bigbaldguy
Former medic seven years 911 service in houston
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Yes but old employees don't have babies
An executive in my company once said "all employees are either old and sick or young and pregnant".
why does age matter so much?
- Thread starter Blake
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Yes but old employees don't have babies
An executive in my company once said "all employees are either old and sick or young and pregnant".
Sasha
Forum Chief
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Yes but old employees don't have babies
An executive in my company once said "all employees are either old and sick or young and pregnant".
Biological men don't get pregnant
bigbaldguy
Former medic seven years 911 service in houston
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fast65
Doogie Howser FP-C
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It's usually due to liability issues as stated above, that's why agencies usually want you to be 21+.
That being said, as others have said, today's youth has gained a certain "stigma", and such an appearance is not what one would want to see in a healthcare provider. Like it or not, age plays a huge role in this field, some of the younger providers like to think they know it all, and some of them know how little they actually know. The latter seems to be a rarity though (well, except for some of the members on here); it seems that people see the younger generation as a bunch of crazy, selfish, know it all, hoodlums, and that is truly unfortunate.
My company has a good amount of young crew members, and it's easy to see the the variations in maturity levels. Some have a great work ethic and act with the utmost professionalism, whereas others seem to whine about every single part of the job that doesn't involve blood and guts, and make you just want to leave them on the side of the road. It all comes down to the individual and how they were raised. In my younger days there's no way I would have been mature enough for this job, hell, I wasn't even mature enough for it coming out of EMT school. But like someone else pointed out, we all change over time, we make mistakes and we learn and grow from those mistakes. Yeah, it sucks that most places require you to be 21, but that's just kind of how it goes.
All that aside, I love being the youngest person at my company, and the youngest paramedic at that. The looks I get can be quite entertaining sometimes.
That being said, as others have said, today's youth has gained a certain "stigma", and such an appearance is not what one would want to see in a healthcare provider. Like it or not, age plays a huge role in this field, some of the younger providers like to think they know it all, and some of them know how little they actually know. The latter seems to be a rarity though (well, except for some of the members on here); it seems that people see the younger generation as a bunch of crazy, selfish, know it all, hoodlums, and that is truly unfortunate.
My company has a good amount of young crew members, and it's easy to see the the variations in maturity levels. Some have a great work ethic and act with the utmost professionalism, whereas others seem to whine about every single part of the job that doesn't involve blood and guts, and make you just want to leave them on the side of the road. It all comes down to the individual and how they were raised. In my younger days there's no way I would have been mature enough for this job, hell, I wasn't even mature enough for it coming out of EMT school. But like someone else pointed out, we all change over time, we make mistakes and we learn and grow from those mistakes. Yeah, it sucks that most places require you to be 21, but that's just kind of how it goes.
All that aside, I love being the youngest person at my company, and the youngest paramedic at that. The looks I get can be quite entertaining sometimes.
fast65
Doogie Howser FP-C
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Wait two years.
adamjh3
Forum Culinary Powerhouse
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Life experience =/= work experience. EMS is not the only way to learn how to live your life, interact with people, learn social nuances, how to pronounce foreign names etc, etc. Hell, I'd even argue that it's a bad place to get your feet into the door of life, what with all the psychological and physiological ups and downs of the job.
Very, very true. I'm a far better paramedic now than I was at 20, and it's not entirely due to work experience. There's aspects of maturing that just have to happen. Yes 21 is an arbitrary limit, but there has to be a limit somewhere, and the majority of 21 year olds probably have a different outlook than they did at 19.
I started at 17 as a volunteer. EMS has shaped me in good and bad ways. I can tell you I was not prepared for some of what I was exposed to at 17 though.
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Like others said life experience and work experience are two completely different things.
Don't get yourself all worked up over this, there are plenty of jobs that have age requirements for one reason or another.
At 22 I run into patients, usually older, that don't 'trust' me as a provider until I prove to them that I'm competent and professional. I'm not saying you can't be competent and professional at 18 but gaining that 'trust' from patients would be even more difficult.
Just wait a bit man, you're young, you have your whole life ahead of you. Don't try to grow up too fast.
fast65
Doogie Howser FP-C
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^This.
Being young can make dealing with patients quite a bit more difficult, especially when you look like you're 12 years old. Patients find it much harder to trust you, and on occasion earning the respect of other providers is a chore. Like Rob said, you must prove your competence before you can gain a patients trust, and this is something that is made slightly more difficult by being young.
