Burnout rate

[spraded]

I have heard from many people that a paramedic career has a high burnout rate. Is this true? Why?

I understand that after a certain age, I will most likely be unable to do the physical duties required but is there something else? Is it just THAT stressful?

I'm only 19 right now, so being awake and working long shifts don't faze me at the moment. I'm sure that'll change if/when I get a family to support. Are you away from them for that long?

Would you say that this is really a career? Sorry for the amount of questions, any help is highly appreciated. Cheers!

 

[usalsfyre]

Burnout in our career field has almost nothing to do with the physical aspect of the job. It has mostly to do with the average paramedic's initial expectations as to what the jib really is not being met.

 

[spraded]

I don't quite understand. What expectations? Pay? Hours? The scenery? :glare:

 

[nemedic]

It's generally due to providers expecting to work like the TV medics and EMTs with high pay, good hours, where every call is a "good trauma", every code makes it, and no dialysis runs or other "boring" calls.

 

[usalsfyre]

It's not all lights, sirens, blood and guts, you don't "save lives", the "emergency" your responding to is more likely to be a cold than something life-threatening, your coworkers will often ridicule you for trying to practice modern medicine, you get very little respect from either the public safety or medical community and your opportunities for advancement are almost nil.

Any one got anything I forgot?

 

[spraded]

LOL so don't expect to be or be seen as the hero, and I should be alright? -_-

But I still want to know, is this a good CAREER? I don't want to make this life long but I do want it to get me to a certain point in my life(i.e. being able to own a house, have a family, build solid savings, etc) without scrambling to find a better job path.

Has anyone done this for 15 or so years?

 

[firetender]

Oh, sweet burnout!

It's generally due to providers expecting to work like the TV medics and EMTs with high pay, good hours, where every call is a "good trauma", every code makes it, and no dialysis runs or other "boring" calls.

All that and a litany of assaults on your sensibilities as a human being. EMS exposes you to slices of life that most would consider nightmarish. The technical challenges are secondary (as far as burnout goes) to having to deal with YOURSELF and that bleeds over into your relationships with your patients and your loved ones.

The problem is there are no textbooks that help you negotiate through issues of emotional, psychic, spiritual, moral and philosophic natures that inevitably crop up while working on the edge of life and death. The "culture" of medicine as a whole supports SILENCE, so much of the traumas are not adequately faced or worked through.

The mechanism of action goes something like an insidious build-up of little incidents not faced or dealt with that eventually start to bog down the ability of the individual to cope. That could be in the field or at home.

An illustration might be in high volume, low-income areas maintaining emotional distance from your patients can easily lead to piling on layers of emotional protection that don't come off when you get home. This impacts your personal life which adds weight to the professional challenges.

One day, you wake up and realize "This is killing me!" and you're gone and nobody really knows why, not even yourself.

 

[CAOX3]

The problem is there are no textbooks that help you negotiate through issues of emotional, psychic, spiritual, moral and philosophic natures that inevitably crop up while working on the edge of life and death.

Theres one.

Moments in the death of a flesh mechanic.

Maybe you've seen it.

 

[Euclidus]

Is it a financially rewarding career? Most people would probably answer no. There are a lot of variables that come into play, though. Are you tied to a particular geographic area? If so, what is the average pay rate in that area? Rate of pay can vary by HUGE amounts depending on where you are. Are you planning on doing the fire-based EMS thing and becoming a Firefighter/Paramedic? That impacts pay as well. Keep in mind that in many areas, the fire department is also the primary EMS agency.

In my geographic area, there are only a few places that aren't municipal fire departments that hire EMTs/Paramedics. The pay at these places generally does not translate into substantial savings. Many of the employees are either working on fire certs with the ambition of becoming full-time firefighter/medics, or are in paramedic school with the ambition of changing geographic location once they complete their training/schooling. I talked with a buddy of mine who has been a medic at one of these non-FD places for a few years, and he is paid $13.75 an hour. The firefighters at the station down the road make about twice that. Basically what I'm trying to say is that your location is going to play a big role in the answers to your questions.

