# What made you actually chose to become a paramedic?



## sra (Jan 23, 2013)

Just curious here....what exactly made you decide to become a paramedic? What about your job now lets you know you made the correct career choice?


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## DrankTheKoolaid (Jan 24, 2013)

I'm happy In the morning going to work even after 20 years of ems, that's how I know I chose the right career. 

I chose it because the other thing I am good at is boring enough to make me want to stick a knife in my eye repeatedly....... Computers. They are for games not work


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## STXmedic (Jan 24, 2013)

Took EMT for a fire gig. Thought medical was cool. Decided to go to paramedic. Realized I loved medicine. Realized paramedic didn't teach as much or let you do or as much as I wanted. Now working on getting into med school.


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## Shishkabob (Jan 24, 2013)

I hate being told what to do.


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## Veneficus (Jan 24, 2013)

PoeticInjustice said:


> Took EMT for a fire gig. Thought medical was cool. Decided to go to paramedic. Realized I loved medicine. Realized paramedic didn't teach as much or let you do or as much as I wanted. Now working on getting into med school.



That sounds very familiar.


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## Christopher (Jan 24, 2013)

sra said:


> Just curious here....what exactly made you decide to become a paramedic? What about your job now lets you know you made the correct career choice?



I got bored as a software engineer and not having served in the military became an EMT to volunteer in my community. Turns out EMS is challenging and fun.


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## NomadicMedic (Jan 24, 2013)

I started in EMS in the late 80s, and then started a career in broadcasting. Becoming a medic was always the "fallback plan", if I wasn't successful in radio. 

Turns out, I did okay in radio, but after 20 years, I became bored. So, one day I quit and went back to school. 

Now, I'm a medic. I wouldn’t trade any of my experience, it’s made me who I am today, and years of public speaking and interaction have made me very comfortable with patients and teaching.


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## abckidsmom (Jan 24, 2013)

I like my job 20 years in. I started in EMS in high school in 1993, and got my medic in 1998 at 18. The job has been there for me through my time of working full time, part time through 7 years of pregnancy and parenting infants and toddlers, and now full time again while I homeschool. I can't imagine a career that would allow this flexibility. I love it.


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## ExpatMedic0 (Jan 24, 2013)

My hatred for nurses. J/K  that was sarcastic and pertaining to another thread.

 Funny enough I had never thought of becoming such a thing. One day I was flipping through a local college course catalog to see what I should "blow my gi bill on" and saw a picture of an ambulance loading a patient into it. For some reason it really caught my eye so I started doing some ride a longs, became a first responder, and in the Army became my infantry squads Combat Life Saver, then an EMT-B then after discharge got my EMT-I, and finally the ol -P card. The first day I did a ride a long there was no turning back for me.


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## DesertMedic66 (Jan 24, 2013)

Watching 9/11 as it happened in school. Seeing the firefighters running into the buildings as everyone else was going out. 

Joined the Fire Explorers soon after my 14th birthday. Learned I'd have to be an EMT to get a fire job. Told by many many people that due to my race I would have to be a medic to get a fire job. 

Took the EMT course and loved it. Planning on medic school in a couple of months followed by fire academy and then start applying to fire departments. 

Could never work behind a desk in an office. I love not knowing what you will be doing. I love being outdoors.


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## Household6 (Jan 25, 2013)

It's a fantastic skill to have for when the Zombie Apocalypse happens.. 

I hate being told what to do as well.. And I want to serve.. I want the training to know how to react when someone needs help. Before medic school, fate has put me in situations where I've had the ability and state of mind to act, but not the medical knowledge to know what to do. I don't want to be in that position ever again.


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## Veneficus (Jan 25, 2013)

Household6 said:


> fate has put me in situations where I've had the ability and state of mind to act, but not the medical knowledge to know what to do. I don't want to be in that position ever again.



and you got that in medic school? 

I feel seriously ripped off, because I still don't always know what to do.


