Is EMS right for me?

[ServiceGames]

Right now, I work full time as an IT contractor getting anywhere from 40 hours per week to 55+ hours per week depending on the week. During my free time, I have started a sole proprietorship (that I hope to turn into an S-Corp or LLC before the end of the year) doing iPhone/iPod Touch/iPad development.

For most of my life, I haven't been overly excited about medicine as I couldn't watch a needle being put into someone. That fear came from having 63+ needles put into me over a five week stint at the hospital after being hit by a car when I was 13. But, I've faced that fear and gotten over it (by dogsitting for my parents' dog who has diabetes and needs insulin shots twice daily).

I'm 34 years old right now, and over the next few months, I have a feeling that I'll be spending a lot of time and money on either Physical Therapy or Surgery for ankle problems and a knee injury sustained over two years ago during a car accident I was in. That car accident is what made me interested in going into EMS. I was up and walking at the scene, but I had a nice cut on my head and had lost a decent amount of skin on my elbow. Even though I wasn't in any kind of immediate danger at all, the EMTs on site were just incredible. VERY kind, and they did such a great job! As a matter of fact, while only one EMT team had been called in, another happened to just be driving by and stopped to help. These people are the everyday heroes that no one ever knows about. And, I want to be one even if "Thank yous" don't come pouring in all the time.

Needless to say, over the next year or so, as I get PT or Surgery and get my business going, I'm not going to have time to actually go to school to get my EMT-B cert. So, it'd probably be about this time next year before I'd be able to start my classes and training.

My question is this. With the surgery and/or PT that I'll need on my right ankle and right knee along with a full time day job and a part time entrepreneurship (neither of which I want to quit), would I be worthwhile at all as only a part time EMT-B (with very limited time to give). Or would it be best to just not spend the money on the training and classes as I already have too much on my plate to be worthwhile to any emergency medical service?

Thanks in advance!

SG

 

[rescue99]

Right now, I work full time as an IT contractor getting anywhere from 40 hours per week to 55+ hours per week depending on the week. During my free time, I have started a sole proprietorship (that I hope to turn into an S-Corp or LLC before the end of the year) doing iPhone/iPod Touch/iPad development.

For most of my life, I haven't been overly excited about medicine as I couldn't watch a needle being put into someone. That fear came from having 63+ needles put into me over a five week stint at the hospital after being hit by a car when I was 13. But, I've faced that fear and gotten over it (by dogsitting for my parents' dog who has diabetes and needs insulin shots twice daily).

I'm 34 years old right now, and over the next few months, I have a feeling that I'll be spending a lot of time and money on either Physical Therapy or Surgery for ankle problems and a knee injury sustained over two years ago during a car accident I was in. That car accident is what made me interested in going into EMS. I was up and walking at the scene, but I had a nice cut on my head and had lost a decent amount of skin on my elbow. Even though I wasn't in any kind of immediate danger at all, the EMTs on site were just incredible. VERY kind, and they did such a great job! As a matter of fact, while only one EMT team had been called in, another happened to just be driving by and stopped to help. These people are the everyday heroes that no one ever knows about. And, I want to be one even if "Thank yous" don't come pouring in all the time.

Needless to say, over the next year or so, as I get PT or Surgery and get my business going, I'm not going to have time to actually go to school to get my EMT-B cert. So, it'd probably be about this time next year before I'd be able to start my classes and training.

My question is this. With the surgery and/or PT that I'll need on my right ankle and right knee along with a full time day job and a part time entrepreneurship (neither of which I want to quit), would I be worthwhile at all as only a part time EMT-B (with very limited time to give). Or would it be best to just not spend the money on the training and classes as I already have too much on my plate to be worthwhile to any emergency medical service?

Thanks in advance!

SG

Sure it would! When people do something in their spare time, the gift is really a gift worth having too. In the mean time, while you are busy healing from surgery, hop on over to your nearest community college and take an A&P course so you will be more prepared when Basic class begins.

