KDB2011

Thanks so much for all the replies! If anyone else has more input, I'd love to hear it. Yeah, I'm realizing that being a nurse or a doctor would be much better for me.

I'm thinking "exciting" as in the really intense life saving stuff that emts and medics do out in the field with car accidents and major trauma and all that. And I know that every single aspect of the medical field is very important, and I'm not looking down on the smaller jobs; "exciting" is just the area I'm most interested in. Please feel free to tell me if I'm being completely ridiculous. LOL.

Yeah I guess that would be a good idea. I guess this is kind of a stupid question, but do nurses in the ER get to do "exciting" things, or is it just making rounds and taking vitals? I just have this notion in my head for some reason that being an EMT or a medic is the most "exciting" part of the medical field, but that's probably not true. I guess the main focus of my previous questions is, do I have a chance of working in the field without being able to drive? That's what I would really like to do, but I want to know now if there's just no possibility of it.

Hi everyone! I just discovered EMT City a few days ago, and I'm hooked. I'm not an EMT yet, but I love reading all the posts to sort of get an inside look in the EMS world before I get there. A little bit about myself- I mentioned that I'm not an EMT yet. I'm in a dual enrollment program at the local community college that is for juniors and seniors in high school. I'm only in my junior year, and the classes we take aren't EMT related yet, although they're useful (First Aid, CPR, and AED, College Success, Intro to Oral Communications, and Essentials of Human Structure); but next year I will be in the EMT class and will be able to do clinicals and take the test to become certified as soon as I graduate. After that, I'd really like to go to Eastern Kentucky University and get a bachelor's degree in Emergency Medicine with the Paramedic/ Science option. I think it's a good idea because I'd like to move on to paramedic after EMT, I feel a bachelor's degree will give me an upper hand in job opportunities later on, and it also leaves doors open if I'd like to go to medical school or anything later. With all that said, I would really like to ask a few important questions. I have right homonymous hemianopsia due to a stroke en utero, and only have a 90 degree field of vision. Due to this, it isn't safe for me to drive (in fact, the law says one must have at least 130 degree field of vision to drive). I realize that this is a really big problem because to be an EMT, obviously you have to be able to drive an ambulance. However, I was wondering if I have options. EMTs and Paramedics can work in the ER at a hospital instead of on an ambulance, correct? Is that a good job or do you just get stuck with little things like moving patients around and such? I was thinking that an ER already has nurses and doctors there, so an EMT or a medic would be the lowest man on the totem pole, but do you get to do real medical stuff? Is it hard to get a job in the ER since they could just hire nurses who are allowed to do more? One of the reasons I decided to move on to Paramedic after EMT is that I have heard that ambulances have teams of one EMT and one Paramedic, and the EMT drives and the medic stays with the patient. Is this correct? If so, I was thinking that if I was a medic, the driving issue wouldn't be a problem. Would I be able to negotiate with a prospective employer so that I could go out in a team like that and not have to drive, or do I simply not have a chance of working on an ambulance? I would really appreciate feedback, thanks so much in advance to those who reply.