It’s actually a rather odd question to ask someone you don’t really know. Nevertheless, it’s a question we encounter fairly often when talking about our profession. And it’s certainly not just my prehospital colleagues and I who get asked this question—nurses, doctors, police officers, and firefighters are also high on the list of professions frequently asked. But what do you say when asked? What thoughts run through our heads as we try to decode what the questioner really wants to hear?

For this reason, we set out to explore how we, as healthcare professionals, answer the question: What is the worst thing you’ve seen? Hvad er det værste du har set?.

We examine the psychological mechanisms we rely on when responding, and, not least, why we wonder why TV programs like ALARM112 are so incredibly popular.

To help us better understand the human psyche, we invited psychologist Rikke Høgsted to guide us. Karl and Rikke discuss the obvious questions that arise: why people ask, and which mechanisms we, as healthcare professionals, use when answering.

We also spoke with rescuer Jeppe, nurse Katrine, and firefighter Berthel to hear what thoughts go through their minds when they’re asked this question.