# Too old for EMS?



## Dumbname (Sep 25, 2010)

Hello all.

I am 35 years old and got into an EMT-B program with hopes of eventually moving over to paramedic. I felt a little strange when I got to my first class and the other students were so young and clean-cut that they looked fetal to me.

Am I too old to get into this? I am functionally fit and mostly sane.

Thanks for any advice you might have.

-D.


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## akflightmedic (Sep 25, 2010)

Nope, not too old. Some of the best students have been adults who have lived life and switched careers.

You will bring a balance to the care you give as life experience is extremely valuable in the delivery of medical care.

I am NOTHING like the paramedic I was when I was 19...he and I are two different people. You are already way ahead of those neophytes, so consider it an advantage.


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## Sam Adams (Sep 25, 2010)

My partner had a midlife crisis a couple of years ago and he became an EMT. He's 48.


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## Shishkabob (Sep 25, 2010)

I'm old at 22.
:wacko:


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## gicts (Sep 25, 2010)

The other students were clean cut? :glare:

It may actually work in your favor. Your age may give the patients the impression that you are more experienced and may make them a little more comfortable. As long as your body can take it (and I work with people in their 60's that can handle it) I wouldn't worry about a thing.


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## Dumbname (Sep 25, 2010)

gicts said:


> The other students were clean cut?.



I'm just saying, it looked like the 1950s in there.


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## emt seeking first job (Sep 25, 2010)

*age is just a number*

I am forty-four.

Thank god in EMS, so long as a person can carry out the job duties, age does not matter.

There are some LEO jobs which have age limits, ludicrous to me. There are ones that do not, yet, those people still had to pass all the test(s).

You are thirty-five, if I was that age I would join the US Army Reserve and apply for the medic training. They raised the age limit to 41. Six weeks before I turned 42, I had a hernia. No way to repair it in time.

I regret not joining the military earlier.

In your situation, study the material, eay healthy and work out. In part, becoming an EMT is one of my motivations to not become overweight and lazy.....

Best wishes to you.


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## gicts (Sep 25, 2010)

Dumbname said:


> I'm just saying, it looked like the 1950s in there.



Haha well that's good to hear. My EMT class looked like everyone stumbled off the streets from the night before. Most were covered in tattoos. One even had bright blue hair.


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## wyoskibum (Sep 25, 2010)

*You only as old as you feel....*



Dumbname said:


> Hello all.
> 
> I am 35 years old and got into an EMT-B program with hopes of eventually moving over to paramedic. I felt a little strange when I got to my first class and the other students were so young and clean-cut that they looked fetal to me.
> 
> ...



I started Paramedic School at age 42.


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## emt seeking first job (Sep 25, 2010)

gicts said:


> Haha well that's good to hear. My EMT class looked like everyone stumbled off the streets from the night before. Most were covered in tattoos. One even had bright blue hair.





In my EMT-b class they had to call ems for one guy who had puss coming out of one of his piercings and was hyperventalating over it.....

He never came back.


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## redbull (Sep 25, 2010)

No you are not too old. We have plenty of guys in my class that were in their mid 30's, and early 40's. Of course, their goal was not just to be a basic, but a paramedic, and/or working in a higher position within an EMT company. But you are not too old.


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## firetender (Sep 25, 2010)

Dumbname said:


> Am I too old to get into this? I am functionally fit and mostly sane.



Fitness helps; sanity is an accessory today,and will become vestigial later.


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## Phlipper (Sep 25, 2010)

firetender said:


> Fitness helps; sanity is an accessory today,and will become vestigial later.



LMAO!  

I started the EMT-B at 46 years old and will be 48 by the time I finish the Paramedic course.  Age is just a state of mind.

(Ok ... not really, cuz i started falling apart once I quit working out regularly.  But still ... :sad: )


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## jjesusfreak01 (Sep 25, 2010)

I rode along with a guy who just got his medic and had to be over 60.


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## MCROP (Sep 25, 2010)

HELL NO!!! I'm 39 and just passed my NREMT a few months ago. I've already landed a paid on-call gig and I ride another for nothing day(just for the experience) . I was the "old guy" in class and ran circles around most of my classmates
The tough part is working full-time and pursuing a new career. It sucks, but it will pay off. If I were you, I'd get into great physical shape as well. There's enough fatso's in this biz to begin with, you don't older and out of shape because it will bite you. Good luck!!!!!