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## ThatPrivate (Jan 25, 2013)

I  was always told I was going to college from a young age. I  wanted to be a firefighter  but couldn't do it in high school because fire fighters don't go to college. I  went to college  for nursing  and didn't do well at all. I  ended up changing my major  and  started  paramedic school.  Don't plan on using my degree at all  but at least I have it like my family wanted. I  am much more happier now then I ever been. I  enjoy the work environment  and the culture of EMS.  I'm doing what I love even if it goes against the grain of my family. 
Funny part my family still brags about  me graduating soon  but doesn't brag about my choices. They still think I'm going to grad school.


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## SeeNoMore (Jan 26, 2013)

The honest answer is that I was lured in by the promise of getting to call the shots in life and death situations but was not organized or edcuated enough to pursue nursing or medical school. I took advantage, semi unwittingly of the low standards that exist in our field. Luckily I realized this and have worked very hard, and still have a lot of work to do to become the type of Paramedic I want to be.  I am very different from the person that first entered EMT class. Not happier as in general my foolish expectations have been dashed, but I do feel vaguely competent now. Thats nice


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## Hunter (Jan 26, 2013)

Corky said:


> I chose it because the other thing I am good at is boring enough to make me want to stick a knife in my eye repeatedly....... Computers. They are for games not work


 

Same... I was actually halfway through a degree in networking and programming before I realized it.

Before that I was undecided between medicine and computers, I like most of the public had the wrong impression of EMS; "lights and sirens everywhere, do what doctors do except at 60mph." But during EMT and doing my ride times I realized the truth quickly, and even though the truth wasn't as exciting as I expected it to be I fell in love with the job. I also found this forum and while I didn't post all that much when I first found it reading through posts helped me realize I would have to do a lot of studying on my own outside of school and work to become a good enough paramedic to do the job. Also this is the only medical job where you get to make the patients feel like they matter, considering we only get 1 patient at a time, unlike nurses and everyone else who have at least 6-30 patients at a time.


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## RocketMedic (Jan 27, 2013)

Paramedics for parents, grew up around it (my dad would probably fit right in on EMTLife, he's a Free Thinker, probably where I get it from). First 'job' was cleaning ambulances out, then third-rides, and I was hooked. Seeing that it could actually be a readily-accessed viable career helped too.


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## bahnrokt (Jan 27, 2013)

I was at a company roll out meeting with 300 co workers, my VP is speaking on stage when he drops.  300 people stand there looking at him lay there.  Nobody knew what to do.  Turns out he had a massive heart attack.  I was upset nobody knee what to do so I took CPR at my Vol Ambulance Corps. Realized that I learned nothing, joined the corps and took emt.


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## hibiti87 (Jan 31, 2013)

A great man once told me " a good paramedic doesn't really know why he does anything."


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## EMT B (Jan 31, 2013)

Household6 said:


> It's a fantastic skill to have for when the Zombie Apocalypse happens..


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## Household6 (Jan 31, 2013)

Ohh..... Glad to see I'm not the only one who takes it seriously.. 

I wouldn't waste good Fentanyl and Versed on the deteriorating undead though. <_<


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## SloEd (Feb 5, 2013)

I didn't feel like I was doing any good for the community/world being a cog in come corporate machine. And at the same time I was in EMT class to augment my skills in Search and Rescue. I started doing my clinicals and realized EMS was for me. As I was going through EMT class, I realized that there was so much more that could be done, so I kept going and now I'm almost done with Paramedic School.


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## KingCountyMedic (Feb 8, 2013)

3 pages and no mention of Squad 51?


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## NomadicMedic (Feb 8, 2013)

KingCountyMedic said:


> 3 pages and no mention of Squad 51?



I think I mentioned it in another thread. 

...Johnny and Roy were the bomb when I was a kid. (And I drive a squad now!)


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## abckidsmom (Feb 8, 2013)

n7lxi said:


> I think I mentioned it in another thread.
> 
> ...Johnny and Roy were the bomb when I was a kid. (And I drive a squad now!)



I just did that on a hypoglycemic diabetic the other day and MY PARTNER DIDN'T GET IT.  

I felt like a dinosaur.