 

[ServiceGames]

Sure it would! When people do something in their spare time, the gift is really a gift worth having too. In the mean time, while you are busy healing from surgery, hop on over to your nearest community college and take an A&P course so you will be more prepared when Basic class begins.

That was going to be my next set of questions...

First of all, are there any books you all would recommend that I read that would help give me a little bit of a head start before going into the classes? Which classes would you specifically recommend I take while healing up after surgery so that I would be more prepared for the EMT-B classes/training? Please forgive me as I don't know the lingo used in the EMT business yet.

Thanks in advance!

SG

 

[Ghost]

I'm somewhat in the same fields as you and actually looking for an ipod/iphone/ ipad app developer (PM me if you're willing to chat about this). I'm just getting into EMT-B and do a lot of web development to pay bills. I think EMT is something you have to have the heart and passion for because the pay isn't as good as one would think. Either way I enjoy everything I've learned so far and will continue to pursue this as a career.

Training is quite intense depending on where you live (state), I'm in NYC so we have some tough guide lines to run by. It also depends on the duration of the course. There are books and literature (based on school/ course) so I recommend looking up some information on it first... Go to a local book store for some EMT-B guides, youtube to see what is done, and even ask EMS personnel when you come across any.

Hope this helps.

 

[medicRob]

Right now, I work full time as an IT contractor getting anywhere from 40 hours per week to 55+ hours per week depending on the week. During my free time, I have started a sole proprietorship (that I hope to turn into an S-Corp or LLC before the end of the year) doing iPhone/iPod Touch/iPad development.

For most of my life, I haven't been overly excited about medicine as I couldn't watch a needle being put into someone. That fear came from having 63+ needles put into me over a five week stint at the hospital after being hit by a car when I was 13. But, I've faced that fear and gotten over it (by dogsitting for my parents' dog who has diabetes and needs insulin shots twice daily).

I'm 34 years old right now, and over the next few months, I have a feeling that I'll be spending a lot of time and money on either Physical Therapy or Surgery for ankle problems and a knee injury sustained over two years ago during a car accident I was in. That car accident is what made me interested in going into EMS. I was up and walking at the scene, but I had a nice cut on my head and had lost a decent amount of skin on my elbow. Even though I wasn't in any kind of immediate danger at all, the EMTs on site were just incredible. VERY kind, and they did such a great job! As a matter of fact, while only one EMT team had been called in, another happened to just be driving by and stopped to help. These people are the everyday heroes that no one ever knows about. And, I want to be one even if "Thank yous" don't come pouring in all the time.

Needless to say, over the next year or so, as I get PT or Surgery and get my business going, I'm not going to have time to actually go to school to get my EMT-B cert. So, it'd probably be about this time next year before I'd be able to start my classes and training.

My question is this. With the surgery and/or PT that I'll need on my right ankle and right knee along with a full time day job and a part time entrepreneurship (neither of which I want to quit), would I be worthwhile at all as only a part time EMT-B (with very limited time to give). Or would it be best to just not spend the money on the training and classes as I already have too much on my plate to be worthwhile to any emergency medical service?

Thanks in advance!

SG

Good to meet another developer. I started an LLC a while back to release my iOS apps to the iTunes store as well as droid apps (I am storyboarding a new EMS app as we speak). Before I got into medicine, I was an MCSE and Senior Applications and Web Developer with a large company where I coded in .Net (C# and VB), Java, Php, Html/Css, MySql, Asp, Cold Fusion, C++, javascript, etc. The pay was 3x what I make now as a nurse.. However, the highlight of my day was a phone call from 4 states away because the company wanted me to add a new function in one of my classes that allowed for compliance with a new billing policy or because a printf("%d","") statement was spitting out the wrong data due to an error of another programmer.

As far as EMS goes, you will definitely have a lot of lifting. If you had an injury to your back, I would say.. no don't waste your money. However, you can make it with a bad knee, so long as it isn't too terribly bad.

 

[ServiceGames]

As far as EMS goes, you will definitely have a lot of lifting. If you had an injury to your back, I would say.. no don't waste your money. However, you can make it with a bad knee, so long as it isn't too terribly bad.