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## slb862 (Sep 26, 2010)

Go for it!  I was 32 when I started Paramedic school and I was "preggo's" (LOL).  Went to a parttime evening class, and the average age was mid to late 30's.  That was OMG! 20 years ago.  I think being "older" makes for better understanding and YOU want to learn.  Go For It!!  It will be the best decision you have ever made.  It was for me. :wacko:


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## MasterIntubator (Sep 26, 2010)

From one old person to another... ( and I have passed 35 yeaaaarrs ago. ).  At your age, you will learn quickly if it is for you or not.  There will be no mickey mouse games with it.... wasting your time in class when you already knew the answer ( amazing how many young folks do that ).  You should be secure enough to keep moving on. 

Us elders should have study techniques that youngins just have not grasped yet.  We UNDERSTAND what most pts go thru.... cause we were most likely in their shoes, we apply what we have learned in our life.
Us elders tend to be less "eat up" and not so impressed by bells and whistles, blinky lights and shiny things..... uuuuUUUuuu shiny metal stuff. B)
Us elders tend to work smarter, and more efficiently... and less time talking about "Guess what I did last night on my date" and blahh blaahh blahh.. bad hair day blahh blahhh.
Us elders tend to be looked up to by younger folks, no matter how green you may be.  Maybe its respect, maybe its because we look smart, maybe because we just don't get excited as much over stuff ( not a viagra joke.. ).

So if you carry yourself as an adult professional at the right times, and keep on the up and up with technology, you will excel very nice... and with great success.

Now... on the other hand... if you start getting lazy, leaning over and staring at the equipment or getting short with folks on scene wondering what you should do next while crickets start getting louder and your Depends begin to buldge and show while one hand is over your lower lumbar while trying to lift the stretcher.... you may need to think about going to the auxiliary.  But really... you still have years and years before that should ever happen.

I regularly have to wait for  the young bucks to catch up.... face it.. some old folks got skills, yo.  h34r:


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## Natka303 (Sep 26, 2010)

I was in a NY program and took the class that was 7.5 weeks and it was brutal. I must say we have two guys who were over 40 and they both passed and we just go our licenses and everyone passed. I don't think anyone is ever too old. It's a great job and you will bring a lot of experience into the field and won't the 20 something year old who doesn't know how to properly act on the job which I've seen happen numerous times.


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## ZombieEMT (Sep 26, 2010)

Age is not the important part, but your ability to do the skills required. There are many people of older age that can still perform the duties of the job. In fact, one of my instructors was a 62 year old woman who is still an active member in a rescue squad.


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## Level1pedstech (Sep 26, 2010)

firetender said:


> Fitness helps; sanity is an accessory today,and will become vestigial later.



 Two thumbs up on the fitness. I started out with fire at 36 then started up the EMT ladder. The one thing that helped me the most both physically and mentally was always being able to keep up with the guys who were 10-20 years younger than me. I started as a volunteer with a combination paid/volunteer department at 42 and was only seconds behind the guys in their early twenties when we did our PAT and this was no watered down CPAT but somthing more in line with the biddle. That was a big thing and brought me respect from the crew. It was very important to me know that when I was on the engine that I was equal to my paid counterparts both in skills and physical ability. 

 If you don't have a regular work out regiment get one started as soon as you can. Make cardio your number one priority followed by a good strength training program. Keeping in tip top shape will not only keep you competitive but will greatly help reduce your risk of injury. Of course if you have kept in shape good deal but its always a good review for the older guys who may see this thread.


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## 46Young (Sep 26, 2010)

I know people that have gone through our fire/EMS academy in their upper 40's and one at 50. A fire academy is harder on the body than field EMS, so I'm sure you'll be okay. What will take you out is on the job injuries from lifting patients. I know many broken down medics and EMT's. Also, I might reconsider if you have a history of hypertension, a cardiac history, etc. EMT 's have died from cardiac related issues. Firefighters die every year responding to and returning from calls, and also dying in their sleep after a rough shift. I mention firefighters because they ride in emergency vehicles and respond just like EMS. The stress and adrenaline spikes, as well as the broken sleep and demands of going from "zero to 60" rapidly from a dead sleep can wreak havoc on the body. Discuss this with your physician.


