There are quite a few good EMS related pages on Facebook. Too many to list, but the one I seem to be following the closest is "Paramedics On Facebook". It's not just for medics, of course, but it's a catchy title. You should check it out if you have any interest at all in the EMS community.
Anyway, I've noticed that there's been a slight bump in the number of "What's EMS REALLY like?" posts in the past few days. A lot of good links have been passed along, but I'd like to add my two cents worth, so this one's aimed primarily at those folks that are contemplating crossing over to The Dark Side, or just want to know a little more about the warped world of the EMS provider. Enjoy.
Over the years I've been in EMS, I've had the opportunity to speak to a lot of junior high and high school students at various events. These are really the only PR events I look forward to, because they're by far the most interesting. Most of the time, they're pretty predictable. We show up, talk briefly about what our job is like, show off some of the equipment, then do a Q&A session. Inevitably, the same three questions get asked over and over. (And over, and over, and over....) "How much school does it take?" "How much are you paid?" And everyone's favorite, "What's the worst thing you've ever seen?" The first two are easy. In Kansas, becoming a paramedic means you're going to have to either get an Associate's degree out of your training program, or have a Bachelor's before you start. Simple and straightforward. How much are you paid? Depends on where you work. In general, paramedics in my part of Kansas start in the neighborhood of $14 an hour, maybe a little more if you're a fire medic. EMT's are $10-$12 an hour, depending on where they work. That doesn't necessarily seem like a lot, or even enough, for a job that's consistently rated as one of the five most dangerous in the country. If you factor in the overtime I get, I actually bring home somewhat more than the average in the area. so no complaints here. I wouldn't turn a raise down, mind you, but I think I've got it pretty good. And the third one... that's a toughie. Not because I don't know. Not by a long shot. My personal worst is seared into my brain, and no matter how hard I try, I will NEVER be able to forget it. The problem is, it sounds so crazy that everybody thinks I'm making it up. Believe me, I wish I was. No human being should ever have to see that done to or by another person, ever. So I usually make something up, or tell a different story. I'm trying to encourage people here, not scare them off.
The made up story works most of the time. The class acts all shocked, the bell rings, and they move on. Except for one. There's always that one. It's normally a student that's been sitting there the whole hour without saying a word. They hang back as everyone leaves the room, then start asking their questions. Those questions are normally intelligent ones, and worthy of a serious answer. Stuff like "Where's the best place to go to school?", or "What should I focus on in high school to get ready for EMS training?" You can tell they have a real interest, so they get a real answer. Especially when they ask what it's REALLY like. They deserve the truth.
So what's it really like to work in EMS? Well, it's a job you'll love and hate, often simultaneously. You'll find yourself expected to perform difficult, stressful tasks perfectly the first time, every time, under conditions that should make those tasks impossible. And you won't even notice those conditions, because there's someone there that NEEDS you, and that's the only thing that matters.
You'll spend endless hours in the station in training, cleaning, maintaining, and inventorying your equipment. You won't even have to think about how to use it, because after thousands of repetitions, that's going to be second nature. When the time to use it comes, you'll find yourself wishing you'd practiced more, so you could move just a little bit faster and more surely.
You'll learn to love the sound of the siren, even as it's destroying your hearing. You'll wish the damn thing was louder, so the drivers around you could hear it that much sooner, and move the hell out of your way. You're only going to save a life, God forbid you delay them on their quest for junk food and poorly manufactured consumer goods.
You'll have a partner who will be as close to you as your spouse, or your brother or sister. You'll learn to depend on each other completely, and you'll trust each other absolutely. You have to.
Your first responders will become your lifeline. They'll clear a path for you, guide you to your patient, and keep an eye on you while you're working, so you can do your job. Most of them will do it for no pay. They've left their homes and families in the middle of the night to respond. Remember that, and never, ever forget to thank them for all they do. Chances are, you'll be the only one that ever does that.
The patient is going to depend on you. Completely. You owe it them to try your hardest to fix their problem. Sometimes we can give medications and make things better. Sometimes, they really just want someone to listen to them. That makes things better, too.
You can't always help. It happens, and it sucks every time. You don't get used to it. If you do, it's time to go. You won't remember the success stories, but I guarantee that every single failure will stick with you. Learn from them.
Someday, somewhere, a stranger will walk up to you in the gas station, or the post office, or just on the street. They'll look you in the eye and tell you that last year, you saved them, their wife, husband, child, mother, father, or a complete stranger that they just happened to see collapse. That's a great feeling, and a helluvan ego boost. Then again, someday, that same stranger may walk up to you, and you'll remember that you COULDN"T save that family member. They're going to thank you for trying. Moments like that are why you'll KEEP trying.
We are privileged to see people at their best, and at their worst. We're present for the beginning and end of life. Sometimes we can make things better, and sometimes all we can do is just not make things worse. The trick is to figure out when to do which. Think you're ready?
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