# I don't get it.



## NomadicMedic (Aug 8, 2014)

You don't see doctors walking around with a shirt that says "Bad *** life saver". Lawyers don't have shirts that that say, "I'll keep your *** outta jail, not kiss it". Why do EMTs insist on wearing this stuff. It paints such a lame picture.


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## Carlos Danger (Aug 8, 2014)

(sorry, just couldn't resist)


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## DesertMedic66 (Aug 8, 2014)

My shirts will be here in 5 days...


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## OnceAnEMT (Aug 8, 2014)

You mean you don't heal your patients?


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## MonkeyArrow (Aug 8, 2014)

This post WILL contain a lot of generalizations about the different professions brought above. It is in no way meant to offend or degrade our profession or to be construed as a direct attack on anyone's character or livelihood that may or may not be a member of this forum.

The reason why EMTs act so unprofessionally, in a nutshell, is because no one forces them to. You can scrape through high school, finishing with a 1.0 GPA and attending 4 years of summer school taking every remedial class that the school has to offer. Yet, you could come out of high school as a certified EMT, one that would more than likely buy a shirt like this because they think that they're bad. On the other hand, doctors and lawyers actually have to go to school- 4 years of undergrad, 4 years of law/med school, and then a residency or internship/whatever lawyers do. You have to be board certified. In order to be accepted into aforementioned schools needed to become a doctor/lawyer, you must meet requisites, some of which may include the ability to function at a relatively high intellectual ability. Furthermore, these schools weed people out. People who would more than likely wear shirts like this, who also think that they're badasses, and who also think that they save the world and are paragods, likely wouldn't meet the requirements to get into these schools/pass the schools tests and/or boards, therefore not becoming a doctor/lawyer. [They probably wouldn't have the motivation to do such a thing either] 

In addition to the schooling to become one, going through hell and back to become a doctor/lawyer comes with a sense of pride. A pride that one likes what one does. A pride that would entice one to want to portray professionalism and hold what they do everyday in the best light possible. EMTs, yes those same ones who don't care and did it so they can wear a uniform and pick up chicks, do not feel that same sense of pride. They don't have the loyalty nor do they care about their profession. 

Then comes the age factor. Doctors and lawyers, purely because of the requirements to become one, get older and more mature by the time they become one. They usually also possess more common sense than your D- EMT. Therefore, they [docs and laws] couldn't give a :censored::censored::censored::censored: as to what they're wearing and if it makes them look cool. They date in more mature ways. They (hopefully) realize that this shirt doesn't say anything good about them, hell. The shirt doesn't even :censored::censored::censored::censored:ing matter. Just go, date, start a family, be good at what you do.


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## Rin (Aug 8, 2014)

I've noticed that the ones who strut around the most, usually with their sleeves rolled up to showcase their biceps, are the ones with the worst "f*ck patients" attitude.  That's a direct quote by the way, that I've heard more than once.


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## NomadicMedic (Aug 8, 2014)

I'm sorry. It's not a calling, or some higher power that makes me able to save patients. It's a job that pays pretty well. And I'm okay at it. I understand the basic medicine, and I usually don't screw things up too badly. 

But I'm certainly not called to it, as if it were some divine intervention that I become a badass lifesaver.


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## DrParasite (Aug 8, 2014)

DEmedic said:


> I'm sorry. It's not a calling, or some higher power that makes me able to save patients. It's a job that pays pretty well. And I'm okay at it. I understand the basic medicine, and I usually don't screw things up too badly.
> 
> But I'm certainly not called to it, as if it were some divine intervention that I become a badass lifesaver.


I'm sorry, but you're wrong.  

To many, EMS is more than a job, very much like the police and fire departments.  Whether you call it brotherhood, a calling, a career (instead of a job), or a noble profession that doesn't pay much but does have a large impact on the people you help, it doesn't really matter.

You might consider your profession a job; I consider mine a career.  I have a career path.  I can retire with a pension.   quite honestly, if my EMS "brother" needed something, I would gladly assist if I could.  And if someone picked a fight with my coworker, I'd have his back, whether in uniform or not.

btw, I'm in my 30s, and have no problems wearing my EMS agency t-shirt at the gym.  and yes, I did get a few novelty T's in my youth, and while some are stupid (ok, a lot are stupid), most people will grow out of them.  

This field has several issues; lack of funding, lack of staffing, lack of understanding by the public, lack of proper equipment, lack of proper management, lack of career advancement in too manny places, etc.  novelty T-shirts wouldn't even crack the top 10.


