Age = Experience?

[joesph]

The road to Hell is paved with good intentions. And good intentions are no substitute for competence.

Although, I agree that being patient is really her only option. There is no way to convince an idiot that they are wrong (see the last two pages of this thread for proof). And any attempts to talk her way out of this will only be received as whining, and further proof that she isn't ready.

Boy your crabby right after your nap. But besides winding you up the direction of my statement is this, the young lady who started this thread is still a little wet behind the ears (sorry) and maybe the person mentoring her is trying to temper her instead of plunging her into the bucket right off to see if she cracks. And if she shows this much enthusiasm at 17 maybe she will go carrier and seek a paid (oh my god I said it) position. But I do applaud her enthusiasm most of the 17 yr old's I see are pretty useless. As far as your discussion with firemedic it's entertaining but not staying on target very well.

[Dustdevil]

Alright.....wow. So....I'm an idiot, and I'm whining?

Well, apparently I grossly overestimated your maturity.

I wasn't calling you an idiot. I was calling the idiot who is treating you like a child an idiot for doing so. And I didn't say you were whining. I said that the idiot in question would interpret your concerns as whining, because... well, he's an idiot.

As for trusting them with your life, what choice do you have? And what experience do you have with any other EMS organisation from which to judge the professionalism of the one you are hanging out with? None.

Mellow out. I have been taking your side since page 1. Don't blow it.

[Anna_09]

Oh, haha, sorry about that.

Yeah....I agree with you, I"ll be the first to admit it...I've only been in this for a year, and I'm still quite inexperienced. But thats not a reason to say I'm not ready. I've got to run on calls to become experienced.

And as for the people I run with...they have tons of experience, and are VERY good at what they do.

Haha, I didn't mean to start anything, if it was my fault. I was just curious. Next time I'll know, haha.

Thanks

Edited May 12, 2009 by Anna_09

[Dustdevil]

Yeah....I agree with you, I"ll be the first to admit it...I've only been in this for a year, and I'm still quite inexperienced. But thats not a reason to say I'm not ready. I've got to run on calls to become experienced.

That's my point exactly. You are as ready as any other EMT. And not allowing you to gain the experience necessary to become the best you can be is a disservice to you, your organisation, and your patients. There is no excuse for this silly policy, and it is clear evidence that the people you are working with -- no matter how "experienced" they may be -- are idiots.

And as for the people I run with...they have tons of experience, and are VERY good at what they do.

If you think you are even slightly qualified to judge whether or not they are good at what they do, you are fooling yourself. You do not. They could be doing things 100 percent wrong, and you'd never know it.

And, of course, no amount of "experience" as an EMT qualifies you as a competent preceptor. Don't fall into the trap of worshipping these people just because they've worn a patch for longer than you. I know twenty-year paramedics who are still incompetent idiots. Doing things wrong for twenty years does not make them right. As was already mentioned in this thread, question everything. Take nothing for granted. Just because you are younger and less experienced does not mean that they are right or know what they are doing.

Good luck.

[Mateo_1387]

First, I think you have some great posts. They are so far very easy to read because you possess grammar skills.

Second, my opinion is that you should ditch the EMS thing. At 17 years old, and even at my age of 22, this is not a job for young people. These years should be the times of our lives, learning to enjoy life, think for ourselves, have fun, and soak in as much as we can to improve ourselves. Not spending countless nights at EMS stations, answering calls in a stringent and strict environment that keeps our mentality confined to the attitudes around us. You seem like a very intelligent 17-year-old. I give you that. I have learned though, that even at the age of 22, I do not belong in this business at this point in my life. Quite honestly, my opinion is that others my age do not belong in this line of work. This is time for you to shine, not wipe puke off of some old person who fell on the floor at 3am.

There is so much to learn in this world. EMS will distract you from that. I believed 22 years was old enough for me to be a paramedic. Sure, I can do the job, and I do it well, but I should not be wiping puke off some old person that fell at 3am. This is the time for me to keep exploring my boundaries, build my own life standards, gain life experience, and become the best damn person I can be. I feel at 17, your goals should be similar. You should be focused on your life of a 17 year old, having friends your age, learning to build your own values and standards, and living life to the fullest. There will be plenty of time down the road that you can spend doing EMS.

