Questions for any EMTs/Paramedics out there?

[Pyr0said]

Hello, i am doing a research paper on becoming an EMT/Paramedic and i need to get some answers from actual Paramedics please answer and help me with the following
what is your name? (this is optional you dont have to state this)
1)Why did you choose this job?
2)how did you get this job?
3)What do you do in a typical day?
4)what is the worst part of your job?
5)What is the best part of your job?
6)What are the Advantages of working in this job?
7)disadvantages of it?
8)What were some expectations when you first started?
9)would you reccommend this job to someone else? to who and why?

thank you to any medics who can answer this! free points to anyone who helps me thank you

 

[chaz90]

Out of curiosity, what's the paper for and what specifically are you writing about?

1)Why did you choose this job?

I love the medical field, and the prospect of working a desk job makes my brain hurt. I took my EMT course during one of my summer breaks in college, and I loved my time on the ambulance so much that I do it as a full time job now.

2)how did you get this job?

After my initial certification as an EMT, I volunteered for the hospital based EMS service in the town where I attended college. I worked 911 shifts with them as a third provider on the ambulance and also did community event standbys. I took additional courses in IV and EKG interpretation, kept working with this service for several years, and eventually attended paramedic school. After extensive research on where I wanted to work, I found a place I like and work there now.

3)What do you do in a typical day?

This varies greatly depending on where you work. For many private IFT services or busy urban 911 you can be running calls back to back from the time you start. In my previous job, I spent most of my down time studying as I was a full time student. Here, I start every shift by thoroughly checking my gear and the truck. I then review the previous shifts calls, possibly do a training quiz on protocols or operating procedures, and clean up the station. This still often leaves a lot of downtime (this varies considerably too), so I'll read or possibly watch some TV. This isn't indicative of a lot of places, but on my night shifts I also get to at least try to sleep most of the night too.

4)what is the worst part of your job?

You spend most of your time caring for patients that don't care for themselves. Even this isn't necessarily a negative, because as soon as you realize this it becomes expected and part of the routine. For me, the real frustrations come with 911 abuse. We have done such a good job of marketing the 911 system that people now frequently use us as a "horizontal taxi service" several times or more per week. Dealing with fellow EMS providers who sometimes seem to simply "go through the motions" can be a source of frustration to me as well.

5)What is the best part of your job?

I honestly do believe we can make a real difference in patients experiences and initial encounters with the medical system. I at least have the opportunity to make someone more comfortable every day I work. Most of the time this comes from providing a comforting presence if they are anxious about their condition or performing a few basic tasks that streamlines the work the ED must do. On occasion though, we are given the chance to make a real difference in a patient's medical outcome. We train extensively for these few and far between patients, so actually getting to do this can almost be seen as a bonus to the general satisfaction in a job well done on a daily basis.

6)What are the Advantages of working in this job?

We are invited into people's homes and lives when they are at their most vulnerable. As referenced above, I see it as a privilege to be given this trust. I leave every day feeling good about what I did at work. I also love the vacation aspect of it. We don't work regular 9-5 hours, so we get 4 days off every tour and can easily get 12 consecutive days off by taking 48 hours of vacation.

7)disadvantages of it?

A lot of this job becomes a form of drudgery, just like any other work. After some time, routine patients begin to blend into each other. If you're not careful, you can grow cynical and somewhat immune to real human suffering. When you've seen 10 patients that week with diffuse abdominal pain, you can forget that it may be so out of the norm to this patient that they had to call an ambulance for help for what could be the first time in their life (or the 500th). This line of work can also drain you and cause distance in relationships at home. It can be hard to relate to our black humor, and stresses at work that can't be easily shared with loved ones can cause relationship problems.

8)What were some expectations when you first started?

I won't lie. Like almost everyone else when they started, I had a totally different vision for what daily life would be like in EMS. The glamorous calls aren't common, and the adrenaline rush fades. The sirens and "life saving" may be what attracts people to EMS, but the reality is almost a polar opposite. The siren gets annoying, and like I mentioned above, few of our patients have acutely life threatening pathologies. If you're referring to expectations for a new provider, be willing to learn and don't be lazy.

9)would you recommend this job to someone else? to who and why?

