# How old were you?



## exodus (Dec 12, 2008)

How old were you when you knew that you wanted to be an EMT?  For me, I've always loved watching that one show on discovery health where a camera crew follows around EMT's and Paramedics ala Cops and Third Watch...  So I've been wanting to do it since I've been pretty young... Can't give an exact age.

What about you guys?


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## imurphy (Dec 12, 2008)

Interesting question.

Well I think when I saw my first roll over when I was 8 I thought "Wow. I want to be one of those guys"

Then, the capilitist in me came out and I went for the money becoming a computer tech (just before the boom no less!)

Then when I was 23 I decided money isn't everything, you have to love what you do, so became an EMT

So the short answer to my long winded reply is first wanted to be when I was 8, then really wanted to be when I was 23!


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## Dobo (Dec 12, 2008)

I was on a construction site when I was 18 working in the field of engineering, we were setting the construction of a road while right next to us there were a crew of framers building a model home. It was a very windy day an they went to raise a wall and it collapsed on one of the framers. Of course everyone ran to his aid and we had an ambulance there in but a few minutes. They worked on him and I thought that is seemed like a pretty interesting job. The framer suffered a concussion and a few broken ribs and a shoulder injury of some sort. But the Paramedics had him up and off to the hospital before you knew what was going on almost.that was when I first found interest in the job.

I had a cousin who lived in a rural area and she was in a single vehicle MVA  and suffer severe head trauma, it was a 30 minute response time for the ambulance and unfortunately she passed away, but the doctors told us if they could have gotten to her sooner they were sure she would have had a real fighting chance at survival.

That also got me interested in EMS. Then I realised after a dozen years as an Engineering Technician, that over the past dozen years I really haven't done much, meaning my life at least through my profession has not left it's mark on this world. All I have to show for my engineering career is some plans of survey and pavement where there didn't used to be. I just want to make my mark. I am hoping that by pursuing a career in EMS I may be able to help a person now and then and maybe feel a little more fulfilled in my career.


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## Future EMT 07 (Dec 13, 2008)

about 1 minute and 30 seconds old^_^


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## Tincanfireman (Dec 13, 2008)

The first time I saw these guys on TV when I was 13 nailed it for me, but I had been interested in being a policeman (they did the ambulance work in my hometown of Lakewood, Ohio when I was but a wee lad) since age 10 or so. Our "emergency medical services" back then was a non-modified Pontiac station wagon with a stretcher bracket bolted to the floor, a portable O2 tank, and a first aid kit. No high-roof, no jump seat, nuthin'. I don't think we got our first van-style unit until the mid-70's or so when the hospital took over EMS


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## Airwaygoddess (Dec 14, 2008)

*Rampart, This is squad 51!*

Tin You Rock!!  I was 12 years old and my mom was a R.N.  That is when my love affair began with EMS!!! :wub::wub::wub:

KMG365!  WOOT! WOOT! B)


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## Airwaygoddess (Dec 14, 2008)

Paging Vent Medic!!!!  How old were you when you got "bit by the ems bug?? B)


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## VentMedic (Dec 14, 2008)

It was around the age of 12.   I used to watch the Cadillac ambulances ripping down the sand roads as a kid.  They were truly an impressive site in the old photos of their response to the Eastern Airlines crash in the Everglades 36 years ago.   Hearing how that rescue played out and the role of the many ambulance personnel as well as all of the other sevices that responded got me interested.


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## Tincanfireman (Dec 14, 2008)

Airwaygoddess said:


> KMG365! WOOT! WOOT! B)


 
AG, I was wondering how long it was going to take you to jump in on this one, and you didn't let me down!  :wub: Right back at'cha!!


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## Ridryder911 (Dec 14, 2008)

I was 5 years old, when I decided I wanted to be a Dr. in a ambulance. There were no such things as an EMT then. My parents personal friend was a surgeon and he used to take me on rounds when I about 8 thinking it was cute. 

My sister dated a EMT (one of the first ones) and he gave me a "Orange Book" (ACOS EMT first edition) and I memorized it from cover to cover. When I became 14 I started working in the ER through Medical Explorers. By the time I was 16 Johnny and Roy had came out. It was at that time, I knew what I wanted to be. I had finished my Paramedic course by the time I was 17. I then took my EMT later (yeah it was backwards). Yeah, I lied to NREMT about my age, I was not 18. At that time NREMT had no Paramedic level and did not until I was nearly through college (until the early 80's) 

I worked my fist code at 16 after school  (H.S.) with another individual. Ironically he too became a Paramedic and now is a Board Certified ER physician.


