How old is too old to start?

@Dr.Parasite: thank you for the words of wisdom and encouragement. Yup, I’m already studying. I start EMT classes in January at Lanier Tech in Northeast GA. My goal is to be as prepared as possible before classes start. I already have a graduate degree so hopefully I’ve got the right study habits engrained. I’ve also worked in pharmaceutical and medical device marketing/messaging my entire career so I’m no stranger to healthcare terminology and such. But still, I understand that much of this will be new to me. Love your philosophy of “don't practice until you get it right, practice until you can't get it wrong.” Thank you all again. Will keep you updated
 
@Phillrube: understood. Kind of expecting that. :). Gotta pay our dues
 
@MMiz: sure will. Thank you for the encouragement
 
You won't be allowed to build a career in EMS, but volunteers are always needed))) Seriously, it's great that you're considering becoming an EMS volunteer now that you have the time and desire to do so! If the physical, mental and emotional form allows, then why not. By the way, your experience in marketing pharmaceuticals and medical devices can actually be very valuable when working with patients and medical teams. So may you be lucky and have more grateful patients!
 
Rosa Haynes said:
You won't be allowed to build a career in EMS, but volunteers are always needed)))
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Not allowed? I wouldn't say that. People get into EMS at different ages for different reasons. An EMS career could be the first ten years after another career. At 59 (the OP's age), some obstacles are different, but so are some rewards.

Volunteering is certainly worth considering. So is getting paid. Pick one or do both, even at 59. As others have pointed out, the OP's life skills are an advantage either way.
 
mgr22 said:
Not allowed? I wouldn't say that. People get into EMS at different ages for different reasons. An EMS career could be the first ten years after another career. At 59 (the OP's age), some obstacles are different, but so are some rewards.
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I mean, at that age it's hard to compete with young and active people, but of course anything is possible. It also matters which team you get into, how loyal the management will be.
 
Rosa Haynes said:
I mean, at that age it's hard to compete with young and active people, but of course anything is possible. It also matters which team you get into, how loyal the management will be.
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That’s a false assumption. Very ageist and biased.
 
Rosa Haynes said:
I spoke as it is, based on my experience.
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I'm half tempted to let @CCCSD off the leash, but instead I'm going to ask you a question:

Why do you think older people can't keep up with younger EMS providers? Endurance isn't an issue 99% of the time, life experiences often provide better insights into dealing with patients, and they're generally (to a point) safer and more experienced drivers.
 
Rosa Haynes said:
I mean, at that age it's hard to compete with young and active people, but of course anything is possible. It also matters which team you get into, how loyal the management will be.
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Rosa Haynes said:
I spoke as it is, based on my experience.
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I'm not as old as the OP is, but I'm quite a bit older than most of the 911 medics in my system. There are a few medics older than I am... and the "old guys" (including me) can easily keep up with the "young and active" people in the system. While I'm a CCT RN now, if I were to be put into a 911 system ambulance, you wouldn't see any decrease in performance.

I speak from my own experience as well, and my experience directly refutes yours. Many of us here aren't young pups... and our collective experience also refutes yours. Mostly loyalty to crews by management is a myth. As an entity, they care about cost and do the crews meet whatever metrics that management track. If you become too costly and not "efficient" then they're going to look to get rid of you regardless of your age.
 
There is something to be said for reeling in the zealot. Approaching things with a safer, seemingly common sense-driven approach is priceless IMO. Oftentimes this comes with age, experience, and wisdom. Flying by the seat of your pants works well, until it doesn’t.

As for management, the above is absolutely true. They care mostly about the bottom line. Never personal, even when it feels that way. Good, bad, or indifferent.
 
Hi @Dannyboy -- I realize this thread is probably getting a little "long-in-the-tooth", but as a 59 year-old who will be 60 in a few short months with a story somewhat similar to yours -- feel free to check out this emtlife thread from a few years ago for a little background: What Drives you? -- I felt like I should also shout-out some encouragement. Honestly, as you'll see from that link/thread, I too was encouraged by @DrParasite , and I took his advice to heart and became an EMT. I love this field....it wasn't the one I chose 40 years ago, but it's the one that resonates with me now.

So in my mid 50's I entered EMT "night" school, and after a couple of years as a volunteer FF-EMT with several hundred medical calls under my belt, I decided that the expanded scope of an AEMT could help some of my patients in my very rural community. I found a local class that fit my schedule (I have a non-EMS day job) and I used most of annual leave time to do my hospital and ambulance shifts for the AEMT program. I passed Registry about 2 weeks ago, and I'm working with our Medical Director to write some AEMT-level standing orders which will allow me to leverage my new scope.