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## 46Young (Sep 26, 2010)

MCROP said:


> HELL NO!!! I'm 39 and just passed my NREMT a few months ago. I've already landed a paid on-call gig and I ride another for nothing day(just for the experience) . I was the "old guy" in class and ran circles around most of my classmates
> The tough part is working full-time and pursuing a new career. It sucks, but it will pay off. If I were you, I'd get into great physical shape as well. There's enough fatso's in this biz to begin with, you don't older and out of shape because it will bite you. Good luck!!!!!



No joke. EMS isn't exactly the land of fit people. Interrupted sleep can affect fat gain. So can high call volume, where you need to grab something quick due to time constraints, like 7-11 taquitos or beef patties, Toxic Hell (I mean Taco Bell), and the like.


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## RJ75 (Sep 27, 2010)

Just thought I'd throw my two cents in here. I'm also 35, and am just about half way through my EMR course (roughly the same level as EMT-B, but up here in Alberta). I'm finding that my age is giving me a huge edge, as many have mentioned here. You're going to probably take the material with the seriousness it deserves, and I find that's going to help you learn it quicker. Most of my class is like yours, young. And they're too busy joking half the time to pay attention, and it's showing in how they do on exams.

So from one old timer to another, good luck in your training!

RJ


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## Roger (Sep 28, 2010)

I think I got ya-all beat. Not really a contest I wanted to win though. :sad:

56 here. And I have asked that same question of myself...many times and probably will again today. I would love to go on to paramedic school but 
I would be close to 60 by the time I'm finished. But I may do it anyway as I love to learn. I had a ball in my EMT-B class and found it challenging enough 
to keep me excited. I'm lucky (knock on wood) that I don't have any major medical problems and don't have to take any meds.

Just be sure that when that scary looking man behind you swings that scythe, you duck!


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## firecoins (Sep 28, 2010)

anyone over 16 is too old for EMS.


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## Phlipper (Sep 29, 2010)

There is one other thing you should consider, and I should have mentioned it before.  If you have a family to support, depending on where you live, you should know that you may have a long wait to find a job.  I have my EMT-B, and I'm carrying a 100 average in A&P for medic (this and a sincere interest above and beyond generated some job leads with the instructor), and I have called in every favor and recommendation humanly possible, and I cannot even find a place to VOLUNTEER.  And there's no guarantee that a Paramedic cert won't leave me in exactly the same place with yet another year down the drain and no money nor advancement to show for it.  Look around these boards and you'll see others in similar straights.  With county and municipal budget constraints being what they are it isn't really the best time to be changing careers mid-stream to EMS.

Your Mileage May Vary.  But understand this is a very real possibility.


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## medic417 (Sep 29, 2010)

We had way to many ems workers prior to the recession, but since it started we have been flooded with new ones.  Many news sources suggested ems as an easy way to get a job so now many have wasted money on training and possibly some education to get nothing in return.


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## bitman (Sep 29, 2010)

I just turn 35 myself yesterday, waiting for a call for FDNY emt January 2011 academy start. 35 Is not old at all, i though u was gonna say u are in your 50s. You bring life experience and mellowness that is much needed in the emt field. Cheers mate.


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## Indy (Oct 1, 2010)

emt seeking first job said:


> I am forty-four.
> There are some LEO jobs which have age limits, ludicrous to me. There are ones that do not, yet, those people still had to pass all the test(s).



I don't see why it's ludicrous to you. The PERF age is there for a reason.


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## DaniGrrl (Oct 2, 2010)

I'm 34 and just started a 2 year Paramedic program. So far, so good. Serious health problems aside, age is all in your head.


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## EMTMama (Oct 3, 2010)

I'm 39 and just started working as a basic 6 weeks ago - doing intermediate clinicals now. There are several people in my service that are 50+.


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## Billybob (Oct 3, 2010)

I am 43 and in medic school. Though I am much older than all my classmates, I feel I bring life experience that they do not have. Which I think will be very valuable in treating patients.


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