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## Onceamedic (Dec 14, 2008)

I always knew I wanted to do something with medicine.  When I was a little kid, I told everyone I wanted to be a doctor.  That was the path I was on as late as high school.  Unfortunately, finding myself on the streets at 15 was not conducive to obtaining a higher education.  I worked 25 years as a self employed systems consultant.  I hated the last 10 years but d*** I was making lots of money.  I spent that decade trying to fix it and finally retired.  I then took a couple of years trying to figure out what I wanted to do.  I am crazy enough that if I still wanted to be a doctor I would have gone to med school.  As it is, I really think it is the crummiest job imaginable and couldn't imagine doing it.  I had this wild hair that paramedic would be kinda cool so I jumped through the hoops and here I am.  I turned 50 my last semester in medic school and so far I absolutely love this job.  I want to keep learning about medicine tho so I am poised to go into a bridge program for RN.  I don't want to work anywhere but on an ambulance but I want the education.

Now, aren't you sorry you asked? ^_^


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## paccookie (Dec 17, 2008)

Hmm...I can remember reading my mom's paramedic books when I was about 9.  I took one of them to school once and completely grossed out my friends.  LOL  I decided to go to EMT school when I was 26, finished at 27, decided to go to medic school at 28 and will finish at 29.


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## FF-EMT Diver (Dec 18, 2008)

Uhoh forum hijack, paccokie I guess you are going to school with one of my EMT classmates from Turner EMS.

I wanted to be in law enforcment since age 5 growing I seen that I could not do LE til 21, So I began to think Fire/EMS, I began as a volunteer FF at 16, Went to EMT school at 20, Will be starting Medic school in april, I have also just recently done my SWAT medic and want to get POST certified after medic.


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## apagea99 (Dec 18, 2008)

I was about 5 or 6 when I dreamed of becoming an EMT....but was 34 when I decided to finally make it a reality. I'll be closing in on 36 by the time I get my license, but who's counting? I'm still young enough, smart enough, tough enough, and doggonit people like me


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## Medic (Dec 21, 2008)

Well im still dreaming about it not a reality yet. I was 12 or some thing when i did my level 2 first aid and i loved it and now i just completed my level 3 (at 16) and wanting to do more like padi rescue course and BLS, ITLS, high angle 1&2 rescue. I want to prepare my self for the trauma i will come to face in my home town Johannesburg, South Africa. Average day for a Provincial ambo. +- 15-20 calls in 12 hours.(some times more)


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## aidan (Dec 21, 2008)

exodus said:


> How old were you when you knew that you wanted to be an EMT?  For me, I've always loved watching that one show on discovery health where a camera crew follows around EMT's and Paramedics ala Cops and Third Watch...  So I've been wanting to do it since I've been pretty young... Can't give an exact age.
> 
> What about you guys?



I think I was about..16. I've always wanted to be a physician (and still do), and actually got into EMS to get patient experience and a grip on prehospital emergency medicine.

Now, I've decided to take a year off pre-med college and go to medic school, and then matriculate into medical school once I'm a paramedic.


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## gillysaurus (Dec 21, 2008)

^ You and me both, Aidan! Let me know how the paramedic to medical school thing works for you, because I hear it's harder than just busting through those 4 years of undergrad and the MCAT with no patient contact experience. But that also may be the nay-sayers in my area, too 

I didn't want to be an EMT until a month into my EMT-Basic internship after I'd gotten my cert. It was the first call I successfully attended by myself without realizing it. I finally felt comfortable enough to treat a straight forward BLS patient from start to finish without having to cling to my paramedic like a little monkey the whole time, and it was a great feeling. 

Initially I just got my cert out of wanting to find practical applications for the pre-med stuff I'd been learning. Didn't think I'd actually like it!


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## el Murpharino (Dec 21, 2008)

I never caught the EMS bug until I was in my first EMT class at the age of 21.  I found that I grasped much of the material very easy having taken college level biology and A&P, and enjoyed the challenge of assessing patients and arriving at a differential diagnosis.  I was sort of turned off from EMS initially having lived in a small town and only having a volunteer ambulance to respond locally.  The people who responded on the ambulance turned me off completely (think super wackers with jeans and work boots - nothing against them, but not what I imagined myself doing) and it wasn't until doing ride time in an urban environment with professionals that I understood what EMS should be.


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## Medic (Dec 21, 2008)

wats your fondest memories of medic school and those first insperational call?


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## aidan (Dec 21, 2008)

gillysaurus said:


> ^ You and me both, Aidan! Let me know how the paramedic to medical school thing works for you, because I hear it's harder than just busting through those 4 years of undergrad and the MCAT with no patient contact experience. But that also may be the nay-sayers in my area, too
> 
> I didn't want to be an EMT until a month into my EMT-Basic internship after I'd gotten my cert. It was the first call I successfully attended by myself without realizing it. I finally felt comfortable enough to treat a straight forward BLS patient from start to finish without having to cling to my paramedic like a little monkey the whole time, and it was a great feeling.
> 
> *Initially I just got my cert out of wanting to find practical applications for the pre-med stuff I'd been learning. Didn't think I'd actually like it*!



Honestly, that's exactly why I got into an EMT class also. People tell you it's harder? Really? Hmm. I know a couple of EM physicians that were paramedics prior to med school, and they all said being a medic helped them a lot and made them a better doctor.