Really enjoying meeting all these iOS developers here as well

As far as my back goes, no injuries there. My knee isn't bad, but it is just annoyingly painful enough to keep me from "taking a knee" on that knee. Otherwise, it usually takes days of exercise before I really started noticing that it's hurting more than usual. I honestly think it's just scar tissue or fibrin that's causing all my problems. So, hopefully it can be cleared up with either minor surgery or PT.

Right now, my biggest fight is with my right ankle. Just had a second MRI in two years, and while I haven't been back for a followup appointment, there's a chance I might have torn a ligament completely as it was partially torn two years ago during the first MRI. I'll know this Wednesday (2/2) if I'll need surgery or just PT. Either way, I'm hobbling around right now, and it's been bothering me for about four months straight.

I'm a skateboarder, and I think (no proof to back it up) that we skaters learn to have a *very* high tolerance for pain because bailing on a skateboard can lead to anything from a jarring stop to a bloody hand with asphalt embedded so far that a doctor has to dig it out with a needle (literally had that happen to me) to a broken bone (cracked a rib a little over a year ago while hill bombing on a longboard). Needless to say, especially when learning new tricks, skating just plain hurts. So, I tend to believe that skaters simply learn to live with pain as part of the sport (again nothing to back that up). In other words, on a scale of 1-10 for pain, a skater's 1 is about where a non-skater's 6 is. Right now, I'd say my ankle is at a solid 7.5... about what I think I would have considered a 12.5 before I started skating.

So, my ankle is my main concern right now.

SG

 

[medicRob]

Really enjoying meeting all these iOS developers here as well

As far as my back goes, no injuries there. My knee isn't bad, but it is annoyingly just painful enough to keep me from "taking a knee" on that knee. Otherwise, it usually takes days of exercise before I really started noticing that it's hurting more than usual. I honestly think it's just scar tissue or fibrin that's causing all my problems. So, hopefully it can be cleared up with either minor surgery or PT.

Right now, my biggest fight is with my right ankle. Just had a second MRI in two years, and while I haven't been back for a followup appointment, there's a chance I might have torn a ligament completely as it was partially torn two years ago during the first MRI. I'll know this Wednesday (2/2) if I'll need surgery or just PT. Either way, I'm hobbling around right now, and it's been bothering me for about four months straight.

I'm a skateboarder, and I think (no proof to back it up) that we skaters learn to have a *very* high tolerance for pain because bailing on a skateboard can lead to a NASTY fall (cracked a rib a little over a year ago while hill bombing on a longboard). Needless to say, especially when learning new tricks, skating just plain hurts. So, I tend to believe that skaters simply learn to live with pain as part of the sport (again nothing to back that up). In other words, on a scale of 1-10 for pain, a skater's 1 is about where a non-skater's 6 is. Right now, I'd say my ankle is at a solid 7.5... about what I think I would have considered a 12.5 before I started skating.

So, my ankle is my main concern right now.

SG

RE: Knee

Well, you're inability to get on one knee is certainly going to affect your ability to kiss the patient's *** (Which they all think we should be doing)... Other than that, I don't see a problem, go ahead and apply.

RE: Development

Let me know if you need any storyboarding tools or Objective C tips and techniques.. MEDL Mobile has picked up two of my apps, and I have one in progress.

Good luck in your studies.

 

[firetender]

EMS is a setup for bad posture and twisting and turning in unnatural angles. If you have any sort of structural weakness, it will most likely be aggravated. Sure, tough out the pain but you may not be able to hide from the loss of motion, and that could impair your ability to be a dependable partner.

This is not a curse on you, this is giving you something important to consider. You still can train and use the skills without going full-bore. But don't kid yourself, the job IS taxing.