Yes, providing you can find the right place to work. There are far too many places that practice questionable medicine, pay horrible wages, and work their employees to death. If you find the right place to work, this can be a fulfilling career. As long as those who enter the field have the right motivations and understanding of what this job is like and where it's going in the future, there's always room for new medics.

Best of luck with your report!

 

[DesertMedic66]

Hello, i am doing a research paper on becoming an EMT/Paramedic and i need to get some answers from actual Paramedics please answer and help me with the following
what is your name? (this is optional you dont have to state this)
1)Why did you choose this job?
2)how did you get this job?
3)What do you do in a typical day?
4)what is the worst part of your job?
5)What is the best part of your job?
6)What are the Advantages of working in this job?
7)disadvantages of it?
8)What were some expectations when you first started?
9)would you reccommend this job to someone else? to who and why?

thank you to any medics who can answer this! free points to anyone who helps me thank you

1) Sitting in class in the 4th grade watching the events of 9/11/2001 unfold. Decided I wanted to become a firefighter. Joined the explorer program at 14 years old and learned about becoming an EMT.

2) Made contacts in the fire department. Took my EMT class at a college with a really good rep for their EMS and Fire programs.

3) When I do work, its 50% sitting in an ambulance and 50% running calls. Most of the calls we are just a taxi service but there are the times where we actually do help or can help a patient.

4) Seeing how people abuse the EMS system. Seeing how people treat other people.

5) Not being in an office at all. Always a different work enviorment where you never know what is going to happen next.

6) Never inside of an office. Getting to help people.

7) Pay isnt good. There isnt much respect in EMS compaired to fire or police.

8) Going fast to places and saving lives daily. (doesnt happen)

9) I can't really say if I would recomend this job to others. It all depends on what that person likes and what they want.

 

[sir.shocksalot]

1)Why did you choose this job?

I didn't. I actually became an EMT because I wanted it on my med school or nursing school application. I became a paramedic because I ended up working full time and doing school part time and really hated getting paid $10/hr; plus I hated having to drive while the paramedic actually worked on the sick people.

2)how did you get this job?

The one I have currently? I had a cert. Others I have had? dumb luck I guess. I'm looking to get by butt out of CO though, which may require some more creativity with job hunting and interviews in places that I don't live (yet).

3)What do you do in a typical day?

A typical day starts with me frantically driving to work to clock in on time. Then I check out my ambulance and stock it. The next 12 hours consists of me driving to and from calls and attending to patients. A large portion is me writing reports. If I am lucky I will have time to work on some homework or read a book. At the end of the 12 hours I go home, sometimes this is far later than scheduled though.

4)what is the worst part of your job?

Most of it. A lot of my coworkers are not very nice, the paramedics in particular tend to be rude. Our dispatchers are terrible. Things tend to happen management wise without it ever being communicated to all the people it affects. Oh, and getting off late happens way too often, and no these are not for 911 emergencies.

5)What is the best part of your job?

Being a paramedic and taking care of patients. I love the trouble-shooting and problem solving of complex patients. I love learning more about medicine and being able to apply some of it almost immediately. I love that I get to learn as a constant part of my job. Being a paramedic is totally rewarding, getting a thank you for taking care of someone's pain or nausea is one of the best feelings in the world. A lot of the frustrations you can have as a paramedic seem to be from coworkers and employers, not from the work itself.

6)What are the Advantages of working in this job?

Flexible hours, fairly decent pay for the training required.

7)disadvantages of it?

Can be a very dead end career. Many of the available jobs are pretty bad.

8)What were some expectations when you first started?

I didn't really have any since I wasn't aiming to become someone who worked in this field. As I became a paramedic I sort of expected more job opportunities and more of a chance to run 911 calls and ALS transfers. I'm actually shocked at how hard it is to find work as a paramedic.

9)would you reccommend this job to someone else? to who and why?

No I would not. I love being a paramedic, it's great fun and can be very rewarding. However, I have spent more time than I care to really regretting getting into this job. The career opportunities just aren't there, let alone room for advancement. The rumor mills in this work can be brutal and can make a rumor completely ruin your room for advancement at work or even to other jobs. I just wish I had spent the time doing nursing school like I had originally planned instead of being stuck as a paramedic for longer than I really like. If you really want to do this job the negatives really won't dissuade you.