I think you'll be fine in EMT school -- but I will say that for me (and my wife, who took it with me and who is a few years older than me), we did not find it to be a "walk in the park". Both of us have advanced degrees (mine is a Masters, hers is a Doctorate), but neither of us had been in school for several decades. I've become accustomed to the fact that I run at a slower pace, and I lift less weight than I did in my 30's and even 40's; but I had not realized that learning (which typically came easy to me) would slow down as well. My memory is not what it once was, and I find that I need to concentrate more to pick up new concepts. Over 30 years ago I remember being the smartest guy in the room (or at least thinking I was), but I can feel my intellect slowly waning over time. Not trying to discourage you at all, and you may be as sharp as you were in your youth -- just relaying my experience. All that said, I've passed EMT and AEMT registry exams the first time out -- and I found both exams to be difficult when I was taking them. I credit my success not with my education or smarts, but because I am truly "in to" this field. Go figure, the kid who couldn't stand "life sciences" in school and went more for math and physics, turns out to really have a passion for EMS.

Feel free to PM if you have any questions, concerns, or just want a similarly-aged thought-partner to bounce ideas off of. Good luck and please door keep us all posted.
 
Dannyboy said:
I already have a graduate degree so hopefully I’ve got the right study habits engrained.
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If you already have a masters, you are likely more educated than many of your classmates, and maybe some of your instructors... so you might have few issues with the book learning, but will still need to do much of the hands on learning....
Rosa Haynes said:
You won't be allowed to build a career in EMS, but volunteers are always needed))) Seriously, it's great that you're considering becoming an EMS volunteer now that you have the time and desire to do so! If the physical, mental and emotional form allows, then why not. By the way, your experience in marketing pharmaceuticals and medical devices can actually be very valuable when working with patients and medical teams. So may you be lucky and have more grateful patients!
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@Rosa Haynes, why would an EMS agency not want to have a person with a masters degree advance in EMS? Now, if you saying only a full time person who has worked with the agency can advance, and if Danny only worked part time since he has a 6 figure salary non-EMS job, and wouldn't be a candidate for advancement, I could agree with that point...

FlorianFred said:
So in my mid 50's I entered EMT "night" school, and after a couple of years as a volunteer FF-EMT with several hundred medical calls under my belt, I decided that the expanded scope of an AEMT could help some of my patients in my very rural community. I found a local class that fit my schedule (I have a non-EMS day job) and I used most of annual leave time to do my hospital and ambulance shifts for the AEMT program. I passed Registry about 2 weeks ago, and I'm working with our Medical Director to write some AEMT-level standing orders which will allow me to leverage my new scope.
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Fred, that's awesome! and congrats on passing the AEMT exam!
FlorianFred said:
I think you'll be fine in EMT school -- but I will say that for me (and my wife, who took it with me and who is a few years older than me), we did not find it to be a "walk in the park". Both of us have advanced degrees (mine is a Masters, hers is a Doctorate), but neither of us had been in school for several decades. I've become accustomed to the fact that I run at a slower pace, and I lift less weight than I did in my 30's and even 40's; but I had not realized that learning (which typically came easy to me) would slow down as well. My memory is not what it once was, and I find that I need to concentrate more to pick up new concepts.
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Agree 100%. The older I get, the slower I get. These young kids can often run circles around me when it comes to lifting and moving, and can smoke me on those physical agility exams (but I will complete it, even if it takes me a little longer). It's harder to bend down and lift stuff off the floor. When I was in EMT school (back in my day, we still had MAST trousers on BLS ambulances, and the FROPVD was part of the EMT curriculum, where we had to walk uphill both ways in the snow to class), the course was 120 hours, I was a teenager, still in high school, and didn't know what I didn't know. Now that I'm older, with a family, spawn, mortgage, hobbies, a honeydo list that keeps getting longer, full time job and a part time job, and have a bunch of other priorities besides EMS, I recognize that going back to school and learning new things can be a challenge. And I don't bounce back from overextending my physical abilities like I used to.

But it's absolutely doable, but you (and this applies to every student) needs to put the time in, manage their time, and ensure they have dedicated time to do the HW and ensure they can handle the physical requirements of the job.
 
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