Physical Demands of EMS

[JosephW]

Hey, I have a question about body structure when it comes to being an EMT, I am not a really big guy but I am interested in being an EMT, What do I have to be able to do physical wise in order to be an EMT?

[tcripp]

Hey, I have a question about body structure when it comes to being an EMT, I am not a really big guy but I am interested in being an EMT, What do I have to be able to do physical wise in order to be an EMT?

Lift, bend, squat, CPR and more...for extended periods of time. Have the ability to work in extreme heat/cold depending on where you work. Have the ability to stand/sit for extended periods of time when staging at an event.

I recommend you look at some of the services where you might want to work and find out what their physical ability/agility tests include. That would be a good start.

Another would be to do a ride out with your local service. You can gain lots of information simply by obversation.

[carolinagrl]

Hey there welcome to the fold!! I'm a female 5'4" 120 lbs and mid-forties. I've been a firefighter/emt for 9 years. You can absolutely do this job and be smaller, sometimes it takes a little more work or ability to compensate. I have run into a few places where I didn't even apply because of the agility test. It's more about how much your heart is in this business. If this is what you truly love you'll find a way. If you don't love this business then skip it because you won't last long. Ride alongs or volunteer work are a real good idea. It will give you a good idea if you're cut out for this. Good luck!!

[Richard B the EMT]

On a slightly different take, in addition to the items mentioned by TCRIPP, you also have to be able to do the skills taught you AS an EMT, and know the limit of what you know (meaning when to request Paramedics for their advanced medical knowledge and skills sets).

[Dustdevil]

What do I have to be able to do physical wise in order to be an EMT?

Learning to choose a proper thread name for your question would greatly enhance your career.

Renamed.

[aussiephil]

Learning to choose a proper thread name for your question would greatly enhance your career.

Renamed.

Does than include proper grammer & proper english?

[DwayneEMTP]

The physical demands of this job have much less to do with your physical attributes than you're technique and intelligence.

I find that I spend the majority of my time doing nothing significant and then am suddenly in a position to need to lift fat people on a heavy cot and then drag them through a bunch of weird places. At these times it's much more about making sure that I move the load so that I can lift if evenly and safely, use good lifting technique, ask for help if I need it, while the firemen are snickering about what a pussy I am.

Screw the whole, "Me and Bubba pride ourselves on never having had a lift assist, not ever." One of the best medics at my service is 5'4" and 115 lbs. If she can't lift she'll ask for help, if she can't ask for help then she'll come up with an intelligent way to get the job done and not get hurt. She's my hero.

EMS is sometimes about brawn, but get good now with the fact that you need to focus way more on brains. Brains are at a premium, people trying to prove that they have an unusually long penis can be found running all over EMS scenes.

Make sure you're fit, and then stay that way. But know that if you are thinking of getting into EMS and your main focus is on the physical that you're off in the ditch here brother.

Welcome to the City! Good to have you.

You've been stung a few times about spelling and grammar. Don't let it bother you. Those folks are just poking a little fun at you in the hopes of helping you improve, thus improving your chance of success in EMS and other things. Don't take it personally, but do take it to heart, OK?

Dwayne

[akflightmedic]

Does than that include proper grammer grammar & proper english English?

[HERBIE1]

I will be flamed for sure for this, but oh well- I call 'em as I see 'em...

As was noted, there ARE physical demands to this job. I spent the 1st 20+ years in this business using 2 man stretchers. My first employer(a private) did not believe in using the stair chair stretcher, and actually would discipline people for using it. I simply did not know better at the time. We also did not have the luxury of having lifting help for most calls unless it was an extremely large patient, and it would be a preplanned situation with 2 crews. Thus, we would find new and creative ways to get the stretcher into tight places, up and down flights of stairs, etc. I was also a young, flexible, and healthy guy so any abuse I put my body through did not show up until later in my career. My biggest problem with lifting was getting the 2 man stretcher into the ambulance from the ground. The initial vertical lift was fine, but the move after the front wheels hit the floor to get the rest of the cot into the rig was where I saw the most trouble. When I worked with women, more often than not, as soon as those front wheels hit the floor of the rig, most of the female partners(and yes, a couple males) would be done. They simply did not have the upper body strength to make that last move to get the cot into the rig and I would be forced to muscle it in essentially by myself. As a result, I believe that wear and tear(and all the other crazy lifts we do) contributed to my current back problems. Now we finally have "1 man" stretchers, which are a godsend, but too little, too late- the damage has been done.

