Keys
As a new EMT, I was responsible for driving the "bus" (ambulance) to and from the scene. When we arrived on scene we discovered it's was a cardiac issue, and decided to "load and go," meaning we should not stay on scene to do perform ECG, but rather we should make haste and go directly to the hospital, and perform the medical evaluation enroute. The patient was loaded onto the stretcher and placed into the cab. I then proceeded to get to the driver's seat of the ambulance, pulled the keys from my pocket, buckled up and suddenly realized there's something wrong, I can't get the key to fit into the ignition. I panicked, and tried several hundred more times. Now I'm sweating. There's a cardiac patient in the back and I can't get the ambulance started. O.M.G Now what? Breathe. I have no choice but to tell my co-worker EMT that I'm having trouble getting the key to fit in the ignition. We decide to unload the patient and call for a backup ambulance. The backup arrives and incidentally so does the Captain, wondering why his ambulance is disabled. As soon as I see him, I suddenly realize my spectacular error. I am mortified. I will never be redeemed from this situation. I was mocked mercilessly for months. I deserved it.
It seems that I had pulled out my car keys rather than the ambulance keys. Sigh... Patient made it to the hospital in the alternate ambulance and lived.
I never made that mistake again. Ambulance keys in one pocket, my car keys in another.