Old Guy, But New EMT-B

I'm so pleased to have found this forum and this thread in particular. It's nice to know I"m not the only Olde Pharte in the field.

I'm 43 and just started an EMT-B course. I'm more enthusiastic about this than I was when I was getting my now-worthless B.S. many moons ago. I have many of the same anxieties expressed by others on this thread: Can the old brain still learn and remember? Can the old body still perform? Will anyone want to hire a middle-aged EMT-B?

I'm not obsessing over these issues though. I'm pretty certain I'm the oldest person in my EMT class, but everyone seems nice and friendly and I'm not feeling awkward in the least getting along with the other students. It's actually pleasantly refreshing. In addition to this EMT class, I'm also starting an Intro to Soc. class as part of the allied health prerequisites that I will need for either a Nursing or Paramedic A.S degree (not sure exactly what direction I'll want to go). I'll be taking A&P I over the summer.

My wife is my inspiration here: she's my age and just finished her nursing school prereqs - she got straight A's in all her classes (AP I & II and Microbio) and outperformed every other student of every age. She'll be starting the actual nursing program in the fall.

I'm confident I can handle the material and I"m still in decent shape and looking forward to work that involves something other than sitting in front of a cursed computer monitor for 9 or more hours a day, which is what I had been wasting the past 20 years of my life doing.

So anyway, I suppose this being my first post here will have to suffice as my introduction to this most excellent forum and resource, where I expect I will be spending a good bit of time.
 
I am not as old as most of you who posted on this thread, but I am not a "young chicken" either.

I am a 34 year old mother to a 15 year old son. A fiance to my high-school sweetheart, and also a former-EMT-Basic. I say former because I had gotten my original certs 5 years ago, then injured my back when my partner let me down. My certs expired back in 2008.

I am now back in the class room, getting re-certified and looking forward to getting back on the truck again. I am also pursuing my nursing pre-reqs at the same time. The best part is? My fiance is ALSO going to EMT-B class with me, so he can get certified also. He is pursuing a paramedic degree.

I am very excited about my future, now that I am in a better place than I was 5 years ago. :)

I also say - age doesn't matter. One of my older friends was in her 50s (7 years ago) when she was taking Microbiology with me. I have a tremendous amount of respect for her. She was going to nursing school. She is an amazing person and she proved to me that it doesn't matter your age - you can still succeed in life if you put your mind to it.;)
 
I'm sure glad I found this thread. I'm 42 and will begin EMT IV Basic this coming August. I've wrestled with all these same thoughts and questions and these posts are encouraging. :) Thanks
 
in retrospect, the course was easy - it was just the thought of going back to school in my 60's that was the challenge. Now that the certification is behind me, I have the skills, the will to respond, the desire for more action in our volunteer district in the mountains - just like all the rest of our volunteers. Age is not a hindrance to the practice of emergency medicine.

Most of us have even gone for red cards (wildland fire certification), so we can staff the ambulance at forest fires in the region. Though the pack test may prove a limit there, the rest of the training was valuable for all of us.

I would encourage all to go for it, and not let years limit you.
 
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