Not sure about becoming an EMT

[Ridryder911]

Look cool...Are you kidding? Wearing BDU pants and polo shirt alike those that work in corrections?... Pushing a wheel chair around or stretcher with granny on it, looks cool?

Wow! Maybe I need to learn what cool is.

I don't think making transfers all day could be considered cool...

R/r 911

 

[Shishkabob]

Yeah you're right, I'm sorry. What was I thinking? How could a job that helps people and is filled with adrenaline look cool to the uneducated in any way? My bad, forgive me.

 

[AJ Hidell]

If running nursing home transfers all day long fills you with adrenaline, that is a serious sign that you are undereducated, lol.

 

[Shishkabob]

You know what, no, I'm not going to go there.

 

[AJ Hidell]

For clarification, the word "you" does not mean you specifically. It means anyone to whom the statement applies. I was not singling you out.

 

[Sasha]

filled with adrenaline look cool to the uneducated in any way?

Adrenaline? As in Epi?

 

[Shishkabob]

Adrenaline? As in Epi?

Shhh... don't expose my secrets!

 

[sabbymedic]

You know what, no, I'm not going to go there.

Good for you!!!! Don't give into the negativity of some of the people on this site. I find that there is a lot of that here and hopefully the moderators will be able to deal with it.

I responded to the original post because it was a legitimate one. Does anyone remember Johnny and Roy or Chips LOL. Yes TV shows but as a little boy they helped me realize I wanted to be a Paramedic.

And yes when I graduated from college it was cool and sometimes I still find it cool because I love my job. I get to help people, no they are not always on deaths door step but who cares.

When we got into this career did you not realize you were going to do transfers? I know I did. I did transfers as a student I do them as a road medic it is part of the job.

What is cool is knowing that you did that really big call earlier or yesterday and the patient is going to survive because of what you did, so in that respect yes the job is cool.

Do not mistake what you can do as being cool to getting into the job because you think it will make you cool and you will get guys or girls because of it with lots of fame. The fame part is only for TV.

 

[sabbymedic]

For clarification, the word "you" does not mean you specifically. It means anyone to whom the statement applies. I was not singling you out.

Me too. Just using you as a general term.

 

[AJ Hidell]

Sabby, I have to say that your experiences as an Ontario PCP are so different from an EMT entering the field in the U.S. as to be almost completely irrelevant. I'm certainly not discounting your views on the profession. It's just that I have experience in Ontario and in the U.S. and know that the way you were prepared for practice is not even remotely similar to the way an EMT-B is prepared here in the U.S.

 

[Ridryder911]

Sabby, I have to say that your experiences as an Ontario PCP are so different from an EMT entering the field in the U.S. as to be almost completely irrelevant. I'm certainly not discounting your views on the profession. It's just that I have experience in Ontario and in the U.S. and know that the way you were prepared for practice is not even remotely similar to the way an EMT-B is prepared here in the U.S.

Yeah, assume you went through the first month of training and that was it... now; do you think that would be cool.

Sorry, folks but being .."cool".. has NOTHING to do about the job. Ask yourself; would you still perform this if you wore no uniform or had no lights or sirens? .. If not, your in the wrong business. Looking and appearing is NOT about patient care. That is self ego.

R/r 911

 

[Shishkabob]

I don't think... no, I KNOW you aren't getting what I stated, Rid.

The initial attraction for many to EMS, including me, WAS the thought of it being cool. Before we knew what EMS was, we thought it was all about glamor and saving peoples lives, and doing fun things.



I think me working a transfer service should be answer enough as to my view on it now that I actually know what it is.

 

[AJ Hidell]

And what we are saying is that, if we could get prospective n00bs focused on more realistic issues than how "cool" they are going to be, we could significantly raise the level of professionalism and commitment in our field. The way to start that is with education of those who express an interest. You see, as long as people come here with unrealistic expectations, gleaned from watching Third Watch and reading forums like this, we will forever have them burning out in disgust after less than five years, perpetuating the constant workforce instability that cheapens us.

As always, the solution is education.

 

[Shishkabob]

You can be a profession and still have kids think something looks cool, realistic or not.

Astronaut, Doctor, Lawyer, Fireman, Police Officer, all professions that kids grow up wanting to be because they look cool.

Notice how they all have one thing in common; respect.




Looking cool isn't EMS's problem with being recognized as a profession.

 

[Veneficus]

Actually, I still believe it is the most accurate depiction of EMS ever made, bar none! The only thing that would have made it more realistic is more nursing home transfers.

See, there is something 99% of EMS providers can agree on.

 

[sabbymedic]

Yeah, assume you went through the first month of training and that was it... now; do you think that would be cool.

Sorry, folks but being .."cool".. has NOTHING to do about the job. Ask yourself; would you still perform this if you wore no uniform or had no lights or sirens? .. If not, your in the wrong business. Looking and appearing is NOT about patient care. That is self ego.

R/r 911

Are you saying that I am not trained as well as the U.S? Because if you are I have to disagree with you. Secondly I did not say that to do this job you needed to be cool. Once a medic you are always a medic on or off duty. I am not sure what I said that is confusing but I am confused with all of the feedback. When we started out in the business at least for me I thought it was cool to be in the position that I am in. Not many people get to say that they go to work everyday and save lives or help talk to someone or make someone feel comfortable in their time of need. That is what I classify as cool in this job.
If anyone is interested at viewing the Scope of practice for our medics you can find it at the following web site.
www.ottawaparamedic.ca

 

[Ridryder911]

Are you saying that I am not trained as well as the U.S? Because if you are I have to disagree with you. Secondly I did not say that to do this job you needed to be cool. Once a medic you are always a medic on or off duty. I am not sure what I said that is confusing but I am confused with all of the feedback. When we started out in the business at least for me I thought it was cool to be in the position that I am in. Not many people get to say that they go to work everyday and save lives or help talk to someone or make someone feel comfortable in their time of need. That is what I classify as cool in this job.
If anyone is interested at viewing the Scope of practice for our medics you can find it at the following web site.
www.ottawaparamedic.ca

Actually I was saying quite the opposite. Truly, now how many lives did you really save in one day? Let's be honest.. Quit the hero b.s. and be a medical provider.

R/r 911

 

[medic417]

Not many people get to say that they go to work everyday and save lives .

So how many people did you kill today?
If you try and take credit for the saves you have to take the blame for the deaths.

 

[AJ Hidell]

Are you saying that I am not trained as well as the U.S?

As Rid already said, we are saying just the opposite. I spent time in Ontario. I know exactly what your education is, and it puts the U.S. to shame.

But it is certainly disheartening to see someone who is so well educated all caught up in "scope of practice" skills (which say nothing about the quality of your education), and the whackeroid rhetoric of "saving lives".

 

[VentMedic]

Not many people get to say that they go to work everyday and save lives or help talk to someone or make someone feel comfortable in their time of need. That is what I classify as cool in this job.

Those who are there to help someone through a medical situation and know that it will be a life changing event for that person rarely say "cool". There are many, many different healthcare professionals who do what you have just described that view it as being a caregiver and not as a hero.

I guess the Canadian system is lacking a little in their Paramedic education afterall.