EMS is not all that bad. I would not trade what has been taught to me, and the experience gained from being a young paramedic. It definitely has shaped my life. The only thing is that I should be doing this at a later point in life. Being young is a special time. Becoming an adult and learning the idiosyncrasies of adulthood is much more important than EMS.

To you, what I posted may seem like a bunch of bullshyte, but I honestly believe you are intelligent enough to comprehend what I am saying. Hopefully, you will take this information and think upon it. I realized it way too late. Please do not make the same mistake. It took a dear friend of mine to point this out to me, and I thank him immensely (you know who you are). There is still much to comprehend and learn about life.

Just one young paramedic’s opinion…

Matt(y)

[mobey]

And as for the people I run with...they have tons of experience, and are VERY good at what they do.

Thanks

Anna, I think you are missing a key point.

Due to your inexperience/lack of education, it is impossible for you to adequatly assess someone's job performance and make the above statement.

I have been EXACTLY where you are. A young gung-ho basic being mentor'd by a 17yr veteran Paramedic. Now that I have whored around at a few companies I know I was being led down the wrong path more than once.

Just sayin' keep your eyes open.

[Anna_09]

Yeah...I guess thats true. I just don't like hearing anything bad about them, because they are my second family, and I never meant to question my service...but...I guess thats what I did, huh?

Anyways, I was talking to one of my mentors earlier...and they said after I get out of school, I'll be able to go out on more calls, and I agree with what joseph said:

"maybe the person mentoring her is trying to temper her instead of plunging her into the bucket right off to see if she cracks. And if she shows this much enthusiasm at 17 maybe she will go carrier and seek a paid (oh my god I said it) position. But I do applaud her enthusiasm most of the 17 yr old's I see are pretty useless."

My mentor sees me like one of his own kids, so of course he doesn't want me to be traumatized because I'm just starting off. But he WILL have to get over that eventually, and let me go. And after I get my RN...I just might go for a paid EMS position, and if there's one thing I know...its that I'm not a useless 17 year old...I help as much as I can, and do what they let me do.

And they've actually been trusting me more as time goes along. There was a wreck today, and they let me handle the patient by myself *refusal*, and do as much of the paperwork as I could.

Anna, I think you are missing a key point.

Due to your inexperience/lack of education, it is impossible for you to adequatly assess someone's job performance and make the above statement.

I have been EXACTLY where you are. A young gung-ho basic being mentor'd by a 17yr veteran Paramedic. Now that I have whored around at a few companies I know I was being led down the wrong path more than once.

Just sayin' keep your eyes open.

Haha, true. Sorry I contradicted myself.

First, I think you have some great posts. They are so far very easy to read because you possess grammar skills.

Second, my opinion is that you should ditch the EMS thing. At 17 years old, and even at my age of 22, this is not a job for young people. These years should be the times of our lives, learning to enjoy life, think for ourselves, have fun, and soak in as much as we can to improve ourselves. Not spending countless nights at EMS stations, answering calls in a stringent and strict environment that keeps our mentality confined to the attitudes around us. You seem like a very intelligent 17-year-old. I give you that. I have learned though, that even at the age of 22, I do not belong in this business at this point in my life. Quite honestly, my opinion is that others my age do not belong in this line of work. This is time for you to shine, not wipe puke off of some old person who fell on the floor at 3am.

There is so much to learn in this world. EMS will distract you from that. I believed 22 years was old enough for me to be a paramedic. Sure, I can do the job, and I do it well, but I should not be wiping puke off some old person that fell at 3am. This is the time for me to keep exploring my boundaries, build my own life standards, gain life experience, and become the best damn person I can be. I feel at 17, your goals should be similar. You should be focused on your life of a 17 year old, having friends your age, learning to build your own values and standards, and living life to the fullest. There will be plenty of time down the road that you can spend doing EMS.

EMS is not all that bad. I would not trade what has been taught to me, and the experience gained from being a young paramedic. It definitely has shaped my life. The only thing is that I should be doing this at a later point in life. Being young is a special time. Becoming an adult and learning the idiosyncrasies of adulthood is much more important than EMS.

