I had just finished my initial training and was well on my way to becoming a Paramedic. It was time to go out on the road with my tutor.
My first day.
I had checked the ambulance to the 'n'th degree. The selcall (alarm) sounded. Prority one was the call (lights and siren).
We had been called to a house with a child who was 'post immersion'. My adrenaline started to flow. Pulse rate just about doubled.
On the way I kept thinking.."post immersion..was was that again. Ah yes, drowning."
Then it hit me. Noooo. I don't want to do a drowning on my first day. It must be a mistake. I was a student. Give me another job..anything..just not a drowning.
I must have turned a lighter shade of pale. My partner asked if I was ok.
I said "sure".
We arrived at the house with a frantic Father screaming at us.
We were led into the house where a little child was lying on the carpet.
They had got the kid out of the pool and brought him inside.
Not breathing, no pulse, pupils fixed and dilated.......this was not good.
We commenced CPR and continued with our cardiac arrest regime.
My mouth was dry and I felt like crap.
This was not supposed to happen on my first day.
Why not ease me into the job slowly.
We got the poor little child into the ambulance.
My partner said he would get in the back with the child.
Great, I thought. Now I wouldn't have to look at the Mother whilst I worked on her child.
I got in the drivers seat just as the Father jumped in the passenger side.
What do I say to him? What can I say?
I didn't need to say anything. He just kept grabbing at me and pleaded with me to save his son.
That was the longest 5 minutes of my life.
We arrived at the Hospital.
We rushed through to the 'resus' area and the Doctors' and Nurses started their work.
A nurse then asked me how long the child had been under water. A seemingly innocuous question, but it was enough to tip me over.
Tears welled in my eyes and I cried uncontrollably.
I hated this damn job. Being a Paramedic sucked!
I spoke with my partner and eventually calmed down.
The poor little tike didn't survive.
I went home that evening and my Wife asked how my first day went.
Here I go again. Tears, crying, hate the job.
I gave my kids slightly longer hugs that night.
I didn't sleep well.
I couldn't get the face of the little kid out of my mind.
I was very close to quitting my job.
That was years ago and I sometimes still see the boy's face.
I often wonder how the family is going.
Tuesday, December 13, 2005
This job sucks.
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16 comments:
This just happened to me 2 days ago. Glad to know it gets better with time 'cause right now I agree "this job sucks"
I have just completed my emt training 6 months ago and in the country where I come from (Philippines) the job is a very unusual one.
I have experienced being on duty on New Year's eve and I can never imagine how people expose themselves to such bizaare accidents. A local feast day wherein more than a million people were gathered resulted to two deaths.
Such incidents shocked me at first but later on I realized how noble our job is. God created lives, but paramedics like us can help people prolong them. That is why I am right now considering of looking for prospects of a country where I can put my practice to better use.
anonymous - it does get easier...kind of.
You get to know how you react to different situations, so you can preempt them.
Having someone at home to talk to helps immensely.
You eventually become more and more desensitized.
gerardo - congratulations on completing your training.
If there's a way of hurting yourself, they (the punter) will find it.
Hey, I need some advice. I am currently in a medic program, and quite frankly the instructors are letting me and the whole class down. The class is disorganized, the instructors know very little if any of the material themselves, and I haven't even seen our primary instructor in weeks. With all the time I have invested as well as money I would hate to back out. But our concerns fall on def ears and I am scared that if any of us actually do pass the national exam, none of us will be prepared for the job. Can anyone help?
Ok, many are not going to want to hear this, but truth stings sometimes. Is being a paramedic an honorable job? Yes. Is it hard stressful, but also rewarding and an experience that changes you for the better because you have left the safe world of American consumerism and 1/2 hour sitcoms, and now see what real life is.
But if you become a medic, have a plan to get out as soon as possible. Do it per diem. Being a medic sucks. The pay, the hours, the physical demands, the treatment by supervisors. The lack of respect from your fellow healthcare workers, and the perception by the public that you are all ambulance drivers. Compared to the other big two of emergency services, PD and FD, we are the leftovers.
EMS has no central authority, no union, no national standards (Don't give me that NREMT-P crap, that organization is useless). In EMS their are for-profit private companies, paid medics at volunteer ambulance corps, hospital based, and some merged with FD or PD. Bottom line, EMS is not an entity unto itself. It has no bargaining power. People really do not care about paramedic coverage, because Americans do not care about healthcare. In some states we are not even licensed, but certified. The goverments (state, local, etc...) care little for EMS . They want pay bottom dollar to the lowest bidder.
Worst of all, EMS is filled with volunteers. Even medics who volunteer. As long as people, even our own comrades, will do this job for free we will advance nowhere. Let me be clear, volunteers are the single biggest obstacle to EMS moving into the future, becoming organized, and gaining advancements towards our goals of being true hospital employees, or uniformed personnel.
