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colorado207

colorado207

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Hi, I’m new here and would like to say thanks!I can’t believe how interesting and helpful this message board is. If I had the time I could read through these threads for hours …very informative and enlightening.
I’m 27 and have been kicking around the idea of getting back to school with intent of being a paramedic for a while now. I've just about made my decision to do so (I’d be starting at the very bottom next fall, the closest relevant education I’ve had is CPR certification, which expired 2 years ago.)
It has always been one of those things I’ve felt as a calling, but I’ve also had (probably normal) doubts about my ability to act correctly in critical situations; it seems to me that one slip of your memory, one wrong decision or assessment can easily result in catastrophe. I guess what I’m asking is: ARE YOU PEOPLE HUMAN? It seems to me that you almost can’t be any less than perfect in your line of work. I can guarantee myself that I would educate myself as much as possible, to do the best job I possibly could …not for the sake of any employer, but because I really want to give people the best help possible in traumatic situations…I really seriously want to save people’s lives. I think I have the stomach for it, and the desire, and the duty.
But is that enough?
I know I’m rambling on with rhetorical stuff..I guess I’m asking for advice, but I’m not sure what. I just really feel the need to talk to EMTs before taking this up. I had even considered pulling up to an AMR ambulance that is always standing by around the corner just to talk with them for a while, but this seems considerably less embarassing and akward.
well.. Any tidbits of wisdom or advice would be greatly appreciated. I am very close to committing myself to this as a lifelong pursuit, but I still have some trepidations.. so be gentle if you can. ^_^
Thanks! Mike
 
Your initals will be E.M.T not G.O.D!
You do what you are taught! Are you going to mess up and make mistakes that you MAY think caused a loss of life! Yes!! Are you HUMAN yes!
WELCOME by the way, I have found this site very helpful as well!
 
Are we human? Of course we are. And mistakes and accidents do happen. You try to prevent them by getting as much training and education as you can, assessing every patient as carefully as you can, and drilling until you can do everything routine in your sleep.

Know that you won't be saving lives, a lot of the time. When they code, you can't always bring them back. Plenty of your calls will be boring, as people do things like call 911 to have someone look at their bug bite or stubbed toe. At some point, someone will throw up on you. Some of your coworkers and supervisors will be nutty in the bad way. There will be long periods of time where you're bored and have nothing to do. It's not as glamorous as it seems.

Best advice I can give you is to see if the local fire department is willing to take you as a ridealong, if you're in a place where there's no free training. If you're somewhere with some volunteer fire departments or rescue squads, see if they give free training to volunteers, then go sign up. EMT-B really isn't that long or hard of a course.
 
Hey man, im gonna probably become an EMT-B next year. Lookin foward to it. My town has a fire rescue volunteer squad so I might go down and talk to them as well. Best of luck.
 
Seaglass said:
Are we human? Of course we are. And mistakes and accidents do happen. You try to prevent them by getting as much training and education as you can, assessing every patient as carefully as you can, and drilling until you can do everything routine in your sleep.

Know that you won't be saving lives, a lot of the time. When they code, you can't always bring them back. Plenty of your calls will be boring, as people do things like call 911 to have someone look at their bug bite or stubbed toe. At some point, someone will throw up on you. Some of your coworkers and supervisors will be nutty in the bad way. There will be long periods of time where you're bored and have nothing to do. It's not as glamorous as it seems.

Best advice I can give you is to see if the local fire department is willing to take you as a ridealong, if you're in a place where there's no free training. If you're somewhere with some volunteer fire departments or rescue squads, see if they give free training to volunteers, then go sign up. EMT-B really isn't that long or hard of a course.
Click to expand...

I work out of a station, so during down time I watch TV or sleep. Granted not working now due to school. If you intend on moving on to paramedic in encourage you to check with you local schools to see entrance requirements. Mine only required A&P I, with A&P II included in the first semester, if you didn't pass A&P II then you were done.

One thing that is tough is that someone can be talking to you in the ambulance and then dead 30 minutes later, when they arrive at the hospital. No matter how much training you have, only cold steel will help some.
 
