Wondering if this job is really for me

[Andy Svendsen]

Hello all EMTs, Paramedics, students first responders in general. I'm brand new to the EMS world and started a few months ago I have been riding the ambulance and going on calls for quite some time now I am only a student/probationary member in a volunteer rescue squad, not an EMT yet but working on that although...recently I've been beginning to question if this is really a good job for me. Now don't get me wrong the department I'm in is great, my partners are great and really care About me and encourage me to go on calls, since I also dispatch for our department and I prefer to do that sometimes since I feel I'm really good at it. The problem lies within me, everytime I get on that ambulance I'm honestly scared, but I still go, sometimes I don't even know what I'm afraid of, this job has been my dream ever since I can remember, I've always wanted to be in the emergency services such as the police department, EMS, fire Etc. And everytime I tried to see myself doing something else it was just impossible. Now I didn't choose it because I think it's cool or want to be a hero I truly want to save lives and make a difference also I've had many situations in my life where I feel I've been given a second chance so I want to give others that same chance I was given. But when I go on a call even if the call is nonsense or BS I get anxiety and sometimes so bad I start to feel dizzy and feel like maybe I'll pass out, might sound silly but I hate it. I hate feeling this way, I haven't seen a super serious call yet, and I ask myself if I can barely handle small calls how will I handle the big ones? I almost have no confidence in myself, I've been thinking about quitting and just do dispatching...although I hate the thought of quitting I hate the thought that I'm not able to do this job when I've wanted to for so long, I can't figure out why I'm so nervous and scared, I can handle seeing a lot of things, only things I don't truly like seeing are vomit and such, but I'm sure alot of emts feel the same way sorry if this all sounds silly or stupid hope I'm not wasting anyone's time but thank you all for listening, have a great day

 

[planetmike]

Calm down, take a breath. Talk with one of your supervisors or team leaders or officers at your agency. Let them know how you’re feeling. It’s possible they may already know how you’re feeling. Good luck. I hope you get it worked out.

 

[CALEMT]

not an EMT yet but working on that

everytime I get on that ambulance I'm honestly scared

I almost have no confidence in myself,

I can't figure out why I'm so nervous and scared

I think I found your problem. You're not a EMT... yet, everyone gets nervous on their first calls as a responder. Its nothing new and you're not the only one. I say complete your EMT program, get a job as a EMT and give it some time and see what happens. If you truly love this job/ career, then why quit? I would like to think that you would find a way to work around this problem of yours. Have confidence in your skills and knowledge.

 

[Andy Svendsen]

I think I found your problem. You're not a EMT... yet, everyone gets nervous on their first calls as a responder. Its nothing new and you're not the only one. I say complete your EMT program, get a job as a EMT and give it some time and see what happens. If you truly love this job/ career, then why quit? I would like to think that you would find a way to work around this problem of yours. Have confidence in your skills and knowledge.

Yes maybe you're right..but I also feel if I became an emt that would make me more nervous because a lot more would be expected of me, maybe not because that is a huge accomplishment, it's all so boggling on the mind lol

 

[PotatoMedic]

Yes maybe you're right..but I also feel if I became an emt that would make me more nervous because a lot more would be expected of me, maybe not because that is a huge accomplishment, it's all so boggling on the mind lol

I was scared ****less when I became an EMT. I also became a senior EMT after my first shift as an EMT because the department I volunteered with had so few.

You will gain confidence with training and experience.

 

[Andy Svendsen]

Calm down, take a breath. Talk with one of your supervisors or team leaders or officers at your agency. Let them know how you’re feeling. It’s possible they may already know how you’re feeling. Good luck. I hope you get it worked out.

Thank you, I am planning on talking to someone in my department about it, wanted to come on here and vent about it to see what emts and paramedics all around the country and world think about it

 

[Andy Svendsen]

T

I was scared ****less when I became an EMT. I also became a senior EMT after my first shift as an EMT because the department I volunteered with had so few.

You will gain confidence with training and experience.

thank you

 

[Handsome Robb]

Quick question, how old are you? Don't take it personally, you just seen young.

There's nothing wrong with being nervous so don't let it get you down. I'll echo the advice already given.

The biggest thing to remember is that it isn't your emergency. Take 10 seconds before or while you're walking into the scene, take a couple breaths in through your nose, hold it for a 2-3 count then out through your mouth, check your own pulse and just relax. Again, it's not your emergency.

Very little of what we see is immediately life threatening. Also, despite what many instructors and people in the field say, there's very little you can do to kill a patient. The whole "it's not if you kill someone it's when" is absolute BS.