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## Vahlen (Feb 8, 2013)

A simple question that elicits a much more complicated response. I'm not a medic yet, but I'm closing in on that goal with just having finished my EMT-I in January, so this is a question I am asking myself quite often actually.

I had just finished "wasting" the better part of 5 years on a degree for a career that I was no longer interested in, go figure right?

Well, in the month just prior to graduation my elderly father (in renal failure at the time) had a medical emergency at home.....alone.  He had fallen due his knees giving out, my mother found him a few hours later when she came home from work but was not able to lift him by herself and he did not have the strength to assist her. EMT's from the local fire department responded quickly and rushed him to the hospital, he was alright thanks to their help.

I joined the derpatment a few weeks later hoping to repay them in some manner for saving my dad's life. They stuck me on the EMS-squad as a first responder, after my first call as a CFR (minor MVC) it was like I had just discovered something that had been missing from my life........call me melodramatic or what you will, but I had never felt such a sense of accomplishment before (this is comming from an All-American swimmer).

There's something to be said for youthful exuberance I suppose, especially in a field with such a high "burnout" rate, but I've met enough long-time medics that have echo'd my feelings to reassure me for at least the foreseeable future. I can't say for sure whether or not this will be my career, but EMS will certainly remain a part of life no matter where I end up.


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## Pkreilley (Feb 9, 2013)

Man, I tried a year of college, and realized it wasn't for me. I had gotten my EMT-B in high school and it was such a great time that I went for my Paramedic, and I haven't looked back since!


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## Sublime (Feb 13, 2013)

Multiple reasons.... It sounded cool, I wanted to "save lives" (that's what EMS is all about isn't it??), and it didn't require math as a prereq


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## boerbull (Feb 14, 2013)

After 12 years in the military I decided to get a job were I can spend some more time with my family. I guess this is all i can do.


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## mrg86 (Feb 15, 2013)

Watching "Rescue 911" on TV in the early 90s got me into the Fire/EMS field and after becoming a firefighter I realized that medicine was (for me anyway) far more challenging and dynamic than putting the wet stuff on the red stuff. I still do love the fire side but I think being a paramedic will be more fulfilling and have more opportunities in the long run.


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## djarmpit (Feb 16, 2013)

Not a medic yet, but it's an obtainable goal for me in the near future.


I'm only 20 and I've jumped around majors/colleges trying to figure out what I wanted to do. My dad had a stroke one day and I realized that I wanted to be able to help him however I can if he were to be in that situation again. From that point on I decided to be an EMT and now I'm enjoying it a lot. Most of my friends my age are complaining about their jobs waiting tables or making smoothies, but I get a chance to start on my career and do something different. I like different.


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## Clare (Feb 16, 2013)

Who on earth are Johnny and Roy?
Why is that guy (who looks like a firefighter) on the phone?
What is a bristojet and why do you flip the caps on it?

I so confuze! :unsure:

Anyway, as horrendously cliche as it sounds, I like helping people, find science and medicine interesting, like variety and autonomy and working with diverse team.  Back before the Degree all Ambulance Officers were educated "in house" almost like an trades apprentice and you had to have some work experience and maturity behind you before you would even be looked at; so lots of other jobs/careers people have had make them quite interesting to talk to, and handy for things, e.g. electricians, plumbers, computer technicians.


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## NomadicMedic (Feb 16, 2013)

Clare said:


> Who on earth are Johnny and Roy?
> Why is that guy (who looks like a firefighter) on the phone?
> What is a bristojet and why do you flip the caps on it?
> 
> I so confuze! :unsure:



Claire, "Emergency" was a TV show in the 70s here in the states. It featured Los Angeles County firefighter paramedics Johnny Gage and Roy DeSoto. (The guy in the picture above is Randolph Mantooth, "Johnny Gage") It's a television show that brought the idea of a paramedic to the masses. Arguably, that television show did more to increase awareness of emergency medical services in the United States than anything else.