 

[Aerin-Sol]

You will not spend much time in EMS rescuing people. Please do not get into it thinking you will be a hero. Those aspirations are noble, but unrealistic. That said, basic class is such a short investment that you won't lose much by going through it, and this will let you experience the field somewhat. As far as classes to prepare, it is a 120 hour class that many high schoolers have passed. You don't need any special preparation for it, and I would discourage you from taking a college/uni class specifically to prepare for it. If you want that knowledge, go for it, but id wait until after class. Taking a&p now to prepare for the 6 hours of middle school level anatomy in emt class is silly.

 

[medicRob]

You will not spend much time in EMS rescuing people. Please do not get into it thinking you will be a hero. Those aspirations are noble, but unrealistic. That said, basic class is such a short investment that you won't lose much by going through it, and this will let you experience the field somewhat. As far as classes to prepare, it is a 120 hour class that many high schoolers have passed. You don't need any special preparation for it, and I would discourage you from taking a college/uni class specifically to prepare for it. If you want that knowledge, go for it, but id wait until after class. Taking a&p now to prepare for the 6 hours of middle school level anatomy in emt class is silly.

That all depends on the state. My lowest level was the equivalent to an i/85 which cost me $740 per semester for 2 semesters + HPSO Malpractice Insurance + Clinical Fees + Background Checks + License Fees. I easily spent $2,000

 

[dixie_flatline]

That all depends on the state. My lowest level was the equivalent to an i/85 which cost me $740 per semester for 2 semesters + HPSO Malpractice Insurance + Clinical Fees + Background Checks + License Fees. I easily spent $2,000

It does depend on the state. I can go for my medic and it will be 100% covered by my volunteer organization (Howard Co MD).

Agree though that even if you're paying out of pocket, if your state does EMT-B it should be negligible for a 30-something professional. It can be overwhelming for a high school student, but the majority of them seem to be able to pass, so someone that has a piece of paper from a Uni shouldn't have much problem.

PS - Also an IT professional by day, with a backlog of both professional and personal apps that I need to get coded into iOS (just need to find time to brush up on Obj-C).

 

[medicRob]

It does depend on the state. I can go for my medic and it will be 100% covered by my volunteer organization (Howard Co MD).

Agree though that even if you're paying out of pocket, if your state does EMT-B it should be negligible for a 30-something professional. It can be overwhelming for a high school student, but the majority of them seem to be able to pass, so someone that has a piece of paper from a Uni shouldn't have much problem.

PS - Also an IT professional by day, with a backlog of both professional and personal apps that I need to get coded into iOS (just need to find time to brush up on Obj-C).

This is why I am working to push for more degree programs in EMS.. Not only because it results in more rounded providers (When the curriculum is written effectively), but it also allows for students to get PELL and Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants instead of being forced to be poor for a year.

 

[ServiceGames]

I did some looking around. My local community college offers a 156 hour EMT-B course for $695 + ~$150 in books. So, that's $850 on the courses alone. And, unfortunately, the branch of the community college where it's taught is in the middle of a fairly heavily trafficked area of town with several traffic signals which means a lot of wear and tear on my car as well as a rather large gasoline bill as my car requires a minimum of 92 octane gasoline (according to the owner's manual).

Add all that up, and I figure a minimum of $1000 for just the class alone. Then there's the practical test for $80 and the written test for $70. So, it totals out to approximately $1150 to $1200 just to get my EMT-B Cert.

SG

 

[dixie_flatline]

I did some looking around. My local community college offers a 156 hour EMT-B course for $695 + ~$150 in books. So, that's $850 on the courses alone. And, unfortunately, the branch of the community college where it's taught is in the middle of a fairly heavily trafficked area of town with several traffic signals which means a lot of wear and tear on my car as well as a rather large gasoline bill as my car requires a minimum of 92 octane gasoline (according to the owner's manual).

Add all that up, and I figure a minimum of $1000 for just the class alone. Then there's the practical test for $80 and the written test for $70. So, it totals out to approximately $1150 to $1200 just to get my EMT-B Cert.

SG

Sorry if I missed it, but did you say where in the country you live? As I mentioned above, volunteer organizations in MD will generally pay your entire cost (I can even drive one of the station's Utility vehicles to class, gas included). I obviously can't speak for every state in the nation, but most all classes will require ride-time on an actual ambo - and in MD you can't even take a class if you aren't affiliated with an accredited EMS agency. Look into the options around you and see what you find.