Plus, during clinicals in med school, they had a huge initial edge over their peers (in terms of being able to get IVs like a pro, take vitals quickly, and intubating, etc.)

I'm sure trying to go to medic school and taking pre-med classes at the same time would be hard.. actually, extremely hard. I'm not even going to try.. lol, just taking a year off from my pre-med curriculum when I go into medic school. The only thing that I'm going to hate, is that I've already taken most of my upper div sciences classes (the ones on the MCAT), and having taken a break from those types of classes for a year, it's going to be especially annoying to start studying for the MCAT.

Now, though, I can see myself still being in EMS in the future, even during and after med school. And, while I know it's mostly irrational to make decisions on specialty before med school, I'm skeptical that anything other than EM will keep me satisfied . I really like the idea of being a pre-hospital EM MD.


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## daedalus (Dec 21, 2008)

When I was 9 y/o, my friend's family had taken me to a car show with them. It was a real hot day and my best friend collapsed. Within minutes we heard sirens and saw that cool ambulance come ripping down towards us. The paramedics got out and took his history from my friends mom, and checked his vital signs. They released him on the scene and told us to go home and have my friend drink lots of gatorade and rest for the day in a cool area. They were heros to me. 

Two years later it was reviled that I would need open heart surgery to repair a congenital defect that had started causing problems. I was taken to Cedars-Sinai hospital and that is when I fell in love with medicine. 

After that, while all the other kids were reading novels I was reading anatomy books.


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## aidan (Dec 21, 2008)

daedalus said:


> When I was 9 y/o, my friend's family had taken me to a car show with them. It was a real hot day and my best friend collapsed. Within minutes we heard sirens and saw that cool ambulance come ripping down towards us. The paramedics got out and took his history from my friends mom, and checked his vital signs. They released him on the scene and told us to go home and have my friend drink lots of gatorade and rest for the day in a cool area. They were heros to me.
> 
> Two years later it was reviled that I would need open heart surgery to repair a congenital defect that had started causing problems. I was taken to Cedars-Sinai hospital and that is when I fell in love with medicine.
> 
> After that, while all the other kids were reading novels I was reading anatomy books.



Very cool story..  Cedars can make anyone fall in love with medicine..it's amazing. I worked there for two years.


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## Redemption (Dec 22, 2008)

My dad's drunk driving was what made me first think about it. He's also the one that told me to go to college and get a 'real job'... Ugh.

The first wreck my parents had when I was 8 or 9 years old, my dad was driving, had wrecked and just left my mom in the car there to well... you know. A couple of kids we knew (small town) found her and drove her to our house, and I called 911. It was the scariest day of my life, and the only person that made it better was the EMT's that pulled up in the ambulance, one hugged me after she'd closed the doors and said she's be alright, and she was. That woman, to this day, is my hero.

The second wreck my dad by himself. I was 13 and my parents had just seperated, he was drunk driving without a helmet on his bike. He swerved to miss something (probably a deer) and smashed his head on not one... but two of those damn poles on the side of the road (not the mile markers)...

He had literally scalped himself and crushed his frontal lobe. Broke 3 ribs, left arm, left leg, and tore his shoulder out of socket. Very lucky he lived, last time I saw him he looked like 'Sloth' from "The Goonies"

The people that responded to his accident really are heroes. Sadly, they were all friends of the family too. Very scary moment in my life.

Sorry this is so long.  I was 8or9 and then 13... finally signed up for the class now (at age 19)


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## E.M.T.Loza (Dec 28, 2008)

the first time I had considered being an emt was approching my second semester of my senior year in H.S my brother was an emt for a year and bet me that I couldn't pass the emt class he took. I signed up for the class my second semester of senior year and loved the clinical and ride alongs I passed the class a few weeks after i turned 18. In the fall after I graduated from H.S I started attending UC Davis and had no time to work as an emt :glare: :sad:  now im going take a refresher course and get my recertification in two weeks and im going to start looking for an job doing what I love since Im going to have some spare time the next few months B)


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## fortsmithman (Dec 28, 2008)

The bug first bit me in the 70's as a kid watching Johnny and Roy do their thing on TV.


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## stephenrb81 (Dec 28, 2008)

I actually started in the IT field.  I was an Assistant Sys Admin/Tech Support Supervisor for a dial-up ISP.  Of course in that field, things are changing nearly monthly and the company I worked for sold and was disassembled/outsourced.  When my Support Techs were all let go my primary duties were to oversee the merging of our billing system and various servers to the new outsourced systems, I knew my days were numbered.

In my area, there isn't any demand for those in IT.  I was pretty stressed on what to do.  That's when I was told about an EMT program being offered at one of our CC's extension campuses so I signed up.  That was about 6 years ago, I was 22 at the time.

Haven't looked backed since, now I'm 28 and only have 6 months left in a Medic program


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## karaya (Dec 28, 2008)

Seventeen for me during my senior year of high school in 1976.  Became an EMT before I graduated and went on to paramedic school in 1978.


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