into the history and reality of paramedics and emergency medical services in the United States, tracing everything from battlefield stretchers during the Crusades to the modern ambulance system we know today. They explore how it took until the late 1960s for someone to realize that having trained medical professionals actually ride in ambulances could save more lives, and how the federal government's initial support for EMS in 1973 was quickly withdrawn just eight years later, leaving the system fragmented and underfunded ever since. The guys also discuss what EMTs and paramedics actually do on the job, why they don't run to emergency scenes, the surprisingly dangerous experience of riding in the back of an ambulance, and the financial incentives that sometimes push paramedics to transport patients who might not actually need hospital care.