A Bristeojet is a pre-loaded syringe that screws together. Usually Epi, atropine, bicarb or D50. The two pieces that screw together come with yellow caps on the end. Mantooth, as Johnny Gage, would often use his thumbs to flip the two yellow caps in the air simultaneously, screw together the Bristojet and then inject it. It made for good television.

For many of us as kids in the 70s, the idea of becoming a paramedic was fueled by watching Johnny and Roy and the daring rescues they made every Saturday night.


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## ExpatMedic0 (Feb 16, 2013)

n7lxi said:


> It's a television show that brought the idea of a paramedic to the masses. Arguably, that television show did more to increase awareness of emergency medical services in the United States than anything else.



Some even argue Paramedics and Paramedicine would never have existed with out this show. Correct me if I am wrong, but at the time of the shows first season only 2-5 pilot projects existed in the USA with experimental "Paramedics." No one had ever herd of a Paramedic and there was almost none.


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## Clare (Feb 16, 2013)

How very interesting! 

There has never, ever been any fictionalised show about the emergency services down here; of course they feature in some fictional shows but more as "fill in" spots where a character may appear as part of a story line but never about that particular service as the premise for the series.

The ambulance service in particular would severely frown upon any such fictional dramatisation of its work as its extremely obsessively anal about protecting their reputation and image any sort of attempt would be quickly abandoned as the media relations people would scream bloody murder so loud you blokes would probably hear it in US!

We have one or two fictional medical shows, the most popular is a sloppy soap opera called "Shortland Street" which revolves around a fictional hospital staff sort of like a New Zealand "Greys Anatomy".  Now I don't really watch it but I've seen a couple bits of episodes here and there and it is fairly medically accurate and medicine features more as a supporting character than a serious story line item.

I have to say medical TV interests me little and I don't watch Greys Anatomy, Private Practice etc.  I deal with medical all day at work and have absolutely zero interest in spending my leisure time watching it on telly! 

Oh, and its *Clare*, why must men have such poor attention to detail?


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## NomadicMedic (Feb 16, 2013)

Sorry.  I worked with a "Claire" for years. Force of habit.

And Schultz, you're correct… At least that's the story I've always heard. People watched the TV show and wanted that sort of service in their town. I also remember that CPR became part of the community of awareness following the TV show as well. There used to be a PSA at the end of every episode that encouraged laypersons to get CPR training.


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## Clare (Feb 16, 2013)

n7lxi said:


> Sorry.  I worked with a "Claire" for years. Force of habit.



No hard feelings.  

Having Clare as a name just leaves so much room for an awkward moment the first few times at a cardiac arrest 

"ZOMG ITS TEH VF, CLEAR!"
"What?"
"No, not you, now get out the way!"
"Oh right ... "


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## NomadicMedic (Feb 16, 2013)

The accent must have someone to do with that. Here on the east coast, at least where I am, CLARE and CLEAR don't sound similar. 

KL-air vs. KL-eer


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## Clare (Feb 16, 2013)

n7lxi said:


> The accent must have someone to do with that. Here on the east coast, at least where I am, CLARE and CLEAR don't sound similar.
> 
> KL-air vs. KL-eer



The New Zealand accent is notoriously flat and vowels are short in their pronunciation but there is a subtle difference, similar to what you say, however you would have to have superman hearing to notice it and be very proper in your phonation to say the two properly (i.e. differently).

Lots of names have more than one spelling; Katherine vs Catherine, John vs Jon, Thomas vs Tomas (latter is more a European spelling if I remember rightly), Loraine vs Lorraine, Graham vs Graeme etc.

Speaking of deciding to work as a Paramedic, I wonder if income ever factored into your decision making?  

We spent three years at uni to reach Paramedic level and acquire a student debt of probably between $15,000 and $30,000; the salary is about $65,000 and after a couple of years you will be hungry to get up to Intensive Care Paramedic level so hopefully you'll get on the course and pass all the vivas and bits and pieces and your salary will go up to about $76,000 and then that's it, unless the union can negotiate a pay rise or you do a lot of over time /callback (carefully planned of course to stay inside legal driving hour limits) your earning potential will basically be static for as long as your in the Ambulance Service.

