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Wait! This stuff comes in shot form? In all seriousness, rainbows mean sunshine and catfish means I have a fishing pole. That in my book is a good day indeed!

"You don't actually have to know what you are doing as long as you look like you know what you are doing." --Ancient Chinese Proverb.

Well hello here

Welcome! I hated driving, despised it actually so I always attended and let my partner drive. Likely hated it because I had been in a pretty bad wreck as a passenger and just hated having that responsibility. My suggestion is to take your time when they put you through the course, ask questions, and if you don't feel ready--tell them that. Don't drive unless you feel 100% comfortable. It is a huge responsibility and it shouldn't be taken lightly.

Don't stop reading and learning. Listen to those who have come before you (unless they say things like, "we've always done it this way.") You will make mistakes, don't take them personally but learn from them. Remember that people are hard to kill.

I wasn't trying to be funny, I wanted the OP to seriously think about what he said. It is good for someone that is new (and us old folks) to think through our mistakes. It helps us understand that which we don't understand.

You spelled tactless wrong.

Niceties first. Welcome to the City. You will meet a wide variety of field and hospital based medical providers here. We have field providers young and old, new and experienced. We have hospital based providers with field experience who have decided to take their education and talents to the next level. Congratulations on completing the first step in what I hope will be a long, productive and fruitful EMS and medical career. Moving on. Who is Asclapius? Do you mean Asclepius? A typo? An inattentive error by someone who should probably know better given your stated aspirations? It's true. Civilian EMS could use some improvement. However, if you are unhappy with where you are in terms of pay and experience then perhaps you should have researched the industry a little more thoroughly. Poor pay, questionable employers and more aren't a secret either within or outside of EMS. This is not new information and has been widely known and easily researched for years. Please accept this next comment in the spirit in which it is intended. Presenting yourself as an interloper, specifically "... I only did this to get to destination <x>..." will not win you friends within the EMS community. We all have goals and aspirations. Making disparaging comments about a field you failed to thoroughly research while announcing yourself as little more than a tourist smacks of poor professionalism at best. So go wait tables. EMS pay is not some dirty little secret. EMTs are a dime a dozen. One of the most basic free market economic principles is at play here: supply and demand. If you think insurance companies are a problem now within EMS wait until you are a practicing physician. It gets even worse. Based on your presentation I'm inclined to think your lack of insurability may be more age related than anything else. Perhaps they are trying to ensure you are of a reasonable age by industry standards to be entrusted with a vehicle like an ambulance. Your naivete with regards to insurance companies and their influence on business practices is interesting. Why, exactly, are you so shocked by this?