I agree with what the other posters are saying, too. Expectations can really crush you once you start working in the field. If you go into it expecting to save a life every shift -- or even every few shifts! -- you're in for a shock. There can be really long, mundane periods. You also have to deal with being the lowest on the totem pole as far as level of medical providers. My guess is that the "burnout" you're speaking of is actually the attrition rate of people going into the field thinking they're going to be living the life they see on those TV shows like Mercy or whatever it's called, and then being hit with reality. Don't get me wrong... I love this line of work, and I find it challenging, engaging, and rewarding. But it's not the lights and sirens that excite me as much as it is the endless amount of knowledge you can acquire, and that your willingness to learn can translate directly into you becoming a better EMS provider. But I digress. I don't know of anyone who went into EMS strictly as a way to make money. You're still very young, probably the best thing for you to do at this point is try to get some hands-on experience. See if there are volunteer EMS stations or fire departments around you that offer any type of first responder training that can lead to ride-alongs. Or enroll in an EMT-basic program, it really doesn't take long or cost very much. The best way for you to know if you're going to like it as a career option is to get some experience. Just my two cents!

 

[Veneficus]

Theres one.

Moments in the death of a flesh mechanic. A healers rebirth.

I really don't think enough can be said about this book. It really needs to find itself as required reading for all levels of EMS students.

 

[usafmedic45]

When my former medical director and I looked into it back around 2000 or so, we found that about 5% of EMS providers in our area were still active in the field at the ten year mark. This gave birth to what I call my 95/5 rule: 95% of people are attracted to EMS by 5% of the calls; the 5% of us who stay in it long term, tend to be sustained (emotionally and professionally) by the other 95% of the calls.

 

[spraded]

Wow, thanks for all this! I wasn't expecting these many replies.

So if I'm lucky to hit the 5 year mark, I would be in rare company. :blush:

What kind of person does it take to be a paramedic, long term wise(5+ years)? This sounds the perfect career for me but I just don't know if its a wise CAREER choice. :wacko:

 

[Veneficus]

What kind of person does it take to be a paramedic, long term wise(5+ years)?

A masochist.

Many highly capable and motivated people use EMS as a stepping stone.

 

[usafmedic45]

A masochist.

....or. often times, a sadomasochist.

 

[46Young]

I have heard from many people that a paramedic career has a high burnout rate. Is this true? Why?

I understand that after a certain age, I will most likely be unable to do the physical duties required but is there something else? Is it just THAT stressful?

I'm only 19 right now, so being awake and working long shifts don't faze me at the moment. I'm sure that'll change if/when I get a family to support. Are you away from them for that long?

Would you say that this is really a career? Sorry for the amount of questions, any help is highly appreciated. Cheers!

This is how it went for me, and likely a lot of others:

Being an EMT seems like a cool job. At first, you're happy to get hired anywhere, for any salary, even if it's just interfacility txp. After getting the first job. you want to get into 911. At first, it's exciting to be "doing it" out in the field. After a while, the low pay and mostly non emergent cases of 911 abuse begin to wear on you. So, you get your paramedic cert. That's fun for a while, and it may be a liveable wage depending on where you live. Add a couple of years to that, and it's back to square one. The pay is enough to pay the bills plus a little extra if you OT or per diem work every week. You get tired of getting woken up night after night for frivolous calls. You now have five+ years on the job, and are starting to think about longevity and career advancement. Odds are, you haven't been promoted to anything above a field provider. The problem is, you're basically in a dead end job. There are some FTO positions in some places, but the opportunities for career advancement, and with that a liveable wage (maybe) are few and far between, and are subject to cronyism and nepotism more often than not.

Basically, you get five to seven years in, and you want to better yourself, and possibly get off the road at least in part. There aren't too many people who want to work on an ambulance for 25-35 years straight. The opportunities to get off the road are rare. In EMS, there is generally little opportunity for career advancement, or lateral opportunities into other divisions within the department. You may get into dispatch, or support services, but that's about it. EMS departments can be quite clicky, and you have to be connected to get a supervisor position. Also, most places outside of municipal EMS don't have pensions. If you're only making enough money to pay the bills, how are you going to save enough for retirement with just a 401k or 403b?

That's the appeal of fire based EMS departments. You get a liveable wage, good benefits, a pension, a career ladder with regular promotional tests (in medium to large sized departments), and opportunities to lateral over or promote into other areas, such as fire investigations, Hazmat, TROT, maybe USAR, Life Safety, EMS training, Fire Academy training, Safety Officer, EMS Captain (supervisor), etc. There are many ways to go other than EMT> medic> supervisor (rare) or lateral to dispatcher or support services. That's pretty much it for most places.

The problem with fire based EMS, depending on the department or region, is that EMS may be underfunded, and you may work with people who only got their EMT or medic to get the fire job. It's a tradeoff. If the fire department doesn't embrace EMS, it's a decision between working with people who are focused and serious about EMS, for lower pay, an inferior retirement, and no career ladeer, or the opportunities in the FD, with a disappointing, non aggressive EMS arrangement with apathetic co-workers.