To you, what I posted may seem like a bunch of bullshyte, but I honestly believe you are intelligent enough to comprehend what I am saying. Hopefully, you will take this information and think upon it. I realized it way too late. Please do not make the same mistake. It took a dear friend of mine to point this out to me, and I thank him immensely (you know who you are). There is still much to comprehend and learn about life.

Just one young paramedic's opinion…

Matt(y)

Yeah, I've thought about that before. But honestly....here's me. I'm a 17 year old girl who, if I just lived life, would let other people walk all over her, and be too generous for my own good. I'd rather have a job where I'm able to help people, and not partying. I'm not saying I don't do anything fun....I go to carnivals, go to the movies, hang out with friends, and work as a convience store clerk on the side. Its just that I love to be able to help people. I'm not saying that this will be my only profession...I want to be a nurse.

I just believe its better for me to start at the bottom and work my way up, because if you just go straight to the top, you tend to look down on the less qualified. I've seen that for a fact....RN's looking down on CNA's, and paramedics looking down on Basics. *Not all do, but some tend to have the mindset "I've been in this longer than you have, I have more schooling than you have, so what you think means nothing to me"* I don't want to be like that, so I will always try to appreciate everyone, no matter what level I get to.

Edited May 12, 2009 by Anna_09

[Dustdevil]

...I agree with what joseph said:

"maybe the person mentoring her is trying to temper her instead of plunging her into the bucket right off to see if she cracks."

Meh... don't fall for that drama. In thirty-six years in EMS -- since age 16 -- I have yet to see anyone "crack" from EMS stress. It's nonsense. And even telling you that kind of crap just psychs you out and makes it harder for you to adjust.

Yeah, I've thought about that before. But honestly....here's me. I'm a 17 year old girl who, if I just lived life, would let other people walk all over her, and be too generous for my own good.

Care to tell us about a life you have saved?

I just believe its better for me to start at the bottom and work my way up, because if you just go straight to the top, you tend to look down on the less qualified. I've seen that for a fact....RN's looking down on CNA's, and paramedics looking down on Basics.

You just contradicted yourself again. Almost ALL paramedics start out as Basics (the exception being those who start out as nurses), and yet some still look down on Basics. So then how can you say that starting out at the bottom prevents this? The logic doesn't follow. And EMT and nursing are not related professions. EMT is not a stepping stone to nursing, so do not make the mistake of thinking that way.

*Not all do, but some tend to have the mindset "I've been in this longer than you have, I have more schooling than you have, so what you think means nothing to me"* I don't want to be like that, so I will always try to appreciate everyone, no matter what level I get to.

You can appreciate someone without blowing smoke up their arse to make them believe they are actually worth more than they are. Chances are that someone with more schooling and experience than you DOES know more than you. And chances are that there is nothing that you can tell them that they do not already know. This is the problem with a field where three weeks of night school is all that is required to participate. People come out thinking that, since they have the same colour patch as the others, that they somehow know it all. Trust me, after a few years in the field, you'll fully understand why we get so exasperated with the know-it-all n00bs. Please don't encourage them by falsely inflating their egos with praise that has not been earned.

[Anna_09]

QUOTE Yeah, I've thought about that before. But honestly....here's me. I'm a 17 year old girl who, if I just lived life, would let other people walk all over her, and be too generous for my own good.

Care to tell us about a life you have saved?

First of all, your right...haha, I'll shut my mouth before I end up looking too stupid. And second...when did I say that I saved a life? He told me that at 17, I should be living my own life, and not be too worried about the EMS profession. I said that if I lived life, and not cared about EMS, I would basically just let people walk all over me (I already do), and be too generous for my own good (I already am)

Anyways...I don't want to look stupid anymore...so I'm shutting my mouth. Thanks again everyone, for everything. You've opened my eyes to a lot of stuff...not just "small town thinking".

[Dustdevil]

...when did I say that I saved a life? He told me that at 17, I should be living my own life, and not be too worried about the EMS profession. I said that if I lived life, and not cared about EMS, I would basically just let people walk all over me (I already do), and be too generous for my own good (I already am)

Ooops! Sorry. My mistake. This is what happens when you read posts too fast. My apologies.