Finish your training, get some more experience and at that point if you really feel you can't handle it you can at least say you gave it a solid try.

 

[Uclabruin103]

There's nothing wrong with not getting in the field and wanting to stay in dispatch. Dispatchers can do a tremendous amount of good too. So don't discount that as a career.

A good emd instructing a layperson to do cpr instead of waiting for us can do a tremendous amount of good.

 

[squirrel15]

A lot of what people have said is great advice. I might also add that you do seem young as robb pointed out, and with that, have you ever played sports or done anything that might cause some sort of adreniline rush? Because it may not be that you're scared, but your body just getting jacked up from that adreniline rush, and the idea of not knowing, especially without being an EMT yet can make that stronger.

 

[JeffT]

I'm not an EMT or even EMR yet (in the EMR course)... One thing that I'd like to say is that if actually being on the ambulance isn't necessarily for you, there's an entire medical profession out there that deals with what happens afterwards. Some people are more comfy in front of a desk all day. Up until a year ago I worked in the Billing and Revenue Management Departments at a hospital for 14 years... There's a whole lot going on in the revenue cycle after the ambulance staff itself does its thing. There's medical records. There's ER. Is the patient going in patient or outpatient? There's a clinic if outpatient... lots of clinics with lots of specialties... and jobs for folks out there that want to go in to handling that aspect of things, some of which may just be normal folks... You don't need to have a pHD to work in the business office of a clinic, hospital, etc. There's a lot of different ways to help people. Someone above mentioned EMD. That's a good route to go too.

I'm personally studying EMR right now because work is paying for the class, and it is already getting me a better job since the folks in charge of the class are having me transfer in to the security department, which is a slightly higher pay grade than I'm at right now. However, more importantly, it'll give me the ability to move closer up the revenue cycle to dealing with a patient instead of sitting on the back end like I did. I worked in several different positions in those 14 years.... but the last one hit me hardest the most emotionally because I was handling the program payers... We billed, followed up with, and posted payments, etc. on bills for folks in special government and research programs... and various skilled nursing facilities.... We were dealing with stuff like getting payment on hospital and clinic claims from inmates in prison who were seen at our ER, folks who had HIV, folks who were involved in ongoing research studies that could take years to complete, individuals who had to get forensic exams paid for by the state since they involved rape, victims of crimes that were having their medical bills paid by a state fund that covers that, and a bunch of other stuff (I think there were like 30 different program payers we dealt with regularly). It hurts you emotionally after a while when you keep having to send bills out and follow up on various things like that and seeing all of the details in the calls, medical records, etc. knowing you can't do anything about it... it really hurts you somewhat when you keep calling skilled nursing homes and getting told that the bill you are inquiring about is for a patient that died 3 days ago, and you do that over and over and over, on an almost weekly basis.... Being involved in EMS can get me closer to being able to help instead of dealing with the paper pushing that happens after the fact.

 

[k9Dog]

Andy, like you said you are not even an EMT yet. Once you go through the training and practice over and over you will develop the confidence you need to do the job. Do not quit before you even really start. You can do this. Envision yourself with confidence, easily handling a stressful call. After you get through school and have a few years in this will subside. I remember feeling this way at times myself as a new medic on a serious call. I started as an emt at 19 and was running calls as a medic by 22 years old, it took a little while to gain the confidence I needed. Stick with it.

 

[SeeNoMore]

It's worth keeping in mind that some people don't deal with anxiety particularly well.

This may not be the case for you, I have no idea.

Personally, I have always been pretty stressed out in EMS. For me, this does not mean I am unable to keep calm on calls. Instead the anxiety really is centered around the time before and after calls. What will come next or What could I have done better?

I have had to learn coping strategies. I try and relax and remember that I am feeling tense because I want to do well and that I am self critical because I want to constantly improve. I find practice scenarios and lots of study helps out. My ability to handle stress has improved, but it has taken time and work.

I agree with others that you will benefit from EMT class and more exposure. But if you find that as you progress you still have overwhelming anxiety you may want to consider some strategies or type of EMS work that is less stressful for you. I am not trying to be a naysayer at all but I have known people who did not fit well with the stresses of EMS and never really took the time to figure it out. Some ended up quitting, being fired or just very bitter.

Take your time and take care. Let us know how it goes.


Best of luck.

 

[COmedic17]

EMS is a high stress job. When decisions you make can have a direct impact on another persons life, it's easy to get worked up over it.

Just some things to remember-

1- If your running a cardiac arrest, they are already dead. Literally- there's no where to go but up. You can't make them more dead.