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## DrParasite (Aug 8, 2014)

Remember, if the shirt is for sale, that means someone was interested in purchasing it.





























and last, and certainly not least:


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## Carlos Danger (Aug 8, 2014)

Funny thing is I have literally NEVER seen a lawyer or physican or pharmacist or engineer or physical therapist or any other professional wear shirts like that in public, or have huge symbols of their profession emblazoned across their car. 

They might have stuff like that in a drawer somewhere as a novelty but they don't feel the need to make sure everyone who sees them knows what an Awesome Reaper Slayer they are.

Nothing wrong with being proud of what you do or being happy to be "in the club", but let's have some sense of style and professionalism here.


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## ffemt8978 (Aug 8, 2014)

I can understand this one....


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## teedubbyaw (Aug 9, 2014)

Young people graduating from basic thinking they have hero abilities?


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## DesertMedic66 (Aug 9, 2014)

teedubbyaw said:


> Young people graduating from basic thinking they have hero abilities?



It's not just young people


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## JPINFV (Aug 9, 2014)

A few other things to keep in mind. 

1. Med schools are infamous for wielding the "unprofessionalism" hammer. Seriously, if you do something stupid in a manner that comes back on the school, you can easily find yourself suddenly out of school. 

2. Same, to a certain extent, with residencies. While residencies tend to be much more interested in keeping their residents (and in many cases tend to be much more laid back...), every resident knows that they're still on a year to year contract and there doesn't have to be a reason to simply not renew that contract. 

3. There's, to an extent, mentoring going on. If I have a student who's being stupid (and, mind you, I keep my students for 4 week stretches and they're generally working a similar amount of hours that I am... i.e. over 40 hours/week), someone on my team is going to step in and stop it. Hopefully it's a fellow student telling him to knock it off... and at worse it's the attending (who can easily fail the student for the rotation) telling the student to knock it off. However the hierarchy is well known, and the duties and responsibilities of each level is taken seriously the vast majority of the time.


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## SandpitMedic (Aug 9, 2014)

Agree with the OP.

Someone wearing a shirt like that in public= default full retard. 

EMT or otherwise. I saw one the other day that said "Pharmacy Technician, because bad *** pill slinger isn't a real job title." Another that said "Male nurses know where to stick it" with a picture of a syringe.


Get real...


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## azbrewcrew (Aug 9, 2014)

I was that guy....10 years ago. Now I just view people who advertise they are fire or EMS as whackers. EMS is my career, but its not my life. My off time is spent with my son not thinking about work. If people ask what I do for a living I just say "I work for the city" and leave it at that. The only way you will know what I do is by my IAFF sticker on my truck, and even then you cant prove im legit since you can buy those damn stickers on eBay these days


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## terrible one (Aug 9, 2014)

DrParasite said:


> I'm sorry, but you're wrong.
> 
> To many, EMS is more than a job, very much like the police and fire departments.  Whether you call it brotherhood, a calling, a career (instead of a job), or a noble profession that doesn't pay much but does have a large impact on the people you help, it doesn't really matter.
> 
> You might consider your profession a job; I consider mine a career.  I have a career path.  I can retire with a pension.   quite honestly, if my EMS "brother" needed something, I would gladly assist if I could.  And if someone picked a fight with my coworker, I'd have his back, whether in uniform or not.



At the end of the day it's still just a job. A service you provide in return for compensation.
Glad you have a passion that keeps you involved, and I'm sure you are great at what you do, however, it does not define you as a person. And I hope you have a long career in EMS because if there was a day you could no longer do this job (physical or other reasons) you may have to completely redefine yourself.


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## Tigger (Aug 9, 2014)

DrParasite said:


> Remember, if the shirt is for sale, that means someone was interested in purchasing it.



I don't believe this to be true anymore. Most of the absurd EMS/Fire shirts you see on facebook will probably never be printed in any sort of great quantity as it is just too expensive without a large order.

That said, it still drives me nuts that there are "providers" out there that need to legitimize their career/job/hobby/whatever you want to call it with some stupid slogan to show how much of a badass they are. Yea, I admit it, I've got better work stories than most of my friends and occasionally I'll share a few. But I don't work in EMS to be some hotshot adrenalin junkie. I do it because I like it and happens to provide me with money. Maybe that's not your definition of career, but that's it for me.


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## FltMedicRob (Aug 9, 2014)

In the imortal words laid down to us from the movie Stripes "Lighten up Francis". 
Its just a shirt. If you don't like it, don't buy or wear it. 

Personally I wouldn't buy one.  I have enough Ranger Up shirts sitting in my closet that I wouldn't wear out of the house anymore, but was all about it when I was still in the Army.  Some people have a strange sort of pride in what they do and want to show it off. It's all good.