Nursing is the same, three years at uni and a debt of $15,000-$30,000 to start on mid $40,000's and your income potential is mid $60,000's but that is as a Charge Nurse working 60 hours a week.

In contrast my mate has just finished medical school, which is only two years longer, they start on $70,000 (give or take a few thousand) and after five years are on $90-100,000 (give or take a few thousand) and after seven years they are a Consultant on a minimum of $130,000 plus whatever else they can rake in in private practice (which is very good).

The average house cost here is over $400,000 and in Auckland $500,000 buys you a house in the ghetto with steel bars on the windows; fuel is just shy of $2.25 a litre, milk is almost $3 for 2 litres and a kg of ground beef mince is $10 or more.  

People are often surprised to hear what the pay for various non-Doctor health careers and I tell you, the money is certainly not why I want to do it!


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## NomadicMedic (Feb 16, 2013)

I'll say that while I don't do the job for the money, I do make a very comfortable salary. I became a paramedic after a "midlife career change crisis". I had the goal of paramedicine set in my mind, however,I knew that I would have to find an agency that provided decent wages and benefits. I was lucky to find that here in Delaware, working as a single role paramedic without having to do fire suppression.

So while the pay and benefits are important, For me, they were not a factor in choosing the career path of Paramedic.


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## MSDeltaFlt (Feb 16, 2013)

Saw my first flight team when I was respiratory therapist back in '91.  Wanted to fly.  Did what it took.  This journey damn near killed me on multiple occasions not counting the helicopter crash: a few ambulance crashes, one caught fire while enroute on the highway, multiple violent scenes/patients.

Reading back over this maybe I "thunk" wrong.


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## ExpatMedic0 (Feb 16, 2013)

n7lxi said:


> I became a paramedic after a "midlife career change crisis".


 Funny how that works, maybe 40-50% of my medic class fit in that category. A lot of guys had a bachelors degree in something unrelated. I remember my preceptors partner had all grey hair and use to work in the stock market. He was a brand new medic at god knows what age.


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## NomadicMedic (Feb 16, 2013)

schulz said:


> Funny how that works, maybe 40-50% of my medic class fit in that category. A lot of guys had a bachelors degree in something unrelated. I remember my preceptors partner had all grey hair and use to work in the stock market. He was a brand new medic at god knows what age.



I had a very successful career in broadcasting, then woke up one morning and said, "thats it." I didn't go into it totally blind, I'd been involved in ems as a basic or intermediate since 1989... There were a couple of "old guys" in my class, but I was the oldest. I passed my NREMT-P on my 40th birthday. So far I don't regret it. Much.


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## ExpatMedic0 (Feb 16, 2013)

maybe Ill do the opposite and get into broadcasting or stocks on my 40th ;-)


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## Clare (Feb 16, 2013)

Pay is not the be all and end all but for our cost of living and education requirements I  think the pay here is acceptable but certainly not good.


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## Outbac1 (Feb 17, 2013)

I spent 25 years in family businesses, (mostly automotive). As things and life changed I began to look for something else. I was always somewhat interested in medicine and new paramedicine here was changing. So I applied to some schools and got into one. I started in PCP school just after my 43rd birthday. Apparently you can teach an old dog new tricks. 

  After 5 years as a PCP I enrolled in a distance ACP program. I finished that when I was 51. 

  This is absolutly the best job I've ever had.


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## AGill01 (Feb 19, 2013)

First started wanting to be on the fire dept b/c of a MVC I helped out on as a bystander. Being on a volunteer dept I was told I needed to be a first responder too. I had waited and waited for first responder courses to be offered and none came up. My gf who was also on the fire dept told me about an EMT B class being held and that would cover my first responder status. So we took the EMT B class together not knowing that EMS was going to be my career as I was flipping burgers at a restaurant. Anyway I loved the EMT class and my husband suggested I make a career out of it. So after I passed my tests I got hired on a private ambulance company as an EMT B and loved it. So I figured why not go all the way and be a paramedic. So now here I am in paramedic class and loving it.


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