Welcome! and you're definitely on the right track by using this site as a resource.

Maybe the most important part of the whole thing is we must keep reminding ourselves we're human; not greater or less than. The field gives us great opportunity to get lost one way.or the other. On some days we can delude ourselves we're greater, on others, we're convinced by our very nature, we're just not up to par.

The thing is, this profession puts you right in to the middle of situations that are custom-designed to challenge every idea you ever had about your own humanity.

Enjoy the discovering!
 
colorado207 said:
what I’m asking is: ARE YOU PEOPLE HUMAN? It seems to me that you almost can’t be any less than perfect in your line of work.
Click to expand...

Of course we are human. Nothing special about us at all, but we seem to be divided between those who think EMS is a job, and those who think it is a calling.

There is usually some room for error in practice, just like with many other health-care professions. We have all learned by our own mistakes, though we try not to brag about it, and other peoples misfortunes. EMS is also one of those jobs that if things go pear-shaped, we can always revert back to basic life support measures...ones which you have already learned in your CPR class.

I can guarantee myself that I would educate myself as much as possible, to do the best job I possibly could
Click to expand...

Good. In EMS land that means becoming a Paramedic at the degree-level, and continuing your education with the many other bolt-on courses which can be taken thereafter. It also means as much patient contact as you can possibly get during your time on the job.
 
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colorado207 said:
ARE YOU PEOPLE HUMAN?
Click to expand...

I'm actually a damn dirty ape.

In all seriousness, we do make mistakes. Most mistakes are minor and/or won't affect the outcome. Making mistakes in medicine is kinda of like making mistakes when preforming music. When I was in high school, I competed in marching band and winter indoor percussion competitions with my schools band and percussion ensemble. Everyone, and I mean everyone, made mistakes during competitions. However, there's an absolutely huge difference in impact between a performer who could recover from a mistake and one who let a mistake control them. Similarly, there's a difference between a medical provider who can recover and learn from their mistakes (and everyone makes mistakes) and one who just crashes and burns when things go bad.
 
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"Know that you won't be saving lives, a lot of the time. When they code, you can't always bring them back. Plenty of your calls will be boring, as people do things like call 911 to have someone look at their bug bite or stubbed toe. At some point, someone will throw up on you. Some of your coworkers and supervisors will be nutty in the bad way. There will be long periods of time where you're bored and have nothing to do. It's not as glamorous as it seems. " Seaglass
Well I'm actually accustomed to being thrown up on, cleaning up bodily fluids, and all manner of belligerent and/or crying drunks. Im very used to the uglier side of humanity..I figure that is a good prerequisite. Im also pretty realistic on the survival probability thing.The nutty supervisor thing kind of freaks me out though!


"Best advice I can give you is to see if the local fire department is willing to take you as a ridealong, if you're in a place where there's no free training. If you're somewhere with some volunteer fire departments or rescue squads, see if they give free training to volunteers, then go sign up. EMT-B really isn't that long or hard of a course. "Seaglass
I hadn't thought of the ride-along. My local community college offers EMT courses all the way up to EMTparamedic (with internship). I was planning on getting federal aid and getting as far in school as possible. If for some reason I can't go through to Paramedic school I was planning on applying to the local FD with EMT Basic or Intermediate.

Welcome! and you're definitely on the right track by using this site as a resource.

Maybe the most important part of the whole thing is we must keep reminding ourselves we're human; not greater or less than. The field gives us great opportunity to get lost one way.or the other. On some days we can delude ourselves we're greater, on others, we're convinced by our very nature, we're just not up to par.

The thing is, this profession puts you right in to the middle of situations that are custom-designed to challenge every idea you ever had about your own humanity. Firetender
That's insightful.. I think there must definitely be a tremendous amount of personal growth associated with this line of work.
It seems to me that whenever I've seen paramedics in action, they are able to detatch themselves to the point where they are dealing with the body as a mechanic would a machine, sort of putting aside the person and dealing with the body: I think that maybe that is really essential to the job. I'm thinking that maybe it could be easy to become permanently detatched, or to not be detatched enough in critical situations where there is a big emotional charge. Maybe finding the balance is the key, as you say?
There is usually some room for error in practice, just like with many other health-care professions. We have all learned by our own mistakes, though we try not to brag about it, and other peoples misfortunes. EMS is also one of those jobs that if things go pear-shaped, we can always revert back to basic life support measures...ones which you have already learned in your CPR class.
scott33
actually thats exactly what I needed to hear.

