Go Ahead And Tell US

[AJ Hidell]

EMT since 1973. Medic since 1979. Nurse since 1990. Never a volunteer. Fireman and cop at various times throughout that period.

I too did pediatrics as my specialty, although that changed in Iraq where I functioned in an independant Nurse Practitioner slot. Not too many peds on Marine fire bases.

My ex is a nurse and an EMT, but does not work in EMS, although she is pursuing a BS in EMS. Surprisingly, sharing the same profession did not create any problem at all for us, as it often does. In our case, it was actually a positive bond for us.

 

[Epi-do]

I've been in EMS for 10 years, first as a basic and have been a medic since last November. I started out as a volly, then was both paid and a volly, and now am paid only.

My husband was a FF when we met, and we went through basic class together. He volunteered at the same department I started at, and has also worked as an industrial FF and MFR for almost 15 years.

He works five eights each week, but not your typical 9-5, M-F gig. Since I am a civilian for a FD, I work the same schedule as the FFs - 24/48. It works out well for us, and he can usually relate to things if I have a really bad run, or am up all night and need to go back to bed when I get home after shift. Overall, it works out well for us.

 

[TransportJockey]

Been an EMT for just over a year. My kinda SO (it's complicated) has been one for exactly as long as I have. She works at the company I used to work at, she is working as a field EMT and a dispatcher

 

[amberdt03]

HAHA, I did a few clinicals with my guy at his service, and it was miserable. We fought the whole time. I seriously got annoyed with him the entire shift. BLAH, I would never recommend working in the same service, but theres people that do it, and are good at it.

me and my boyfriend used to work at the same service but he was in dispatch. the only time we talked to each other was either via text message or over the radio. it was hard sometimes but we managed it well. he now works for dallas fd so its gotten much better. lol.

 

[mycrofft]

Off, on, part time...since 1972

...and my spouse can't do a bandaid right. Nor my older offspring. My younger one is a Girl Scouts certified camp counselor and a C.E.R.T., so she has the training and a little experience.

 

[bittner]

I am an EMT-B in Texas and I have been working in EMS for three years. I am currently working on my paramedic. My spouse does not work in EMS but she does work for the hospital I am employed at. I really don't think its hard for us to work in the same place. She works in on part of the hospital and I work in another.

 

[benkfd]

Fairly new

Well, I started off with Volunteer FF/ First responder in '02 (still FF) but I continued up the EMS ladder and just finished Medic class in December! YEAH!!!! Glad that's done and over! (18 months of hell!)
My wife has been a school bus driver for the past 10 years or so. But is very thankful for the way our schedules work together.

 

[Scott33]

Started in EMS in 2001 - paid and volly (EMT-B -> EMT-CC -> Paramedic). RN in the ED since 2006. My better half is a CCRN-CMC in the MICU and a student ANP.

 

[Sasha]

EMT since 1973. Medic since 1979

I wasn't even alive then.

 

[fortsmithman]

Upcoming my 32'nd year. Yeah, I started when I was in diapers

You started when roy and johnny were still doing their thing on TV.

 

[fortsmithman]

I'm close to Rid on this one... 33 years for me. I have so many ex wives they no longer have names, just numbers. Ex #1, Ex #2, Ex #....

This is interesting though. At one of my host providers that I ride with, seven female paramedics are in the process of divorce. All are married to firemen or cops!

Another one who was doing this for real when roy and johnny were still on tv.

 

[fortsmithman]

...and my spouse can't do a bandaid right. Nor my older offspring. My younger one is a Girl Scouts certified camp counselor and a C.E.R.T., so she has the training and a little experience.

You been at it longer than roy and johnny.

 

[fortsmithman]

I've only been at it since feb of last year. I really have to learn how to use the multiple quote function.

 

[abckidsmom]

I started in 1993, so 16 years. Hubby started in 1990, 19 years for him. 5 kiddos later, I'm staying home and living vicariously through him. I work PT in our rural county when I'm not pregnant.

 

[Scott33]

[sarcasm]All you 30+ year vets must have seen so much progression in EMS over the years[/sarcasm]

 

[Ridryder911]

[sarcasm]All you 30+ year vets must have seen so much progression in EMS over the years[/sarcasm]

Yeah, sarcasm... I wished I could say it was more than I expected. Yeah, some technological inventions but unfortunately a slide back in education and professional growth.

R/r 911

 

[karaya]

[sarcasm]All you 30+ year vets must have seen so much progression in EMS over the years[/sarcasm]

Quite a bit! It's been exciting to watch and be a part of the changes over the past 30 some odd years.

 

[benkfd]

Biggest change

Not to change the subject.... but what do those of you who are 30+ and even 20+ yrs think is the biggest change or improvement in our profession? Just curious....
BenB)

 

[AJ Hidell]

Not to change the subject.... but what do those of you who are 30+ and even 20+ yrs think is the biggest change or improvement in our profession? Just curious....

There has been very little improvement in EMS nationwide since the 70s. Almost every "improvement" that anyone can point to really isn't an improvement in EMS. It's usually just an improvement in medicine or in technology, which we aren't responsible for.

The educational requirements aren't much more than they were then. EMT school was 80 hours in the 70s. We've added 80 hours worth of extra material in just the last fifteen years, yet it's still only 110 hours. That's why the EMT course is such a joke now. They've had to seriously water down the content in order to fit in the pharmacology and defibrillation without raising the hours and upsetting the vollies. Consequently, previous generation EMTs were much better educated, so that's the opposite of progress.

On the positive side, the paramedic degree programs are almost everywhere now, so that infrastructure is there for the future. But that's the future, not now. And the vollies and fire departments will fight any expansion of that. So really, I have to say I have seen no real progress in the last thirty years. It's still just a low education tech job that pays crap and attracts the lowest common denominator of society.

 

[abckidsmom]

Not to change the subject.... but what do those of you who are 30+ and even 20+ yrs think is the biggest change or improvement in our profession? Just curious....
BenB)

I think in our area the transition from volunteer to career medics over the past 15 years means that you can reliably count on having someone show up who knows what they're doing, is not doing this for the thrill of it all (and therefore working up some drama on every call), and has a good bit more medical knowledge to effectively care for the patient.

In the time I've been doing EMS, safety has improved by a LOT, especially driving safety. People are more aware of lifting hazards, scene hazards, etc. When I was first starting, everyone had a bad back...and they were just once a week volunteers...now bad backs are not so terribly common, because people are lifting more safely in general.