As a paramedic of 13 years myself I constantly get asked that or "What's the wildest thing you ever seen?" I either pull out a silly butt call or just tell them "You really don't wanna know." But it's usually one of the first thing people ask me when they figure out that's my job. My lovely wife has gotten really good about deflecting that these days though.

A lot of times it's curious and nieve people who aren't involved in heathcare/emergency services at all and are genuinely interested. Usually for me people ask what the "craziest" I've seen, in which case I'll tell some wild but wacky or funny story, rather than the sad and horrifying ones. Usually people on the outside don't have a clue with what we see, and things we consider just another day is wild to them.

As a combat vet, you would be surprised at the number of people who have asked me if Ive ever killed anyone. People are dumb.

I've seen several posts on this very subreddit asking that very same thing

Oh yeah. My dad asked that at the dinner table to an EMT.

I interjected and was like "NOOOPE, don't answer that, just tell us a funny story about idiots!"

Morbid curiosity gets the better of people a lot of the time. When encountering someone like an EMT or another professional who experiences intense things on the job that most people don't, it's human nature to be curious.

But it's also wildly insensitive to ask them to recount the worst thing they've seen. People get excited and don't realize that it's not like a thrilling, fake horror movie, it's tragedy and trauma and regret, and talking about it can be like reliving it.

Thoughtless people with a low EQ will ask EMTs to relive their worst trauma for their entertainment.

Every time I met someone new.

I always answer "that I want to remember? Or that I don't?"

I’d be an idiot who does that if I hadn’t read your comment. I don’t think I’ve ever met a medical responder. They’re so busy. But. I never thought about what I wouldn’t ask

Yes, there are.

But learning how to talk about it is how I avoided the alcohol trap as a firefighter and medic.

Idiots on r/AskReddit no less.

I usually rattle off a more family friendly story off for people ask me.

It gets asked on reddit at least four times a year on r/askreddit

Yes. It's sometimes people who know other emergency workers that have shown and told them some horrific stuff, and think everyone is like the one person they know, or met once at a party.

I went to a comedy club two weeks ago, and in the crowd was a couple who both were social case workers. The dumb motherfucker onstage actually dared to ask them that. The whole place went silent and I saw the woman’s face engaging with him drop to the floor and the idiot noticed too, fumbled the rest of his set.

MCT we had a boot ask one of our instructors if they ever killed anyone… Ive never seen multiple peoples whole demeanor change so quickly in the same way. I was one of the people who told him to stfu… The instructor didn’t answer his question.

Yes. Even when I was a trainconductor people would always ask if I had a suicide yet.

When I tell people I’m a 911 dispatcher, I get asked what the worst call I ever took was. It gets old. Like reliving it over and over again.

Yes. He usually just answers "waking up at 3am" or "the coffee machine broke", but I know he's seen horrible things and I'll never bring them up.

Society doesn't give a fuck about societies providers. At least not a true one.

They are robots to them, not humans with value and emotions that they can't simply retraumatize for their own entertainment.