 

[ServiceGames]

Sorry if I missed it, but did you say where in the country you live? As I mentioned above, volunteer organizations in MD will generally pay your entire cost (I can even drive one of the station's Utility vehicles to class, gas included). I obviously can't speak for every state in the nation, but most all classes will require ride-time on an actual ambo - and in MD you can't even take a class if you aren't affiliated with an accredited EMS agency. Look into the options around you and see what you find.

Sorry about that. I meant to allow everyone to see that. I live in South Carolina. Let me see if I can update my profile so that everyone can see the state I live in.

SG

 

[dixie_flatline]

Sorry about that. I meant to allow everyone to see that. I live in South Carolina. Let me see if I can update my profile so that everyone can see the state I live in.

SG

I did a quick google and this came up. It is an old site and looks terrible, but it mentions that if you don't have prior FF/EMS training they will provide it.

http://chasrescue.homestead.com/

Obviously only one org, and I don't know if you're in Charleston, but looks like you could have some luck getting it covered if you don't want to pay for it yourself.

 

[Ghost]

I did some looking around. My local community college offers a 156 hour EMT-B course for $695 + ~$150 in books. So, that's $850 on the courses alone. And, unfortunately, the branch of the community college where it's taught is in the middle of a fairly heavily trafficked area of town with several traffic signals which means a lot of wear and tear on my car as well as a rather large gasoline bill as my car requires a minimum of 92 octane gasoline (according to the owner's manual).

Add all that up, and I figure a minimum of $1000 for just the class alone. Then there's the practical test for $80 and the written test for $70. So, it totals out to approximately $1150 to $1200 just to get my EMT-B Cert.

SG

$1200 isn't too bad. That's how much it's costing me in NYC, I guess state costs are different as well. It's all very confusing when others give advice from different states and even cities at times, but you best bet is to take everything you're reading and learning into consideration and ask every question you have to the school or facility in which you've chosen to do your training at. Then this way you can narrow your options down to something solid and decide if this is really something for you or can afford.

Its way more expensive out in NYC and in fact I do know EMT-B, I and P's that save lives for about 5 hours straight (A lot of people get hurt and are unhealthy out in NYC) so that also depends on what state and area you're around.

 

[ServiceGames]

Its way more expensive out in NYC and in fact I do know EMT-B, I and P's that save lives for about 5 hours straight (A lot of people get hurt and are unhealthy out in NYC) so that also depends on what state and area you're around.

About a year ago, my nephew had his third birthday party at the fire station that covers my sis and brother-in-law's neighborhood. While several of the kids were out playing in one of the garages, I hung back to talk with the firefighters. First of all, I thanked them for what they did. Secondly, I started asking questions about EMS. Come to find out that at least one if not both of the guys I was talking to were EMT-Bs. Now, I don't know how fire stations work when it comes to "jurisdiction" per se, so I don't know if they were with county or city. But, if I understood correctly, they dealt mainly with county-based EMS.

From what they said (with first hand experience), when an EMT goes on duty in the city I live in, the Ambulances essentially never stop rolling. I'm sure they stop to restock supplies and clean out the inside when they get a chance or if it's absolutely necessary. But, this EMT-B was telling me that the day in the life of an EMT in my city was... go on duty, answer a call, treat patient as necessary, answer next call, treat patient as necessary, answer next call, treat patient as necessary, etc.

There is absolutely zero downtime. Very well could be because of the state of the economy that was (and possibly is) causing budget cuts for tax payer-based EMS.

But as I gathered from the Firefighters/EMT-Bs, even in this city (the entire state of SC has about the same population as the Manhattan Island), if you're working for County EMS, you don't get to rest or even slow down during your shift... no matter how long it is. You don't get to sleep or catch a cat nap. There's no time to lean against the hood and talk over old stories waiting for the next call. There's just too much going on all the time to even think of slowing down.