In all seriousness, we do make mistakes. Most mistakes are minor and/or won't affect the outcome. Making mistakes in medicine is kinda of like making mistakes when preforming music. When I was in high school, I competed in marching band and winter indoor percussion competitions with my schools band and percussion ensemble. Everyone, and I mean everyone, made mistakes during competitions. However, there's an absolutely huge difference in impact between a performer who could recover from a mistake and one who let a mistake control them. Similarly, there's a difference between a medical provider who can recover and learn from their mistakes (and everyone makes mistakes) and one who just crashes and burns when things go bad. JPINFV
That comparison sheds a lot of light on things..also what I'm figuring out is that life and death is not as black and white as most think. More like a process.
Have you ever seen an EMT crash and burn under pressure?


I really appreciate all your responses.Very candid and perceptive, thats what
I was looking for. It's actually really important to me because I'm the kind of person that follows through, as long as I've had time to really really get to know what I'm getting into.
And this line of work I think no one should get into without doing some serious thinking in advance.
thanks much
 
colorado207 said:
Have you ever seen an EMT crash and burn under pressure?

It seems to me that whenever I've seen paramedics in action, they are able to detatch themselves to the point where they are dealing with the body as a mechanic would a machine, sort of putting aside the person and dealing with the body: I think that maybe that is really essential to the job. I'm thinking that maybe it could be easy to become permanently detatched, or to not be detatched enough in critical situations where there is a big emotional charge. Maybe finding the balance is the key, as you say?
Click to expand...

You're really getting to the nitty-gritty!

The roadways are littered with ex-medics who, in one way or another flamed out. It's a demanding job on many different levels. Each of us has a weak spot. The job is custom-designed to put you right up against your own demons. Oddly enough (and thankfully so!) I've only seen a couple rookies freak out ON scene. Most do their burning off-duty.

The truth is, for the first few years there's not much balance as you learn what your limits and boundaries are. It's more like a pendulum swing of seeking balance. Some calls you are unaffected by. Others rip you apart. You'll begin protecting yourself, then find it's hard to take the protective coat off when you get home. You'll take risks again and again, and get burned by some, and actually REWARDED by others. Ultimately, you find what works for you, and perhaps most important, what you can live with.

You can somewhat detach from the experience of the other's pain, but regardless, you can't deny that you ARE experiencing each situation as both a Mechanic AND a human being. Where I've seen most burnouts is in their suppressed humanity all of a sudden catching up to them and they lose their grip, and it's NEVER only at work, it's in all areas of their lives. Burnout does not limit itself to parts.

You CAN retain your humanity. You do not have to become what you defined and I call a Flesh Mechanic. Unfortunately, the culture of allopathic medicine, which includes medics, tends to reinforce the Flesh Mechanic side by discouraging us from really talking to each other about the things that knock us off balance. "Tough it out!" is all too common a response.

Yet, in forums like this, there is room for some of the more probing explorations, so there's hope.

Keep using it as you are and you could save yourself a couple years of grief!
 
Well, if you've read all the replies, quotes, quotes within quotes, and replies to quotes within quotes you've undoubtedly figured out the answer that we are very much human. We have good days, bad days, but mostly middling days. For the most part we're Type A personalities, which makes for some interesting posts in the forums. We're also husbands, wives, dads, moms, and children, with all the issues that go along with us. I think one unique character trait that most of us possess is the ability to compartmentalize our feelings, meaning that you can be having a rotten day in your personal life, but you can shut the door on that and still provide good patient care while on a call. We come from the same gene puddle that you do, so if we can do it, so can you. Best of luck in your plans.
 
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