The other problem is, if you don't have a degree that allows you to get out of EMS if you choose, you'll eventually be stuck for life. The money's just good enough not to quit, even if that includes OT to pay the bills, and you lack the job skills to make that much anywhere else. The ones who are more ambitious will use an EMS job to pay some bills while they get a degree and then move on to greener pastures.

 

[46Young]

LOL so don't expect to be or be seen as the hero, and I should be alright? -_-

But I still want to know, is this a good CAREER? I don't want to make this life long but I do want it to get me to a certain point in my life(i.e. being able to own a house, have a family, build solid savings, etc) without scrambling to find a better job path.

Besides a few good places in Texas, Florida (Lee County), Washington, Oregon, and North Carolina (Wake County, but they only start in the 30's/yr, no thanks), fire based is the only way you can do well, unless you want to live bill to bill.

 

[Medic2409]

46young...you must have worked at my service for a while.

I love it, love the job, even the menial aspects of it, just taking care of people, wherever they may be, whatever they need, I enjoy doing the work.

But...

After 7 years I've started looking at a way up or out. It ain't happening at my company, (I don't wear knee pads, know what I mean?) so I've gotta look elsewhere.

At this point, I only know a small handful of people who have been on the streets longer than me. I've outlasted a lot of people. It's sad, really. We provide a good service, but management would rather trump up false charges to get rid of someone they don't like, mainly so they can hire someone fresh out of school for a whole lot less money.

 

[46Young]

46young...you must have worked at my service for a while.

I love it, love the job, even the menial aspects of it, just taking care of people, wherever they may be, whatever they need, I enjoy doing the work.

But...

After 7 years I've started looking at a way up or out. It ain't happening at my company, (I don't wear knee pads, know what I mean?) so I've gotta look elsewhere.

At this point, I only know a small handful of people who have been on the streets longer than me. I've outlasted a lot of people. It's sad, really. We provide a good service, but management would rather trump up false charges to get rid of someone they don't like, mainly so they can hire someone fresh out of school for a whole lot less money.

Nah, it was NYC, but issues in EMS are pretty similar wherever you go.

I agree with everything above. I've witnessed my fair share of paper trails directed at others. Add to that forced schedule changes, extra mandatory OT, denial of leave, uneven discipline, etc.

EMS just isn't one of those things that you can do for a career. Txp, 911 or otherwise, eventually becomes like the movie Grounhog Day, no matter how much you enjoy your job at first. The job attracts mainly type A personalities. After a while, the job seems the same every day, and a type A doesn't do well with no excitement or stimulation. Some love it regardless, then they blow out their back or their shoulder. That reminds me, in EMS they typically don't have any light duty positions. The few that exist are either taken up by the pregnant (after being forced to work in the field until they're 7 months+ along) or are in dispatch, which is worse than being in the field (stress wise) IMO. If you get injured, it's game over. I'd hate to devote my career to EMS, resign to being in txp due to lack of career advancement, then snap my back, rip my biceps right off the bone (happened to a co-worker), or blow out a knee eighteen years in and then be poor. Can't work OT, which many of do just to make ends meet in this career, when you're out on injury leave. Disability on a job that pays 50-60 grand a year, if you can even get it, isn't going to pay the bills in today's world. Maybe you can start up an online penny auction business while you're laid up. I hear they're quite the racket.

 

[Amycus]

Honestly as a BLS provider, while people talk about the glory of the bloody mess calls, I actually LIKE the run of the mill nothingness calls. While that might sound awful, especially considering I'm only 1 year into this field, I like going to the general weakness, elderly flu-like symptoms calls, etc. etc. The calls so many type A's would call "boring" I find fun. I actually like being able to help cheer someone up, and if only for 20-30 minutes, show them someone cares. I couldn't care less about the lack of respect from the medical community or public safety...when you get a patient or a family member to thank you just for simply being there...well, that's all the recognition I need.

Check back with me in a few years to see if I still feel the same =P

 

[Smoke14]

A masochist.

Many highly capable and motivated people use EMS as a stepping stone.

BS!

Many highly capable and motivated people make EMS a career and completely enjoy it.

I have worked over thirty years in EMS and I still look forward to going into work each and every day. I have been married throughout my career and my youngest child is a senior in college and I put two others through college. This is a job that is no different than any other, it is only as much as you make of it.