In a recent post on X, a paramedic named ‘Harv’ shared an encounter he had with a drunk patient who was suffering from a head injury. It highlighted the challenges faced by young-looking medical professionals in their line of duty.
Harv, using the Twitter handle @harvey_eac, described the situation as follows:
“Attended a patient this morning with a severe head injury.
“Me: ‘You are going to have to come to the hospital; you have a nasty head injury, and you have been drinking.’
Patient: ‘I’m not taking your advice, you’re literally a 12-year-old. F**k off.’
I hate looking young sometimes.”
The tweet sparked a series of reactions from other professionals who have faced similar situations due to their youthful appearance.
MedicCopLew responded, sharing his own strategy to combat this age-based prejudice: “This is why I grew a beard when I first became a cop. However, a few years of working shifts and I don’t need a beard to look older.”
Meanwhile, OldSweatProbie offered Harv some words of encouragement, pointing to the brighter side of looking younger than one’s age: “When you get to forty and people say that you don’t look it, then you will be happy for your youthful looks. Trust me.”
A/PS Sam Parfett chimed in with advice on how to handle such situations, suggesting Harv use his youthful appearance to his advantage: “Re looking young, don’t complain! I had the issue, and still do in many ways. Play on it – say, ‘I’m sure you don’t need the advice of someone my age, but that needs looking at.’ People will respect you for it.”
Mephistopheles added a bit of humour to the discussion with a quirky reply: “That’s when you pull out of the bag: ‘I’m actually 200 yrs old. My youthful looks come from harvesting the blood of those who fail to follow medical advice and ultimately croak it. I use it as my daily moisturiser and add it to my smoothies.'”
Harv’s tweet and the subsequent responses shed light on a rarely discussed challenge young-looking professionals face.
While age does not determine one’s competence, it’s evident that some patients and clients may harbour prejudices.
However, the support and humorous advice from the community underscores the importance of camaraderie in the face of such challenges.
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He refused treatment and told you to leave, albeit with less than old world courtesy. Fine. Leave. We spend far too much time looking after nasty, stupid people. Let Darwin take over instead.
I agree, if patients are being abusive I feel you should just walk away, let them wake up in the gutter covered in blood and other excrements, they might think twice before they get themselves into that state.
It has always been the case, with young police officers, including myself a long while ago, that the expression ‘when the police look young, then you are getting old’. I find this story perplexing that it’s ‘news’. I’m sure most if not all young emergency service workers have experienced this many times over. In my experience, it was best handled with a gentle sense of humour and was often due to the patient or victim being, scared and/or nervous and using ‘banter.’ In this case the patient had a serious head injury and been drinking so erratic behaviour is not surprising. In the future Harv, you’ll be looking back to the time you looked young with fondness.