Bottom line, no matter how altruistic you are, no matter how unselfish and non-materialistic a person, no matter how much you doth protest that all these things don't matter because it is a noble cause- you will be regretting your decision just as I an 99% of all by co-workers do, and wish we had taken the same advice that medics told us when we entered medic school. Long back breaking work, requiring overtime just to get by, physically exhausted, no respect, and an intellectual ceiling you hit very quickly when you realize this job is the same thing day after day after day.
Oh, and also, this job is filled with people who think they are better than everybody else because they are paramedics. The whole "Paramedics save lives", and What's the difference between God and a paramedic, God isn't a paramedic." Please, give me a break. That is a sign of EDP's, not "heroes".
Go to college, go to grad school, find a way to give back to society working a job that offers regular hours, good pay and benefits, and advancement. Get an MPH, MPA, something. But get out of EMS . It's NOTHING but a dead end.
I apologize for the grammatical errors above, but my attention is a little drained as I just completed a 16 hour tour. An example, unintended, of what I discussed.
I agree with the above. The best thing for EMS is to have EMS dissolve so when the morons out there have a crisis they can deal with it themselves. If they don't want to pay you more or give you better benefits then they don't deserve your help. Don't go to paramedic school, go to college. It took me 5 years of being a paramedic to give up on all humanity, then I took the easy way out and went to RN school. Now I have a BSN and sit at my nice cushy job making 35 bucks an hour to do next to nothing and have almost no liability or stress. Nursing is the easy way out so if you like "helping" people then go to nursing school. Its easier, less stressful, and pays a hell of alot more. To top it all off, the actual schooling is much easier. Hell, I've seen nurses get out of school that still think its a good idea to put a NRB on someone at 3 liters. Trust me, its a joke and its very easy. Quit shortchanging yourself. You deserve to be able to take care of your families and you deserve to be treated well. Screw EMS. EMS is a sinking ship, get off of it while you can.
I was a medic and quit. What a terrible job. Waste of time and money to become one
I agree with the anonymous above. As a 12 year veteran my pay still sucks, my hours are long, and my mental and physical health has suffered. 5 years on the squad was enough. We as paramedics witness too much death and destruction for a human to endure. We miss firsts steps, first school days, birthdays and holidays. There has to be some sort of transportation for the sick and injured this day and time but EMS cannot be considered a long term career.
That is one of the reason EMS will never get recognition so many people think we're entitled to. It's a revolving door as it should be, but only the lucky ones get out.
Ems is a dead d end street in so many ways. If you care about the patients it drives you mad and if you feel nothing your patients get crap treatment if any. I can't tell you not to be a medic but I can tell you that my children will never be allowed to work on a squad.
I've worked on the field for 3 years... I felt good helping others and saving lives; however, the job sucked due to poor quality of life, sleep deprivation, low pay, way too much politics and bull shit from nurses/docs/patients... I am glad that I have another college degree...
EMS is a great job for someone with no commitments, family, or friends. The rest of us are just gluttons for punishment or have been in so long we long don't know how to get out.
Wow! Totally depends on were you work and the kind of system you work in. I have worked as a paramedic in Oregon for a good ambulance company and make almost 70K a year. That's after 15 years on the job but still. I love my job and literally couldn't imagine doing anything else! It's not for everyone for sure! Especially based on some of these comments. But I love it and despite the many bad calls, it's worth it. I told myself when I was young that I would never have a deck job, love what I do and never have to come to work expecting the same thing. Mission accomplished! Some people can do this job and some people cant.
The best job in the World but the hardest one to do well. I just retired as a firefighter / paramedic after 30 years on the job. I worked our inner-city stations and then out on the Coast with 1 hour+ transport times to the closest ER. Stress, you bet but the reason I got into the career was to help people and make a difference. I saved more than a few lives, delivered 24 babies and formed bonds and relationships that will last forever. If you don't like the job - get out. I miss it terribly but at 56 yrs. old it has taken a toll both mentally & physically on me. I am proud to have been a paramedic. I made a difference.
There was a paramedic in Canada that made $163,000. Clearly that's where the money is...
I've been a paramedic since 2008, and I've almost had my fill. I tracked my calls a few months back. Out of the 100 calls I ran, 94 of them did not need an ambulance at all, but I still provided a free taxi ride. If I ran a business the same way EMS is done, my business would be "tits up" in no time flat.
I'm working a 24 hour shift as I type this. It's 4:30 am and I haven't slept since 6 am yesterday. We're short handed, the idiots that don't need an ambulance keep calling, and we have to constantly drive around while we wait on the next freeloading leech on societies ass to call 911.
Bottom line is this: the pay is actually not bad, but it's not worth the wear and tear on your body and mental health. My advice is to choose a different career path. I'm back in college trying to make my escape.
Do yourself a favor and get a degree doing something else.
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