2- You are not an EMT. You are not a Paramedic. No one expects you to provide care at the level of an EMT or Medic.

3- You have no medical certification, and are in your probationary phase. Your not "in charge" or directly responsible for patient care. Just do what the EMT/Medic asks you to do. It's as simple as following directions. Since your not an EMT there's very few interventions that you can preform - meaning there's very little you can do to mess something up.

4- Not everyone can be helped, not everything can be fixed.


Good luck!

 

[Andy Svendsen]

EMS is a high stress job. When decisions you make can have a direct impact on another persons life, it's easy to get worked up over it.

Just some things to remember-

1- If your running a cardiac arrest, they are already dead. Literally- there's no where to go but up. You can't make them more dead.

2- You are not an EMT. You are not a Paramedic. No one expects you to provide care at the level of an EMT or Medic.

3- You have no medical certification, and are in your probationary phase. Your not "in charge" or directly responsible for patient care. Just do what the EMT/Medic asks you to do. It's as simple as following directions. Since your not an EMT there's very few interventions that you can preform - meaning there's very little you can do to mess something up.

4- Not everyone can be helped, not everything can be fixed.


Good luck!

Hey thank you for the reply sorry I haven't been on, have been busy today I had a shift and ran 7 calls and wasn't nervous that much, saw vomit (not very much) but still and got to hold a crying baby's hand, I'm starting to realize my place here

 

[Andy Svendsen]

It's worth keeping in mind that some people don't deal with anxiety particularly well.

This may not be the case for you, I have no idea.

Personally, I have always been pretty stressed out in EMS. For me, this does not mean I am unable to keep calm on calls. Instead the anxiety really is centered around the time before and after calls. What will come next or What could I have done better?

I have had to learn coping strategies. I try and relax and remember that I am feeling tense because I want to do well and that I am self critical because I want to constantly improve. I find practice scenarios and lots of study helps out. My ability to handle stress has improved, but it has taken time and work.

I agree with others that you will benefit from EMT class and more exposure. But if you find that as you progress you still have overwhelming anxiety you may want to consider some strategies or type of EMS work that is less stressful for you. I am not trying to be a naysayer at all but I have known people who did not fit well with the stresses of EMS and never really took the time to figure it out. Some ended up quitting, being fired or just very bitter.

Take your time and take care. Let us know how it goes.


Best of luck.

Hey! You sound just like me in some cases, thank you for the response sorry I haven't been on, today I had a shift and ran 7 calls, did very well

 

[Andy Svendsen]

Andy, like you said you are not even an EMT yet. Once you go through the training and practice over and over you will develop the confidence you need to do the job. Do not quit before you even really start. You can do this. Envision yourself with confidence, easily handling a stressful call. After you get through school and have a few years in this will subside. I remember feeling this way at times myself as a new medic on a serious call. I started as an emt at 19 and was running calls as a medic by 22 years old, it took a little while to gain the confidence I needed. Stick with it.

Thank you! I appreciate the reply, today was another shift and I ran 7 calls and did very well, had a scared baby and got to hold it's hand and calm it down, that call made me realize this is where I belong

 

[Andy Svendsen]

Quick question, how old are you? Don't take it personally, you just seen young.

There's nothing wrong with being nervous so don't let it get you down. I'll echo the advice already given.

The biggest thing to remember is that it isn't your emergency. Take 10 seconds before or while you're walking into the scene, take a couple breaths in through your nose, hold it for a 2-3 count then out through your mouth, check your own pulse and just relax. Again, it's not your emergency.

Very little of what we see is immediately life threatening. Also, despite what many instructors and people in the field say, there's very little you can do to kill a patient. The whole "it's not if you kill someone it's when" is absolute BS.

Finish your training, get some more experience and at that point if you really feel you can't handle it you can at least say you gave it a solid try.

Thank you, yes I am young I am only 20, but today as I said down there I had a shift ran 7 calls and did just fine, we had a little baby who was sick and scared to death (of course any child is scared of the ambulance) I got to hold it's hand comfort it and help with brewthing treatments, made me realize my place in this job

 

[Andy Svendsen]

Calm down, take a breath. Talk with one of your supervisors or team leaders or officers at your agency. Let them know how you’re feeling. It’s possible they may already know how you’re feeling. Good luck. I hope you get it worked out.

Thank you man, sorry this reply is so late as I said down there, haven't been near the computer much but today I has a shift and ran 7 calls, one involving an infant and I got to help comfort it and help it breathe better, really made me realize I belong here

 

[NomadicMedic]

@Andy Svendsen, you only have to reply once.

Glad you're feeling more comfortable.