You can have the best lifting technique in the world, but there are times when there simply is no substitute for muscle power. Pulling someone out of a car, out of a bathtub, or from under a pile of garbage- there's no "proper technique" or good body mechanics that can help you in those cases. No, not every woman has trouble, and I have worked with women who are strong as oxes, but in general, because women do not have the upper body strength as men, they have caused me the most trouble. That's fine- women can adapt, but too often their partners need to compensate and they can get hurt or sustain chronic injuries.

Obviously there are plenty of places where there are 3 man crews, plenty of help, and things like power assisted chairs and cots so any physical differences are certainly minimized in those cases. God bless technology, and it's certainly saved a bunch of EMS careers, but I would strongly encourage people to consider their limitations before choosing ANY career. I am a short guy, which means any basketball aspirations I may have had would have been unrealistic. That's life. It's not right or wrong, fair or unfair, it just IS.

Just my nickel's worth and something to consider...

[46Young]

I will be flamed for sure for this, but oh well- I call 'em as I see 'em...

As was noted, there ARE physical demands to this job. I spent the 1st 20+ years in this business using 2 man stretchers. My first employer(a private) did not believe in using the stair chair stretcher, and actually would discipline people for using it. I simply did not know better at the time. We also did not have the luxury of having lifting help for most calls unless it was an extremely large patient, and it would be a preplanned situation with 2 crews. Thus, we would find new and creative ways to get the stretcher into tight places, up and down flights of stairs, etc. I was also a young, flexible, and healthy guy so any abuse I put my body through did not show up until later in my career. My biggest problem with lifting was getting the 2 man stretcher into the ambulance from the ground. The initial vertical lift was fine, but the move after the front wheels hit the floor to get the rest of the cot into the rig was where I saw the most trouble. When I worked with women, more often than not, as soon as those front wheels hit the floor of the rig, most of the female partners(and yes, a couple males) would be done. They simply did not have the upper body strength to make that last move to get the cot into the rig and I would be forced to muscle it in essentially by myself. As a result, I believe that wear and tear(and all the other crazy lifts we do) contributed to my current back problems. Now we finally have "1 man" stretchers, which are a godsend, but too little, too late- the damage has been done.

You can have the best lifting technique in the world, but there are times when there simply is no substitute for muscle power. Pulling someone out of a car, out of a bathtub, or from under a pile of garbage- there's no "proper technique" or good body mechanics that can help you in those cases. No, not every woman has trouble, and I have worked with women who are strong as oxes, but in general, because women do not have the upper body strength as men, they have caused me the most trouble. That's fine- women can adapt, but too often their partners need to compensate and they can get hurt or sustain chronic injuries.

Obviously there are plenty of places where there are 3 man crews, plenty of help, and things like power assisted chairs and cots so any physical differences are certainly minimized in those cases. God bless technology, and it's certainly saved a bunch of EMS careers, but I would strongly encourage people to consider their limitations before choosing ANY career. I am a short guy, which means any basketball aspirations I may have had would have been unrealistic. That's life. It's not right or wrong, fair or unfair, it just IS.

Just my nickel's worth and something to consider...

I had to use those one man stretchers for the first two years of my career. The toughest part was lining up the cot with the pins. If you miss, you're manipulating the cot from the bottom again. With four people, we would cross our grips over, forming an "X" with our near arms. I still use that technique to lift pts from the cot to a hospital bed.

Anyways, the average EMS worker isn't exactly the picture of health. Long hours, frequent OT, interrupted sleep, sitting for extended periods of time, lifting the obese in awkward, mechanically disadvantageous positions and eating fast food and 7-11 due to lack of options takes it's toll.

For the OP, to do the job and hopefully remain injury free, you need to realize a few things:

A&P will teach you that the various muscles in your midsection run at all different angles. This is effective for protection if you train these muscles properly. Do prone planks, side planks, hanging toes to bar, ab wheel rollouts, turkish get upss and olympic style front squats (OSFS) to name a few things.

Your posterior chain is where your strength from, and glute activation is the key to knee stability among other things. Deadlifts and romanian deadlifts are obvious, as well as glute ham raises, hyperextensions, bulgarian split squats, lunges, and snatch grip deadlifts.

Most lifting in EMS is front loaded. Deadlifts, OSFS's, rows, renegade rows, sandbag carries and farmer's walks will get the job done .

Moving a pt from cot to bed requires a strong pull in addition to a solid core. Pullups, rows, cable rows, and one arm DB unsupported (standing with free arm not resting on anything) will do.

Don't forget shoulder health. Face pulls, the waiter's walk, power wheel/frisbee walks, scapular pushups, YTWL, scapular wall slides, and "reverse" shrugs while hanging from a pullup bar should bulletproof your shoulders.

Most if not all lifting should be done from a standing or kneeling position just like on the job.

Edited March 5, 2010 by 46Young