I know that you're excited to jump into the field and use the skills you've learned, but keep in mind that you're still really young, you have plenty of time to get a job in EMS. I'll echo Rob in saying don't try to grow up too fast.
Sasha
Forum Chief
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This!
It's hard to gain their trust and all that when they cock their head and ask "....are you even out of high school?"
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It's great when co-responders don't even respect you because you're "just a kid".
Fire: "I can't get a BP, not even palp."
Me: "Does she have a radial pulse?"
Fire: "No, but that doesn't matter."
Me: "Umm you need to be able to feel a radial to palp a BP..."
Fire: "Whatever kid."
My partner: "He's right... Now please step aside so my partner can start the IV and get some fluids in her."
Fire: "I'll get the IV."
My partner: "No, no you wont. I trust my partner...After that little conversation I don't trust you, now please move."
Me: "
"All in the politest of tones, of course.
I thought we were talking about employees farther along into their 20's vs teeny boppers. From my previous experiences in hospital based and private EMS, the new hires seem to be in their mid 20's to mid 30's for the most part. I started my first EMT job at 26, got hired at a hospital at 27, the fire job at 32, and my hospital IFT per diem at 34. The younger probies seem to be the EMT's, and the medic probies seem to be in the late 20's to late 30's for the most part.
From my experience, most of the new hires who are in their mid 40's or older don't seem to last more than six months to a couple of years at the most. The lifting, the constant sitting, the odd hours, and being awake in the middle of the night is a young person's game. The employer can't discriminate based on age, so they're always going to have to hire a token older employee or two.
The practice of setting an age barrier may be due to observations by the company as to where their turnover and lack of productivity is occuring the most frequently. Again, someone in their mid 20's or older is more likely to live away from their parents, have revolving debt, and thus be more likely to value their job more so than a 20 y/o who still lives with their parents and would be financially solvent if they were to be fired.
Life experience and work experience are two different things. Someone in their mid 20's is in a different phase of their life than a 19-20 y/o. To get life experience without working in the field, you can start your work history in another field. Pad your resume with community service and other volunteer work to show that you're well grounded. Employers will may check your credit score and your interactions in various social media as well. When I moved out at 22, I drove a Snapple truck and worked as a bouncer at night, for five years. This work history helped greatly in landing a job at a good hospital as an EMT, where there was much competition.
Also, training alone does not guarantee acceptable job performance. EMT school is only 110 hours. If you read the discussions about low pay in EMS, reasons are given such as an oversaturated supply due to low education barriers, so there's always someone available to replace you. Think about it, if there's an abundant supply of EMT's, the employer will prioritize relevant work experience first. The applicant with five years OTJ, preferably through as few employers as possible, will get the nod. If little to no experience, the more mature employee will get the job. Why take a risk on the younger applicant? If there is a depleted applicant pool, then and only then will the employer relax the age requirement, credit score, driving Hx, etc. That's how things work.
Also, many 20 year olds aren't in the right place mentally to best deal with the comfort care aspect of EMS, the empathy, hand holding, keeping even tempered with irate and combative patients, etc. The predisposition to road rage, treating L/S as a game, and challenging other motorists on the road is much more likely with a younger person. There's the notion that the EMT is somehow above the law since we work with police and fire, we have L/S, authority in certain situations, etc. Maturity mitigates these issues somewhat, generally speaking.
I wanted to be a FDNY firefighter after getting my medic cert, but I was too old. I didn't let that get me down, I just joined another department.
fast65
Doogie Howser FP-C
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I can't say for sure, but it's becoming a more widely accepted practice. By running your credit, the employer can make certain assumptions about your responsibility level, among other things.
http://money.usnews.com/money/blogs.../when-employers-look-into-your-credit-history
Property managers also use this with prospective renters. They may not be able to discriminate based on credit, but I've seen them offer different rent prices based on their credit score, and may waive the security deposit as well.
Here's another one:
http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/Banking/YourCreditRating/how-bad-credit-can-cost-you-a-job.aspx
In 2006, 43% of employers ran credit checks on their applicants.
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Well thats fine because i have a good credit score. But anyways yes i understand what your saying do i think its fair for me to start building credit from my 18th and as soon as i graduate get my nremt and everything except age is great. I could go on and on about military and other things but i dont want to argue. I figured out what i wanted early most people go party and screw off then get this and thats why they are older when they apply. I stayed home and studied. But like i said i understand you all. Fair? Not really but that's life in ems.