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## Tigger (Aug 9, 2014)

It's not really the shirts that get me but rather the attitude of the people that often wear them.


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## DrParasite (Aug 10, 2014)

terrible one said:


> At the end of the day it's still just a job. A service you provide in return for compensation.


your right





terrible one said:


> Glad you have a passion that keeps you involved, and I'm sure you are great at what you do, however, it does not define you as a person. And I hope you have a long career in EMS because if there was a day you could no longer do this job (physical or other reasons) you may have to completely redefine yourself.


my career doesn't define me as a person.  However, it is a part of my life, and I spend between 1/4 and 1/3 of my life working at my career.  It doesn't define me, but it is a big part of my life, and I'm hoping it will be a big part of my life for as long as my body and mind is able to handle it.  But no, I am not defined by the job that I do, nor by what my career is.


Tigger said:


> That said, it still drives me nuts that there are "providers" out there that need to legitimize their career/job/hobby/whatever you want to call it with some stupid slogan to show how much of a badass they are. Yea, I admit it, I've got better work stories than most of my friends and occasionally I'll share a few. But I don't work in EMS to be some hotshot adrenalin junkie. I do it because I like it and happens to provide me with money. Maybe that's not your definition of career, but that's it for me.


My definition of a career is something that pays my bills, has a career ladder, lets me live comfortably without having to work every OT shift available, is something I am not ashamed to say I do when people ask me what my job is, and lets me retire and not work in 30 years.  Can you say your job has that?  Far too many people in EMS can't, which is one of the problems (which is a whole different topic).

Note, nowhere do the terms BadAss, war stories, or adrenalin junkie get mentioned.   and I'm more likely to roll my eyes at anyone in a novelty shirt, because most will grow out of it.  

And my career has bigger issues than what the latest novelty T-shirt is....  They don't reflect me any more than the drunk firefighters acting like *******s at the convention reflect FDNY or your local big city FD.


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## WildlandEMT89 (Aug 10, 2014)

Shirts are pretty big in my communities. Not the novelty type "I'm a paragod" shirts, but department or event shirts. This is especially true in the wildland fire community. 
You trade shirts with other crews, you get shirts on large fires you participated in, even our training academies and charities sell shirts for funding.
Personally I collect shirts and wear them during work or on fires because I'm proud to have earned them in a way, but don't try and advertise my jobs too much off the clock.


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## NomadicMedic (Aug 10, 2014)

Let me clarify, I have NO issue with wearing a department issued t-shirt. I do that. I'm talking about the "Racin' the Reaper" type of whacker shirts.


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## samiam (Aug 10, 2014)

I have to come clean and say I have a "Trust me I am a doctor (Almost)" Shirt that was made by my schools SGA not sure if I would wear it not at school but I would absolutely never wear it in a professional situation.


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## WildlandEMT89 (Aug 10, 2014)

DEmedic said:


> Let me clarify, I have NO issue with wearing a department issued t-shirt. I do that. I'm talking about the "Racin' the Reaper" type of whacker shirts.


 I feel you on that front, and we definitely have a couple guys on the department with shirts of the like (I'm a wildland firefighter: If you see me running... ect) and I find them in bad taste. Not quite as bad a the giant Rear window vinyl I see every now and then though.


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## Tigger (Aug 10, 2014)

DrParasite said:


> My definition of a career is something that pays my bills, has a career ladder, lets me live comfortably without having to work every OT shift available, is something I am not ashamed to say I do when people ask me what my job is, and lets me retire and not work in 30 years.  Can you say your job has that?  Far too many people in EMS can't, which is one of the problems (which is a whole different topic).
> 
> Note, nowhere do the terms BadAss, war stories, or adrenalin junkie get mentioned.   and I'm more likely to roll my eyes at anyone in a novelty shirt, because most will grow out of it.
> 
> And my career has bigger issues than what the latest novelty T-shirt is....  They don't reflect me any more than the drunk firefighters acting like *******s at the convention reflect FDNY or your local big city FD.



Yes where I currently work has all that. I'm not sure I'll stay here, but I certainly could.

And I'm not implying that your pride in your career makes you some sort of whacker, not at all. It's more of a general disparagement against that attitude, which is a big problem in EMS if we are ever going to get lasting respect from the healthcare community.


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## titmouse (Aug 11, 2014)

Nope, I'll pass on those shirts.


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## gnosis (Aug 18, 2014)

I was always rather fond of this one


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## Medic Tim (Aug 18, 2014)

gnosis said:


> I was always rather fond of this one


facepalm
I seriously hope you are trolling...if not...this is why we cant have nice things....like respect, dignity and professionalism for examples.


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