SG

 

[medicRob]

About a year ago, my nephew had his third birthday party at the fire station that covers my sis and brother-in-law's neighborhood. While several of the kids were out playing in one of the garages, I hung back to talk with the firefighters. First of all, I thanked them for what they did. Secondly, I started asking questions about EMS. Come to find out that at least one if not both of the guys I was talking to were EMT-Bs. Now, I don't know how fire stations work when it comes to "jurisdiction" per se, so I don't know if they were with county or city. But, if I understood correctly, they dealt mainly with county-based EMS.

From what they said (with first hand experience), when an EMT goes on duty in the city I live in, the Ambulances essentially never stop rolling. I'm sure they stop to restock supplies and clean out the inside when they get a chance or if it's absolutely necessary. But, this EMT-B was telling me that the day in the life of an EMT in my city was... go on duty, answer a call, treat patient as necessary, answer next call, treat patient as necessary, answer next call, treat patient as necessary, etc.

There is absolutely zero downtime. Very well could be because of the state of the economy that was (and possibly is) causing budget cuts for tax payer-based EMS.

But as I gathered from the Firefighters/EMT-Bs, even in this city (the entire state of SC has about the same population as the Manhattan Island), if you're working for County EMS, you don't get to rest or even slow down during your shift... no matter how long it is. You don't get to sleep or catch a cat nap. There's no time to lean against the hood and talk over old stories waiting for the next call. There's just too much going on all the time to even think of slowing down.

SG

It really all depends on your specific area and the type of calls your service takes. For instance an IFT (Inter-facility transport) company truck might only have 3 patients in an entire shift, but will transport them about a hundred miles away to a larger facility (Particularly in Rural Areas)..

911 Companies get IFT's as well. Most of the calls I ran in EMS involved taking patients to dialysis and doctors appointments that were miles away. Moreover, add emergencies to that.. When you are in a rural area, it might not be so bad, but Metropolitan areas (particularly ones with gang violence, etc) usually keep the services on the road constantly, so much so that the unit hour utilization(uHu) of a lot of the trucks approaches 1.

btw, Unit Hour utilization is one of the ways we measure productivity in EMS. It is a pretty good indicator as to whether or not your crews are overworked.

UhU = Number of transports / net available unit hours available for coverage.

 

[ServiceGames]

911 Companies get IFT's as well. Most of the calls I ran in EMS involved taking patients to dialysis and doctors appointments that were miles away. Moreover, add emergencies to that.. When you are in a rural area, it might not be so bad, but Metropolitan areas (particularly ones with gang violence, etc) usually keep the services on the road constantly, so much so that the unit hour utilization(uHu) of a lot of the trucks approaches 1.

OK, I can't back this next statement up, but I can honestly believe it. The county I live in has one of the worst drug problems in the entire state. And (this is fact), it's also one of the largest counties in the entire state.

The former statement I made, well, long story short, I used to be an Electronic Music DJ (still love the music, but being 34, working 40+ hour weeks then having to set up a club for a party then clean up afterwards... just can't do it anymore). Anyway, I was visiting a friend in another part of the state one time and a few of us DJs were talking about why there wasn't any kind of electronic scene in the city I live in. They told me it was because of the drug problem in this city.

For example, Qbert came to town probably early 2000s. There were cops at every entrance to the place Qbert was playing. They had set up road blocks and were stopping and searching every single car for drugs. One DJ told me that they the cops had gone so far as to take the car seats (not baby car seats, the full size, bolted to the frame car seats) out of some cars to continue searching.

Another thing that happened not so long ago... My pastor at the church I go to is also a Master Deputy with the Sheriff's Office. He and I were talking once after he waved at a buddy of his who had quit the Sheriff's Office to become a Merc and fight over in Afghanistan (they had still kept in touch). I said to my pastor that I didn't understand why because it's gotta be a lot worse over there than it is in the city I live in. My pastor responded to me by saying, "not really" in a very nonchalant tone as if it didn't shock him at all to think about the differences in violence between the city I live in and Afghanistan.

SG