Forum negativity towards the job has me concerned

[JTpaintball70]

Good observation, I do not know why the people in our industry are the absolute most negative, gossiping, backstabbing set of folk in any industry, but we excel there. Whenever I hear it, I ask the simple question, "With the education you have right now, what other job could you do and make as much as you do ?" They use to answer construction, painting, landscaping, but that has all died in this economy, but when they answered that in the past, I would say great, quit and go do that, cause you are not doing anything here but bringing down morale.

There is an old joke that still rings true: Do you know what the difference is between a puppy and a paramedic ? Puppies quit whining after 6 weeks.

After working in a hospital for 9 months (on almost every floor plus the ED at various times) I have to say that we don't have anything on nurses when it comes to gossip. Maybe it was the fact that 95% of the staff at my hospital was women, but it was bad. It's why I never hung around any nurses station if I could help it.

[Mazrin]

Thank you all for the well written and thoughtful posts. I appreciate it a lot.

If anyone else has more to say, I'll still be checking out the forums (and this thread), so don't worry about your words going to waste.

[uglyEMT]

Well maybe I can shed a little light here. I mean no where as great as Lone Star or Dwayne but some personal insight.

I have only been in this industry 2 years and been at this site even less BUT I will say this. When I first got on a rig I was all stars and sparkles, couldnt wait for that trauma call or the arrest. Well guess what its not like that LOL I love what I do and I do it for free as a vollie. This brings me to this site.

When i joined here I hated all the vollie bashing. Check my posts I would fight tooth and nail till I was blue in the face defending my vollie experience. Then a few folks here explained to me the reasoning behind posts and such. Its based on THEIR experiences and as such they are entitled to their OPINIONS. So I digressed and realized that I can coexist with everyone here if I let alot of the negativity to fall by the way side and focus on the meat and potatos of the discussions.

Your experiences will be just that YOUR experiences, some will be good. Some will be bad. Good and bad days. Just realize what we really do and try to enjoy the profession.

ok some of this is probably incoherent babble as I am pushing 20hrs awake and am looking at another 14 before sleep so I appologize if it doesnt make sense.

[maverick56]

Just curious, what state are you in? Oh, and welcome! Great first post

Edited November 8, 2010 by maverick56

[Mateo_1387]

Mazrin, to start off with, great first post ! Stick around the City, you should find it invaluable during your tenure in EMS.

Although there are some great posts on this thread, I would like to give you a perspective from more of a mental standpoint coming from a young age. I am a 23 year old Paramedic. I am in eastern NC, and my EMS experience is limited to this area. With that in mind, anything said following this is not necessarily how things are on the national level.

As a young person entering the EMS field, it can be quite a challenge. Being this young, we still have a lot in life to figure out. I have noticed (personal experience) that between the ages of 18 and 23, we are learning how to be "our own person". The mentality changes from being a follower (do what your teacher says, do what your parents say, etc...) to being an independent young adult really leaves us with quite different advantages and disadvantages. We learn to maintain discipline to do what is good and right, in light of not having consequences placed by authority figures (such as parents/teachers). We are still developing the skills necessary to stand up for ourselves as to not be taken advantage of by others. We are learning to better interact as an adult with other adults who can outrank us greatly with life experience. EMS can have a great impact on the young adult’s development.

With that being said, the negativity in EMS, without having that life experience, can be overwhelming and bring out characteristics that you may not be proud of. It is important for you to be open minded with your new experiences, as you need to be able to decipher the good from the bad, and to think independently, and not follow the closed minded views you are certain to face. Without being touchy-feely, but rather quite honest, EMS experiences can create quite a roller coaster ride in your life. For me, I have reflected and noticed many changes that I contribute to my EMS experience.

It really forced me to be a more confident person (although that is still changing to this day for me). Others typically will look down towards a fresh and young looking face, chalking us up to being hormonal and inexperienced, not really belonging in a high stress medical career. It taught me that I had to improve my confidence skills, which has been a positive impact on me being "my own person". The confidence shows others that you are ready to embark on the EMS journey. At the same time, it is important to be humble and realize that there is still a lot more for us to learn.

As others have mentioned, separating work and personal life has also been another lesson. Although not limited to the young adults, I think for young adults, it where the skill is best learned. It was quite easy for me to succumb to bringing my stress from work to home. Starting out with good habits and practices can define how your whole EMS experience is. Although you are still in the learning phase, remember to learn what is right. The best learning you can do is to question and find out for yourself, not relying on Joe Blow’s opinion.

On a financial level, many people find EMS to be inadequate. Being young and unmarried, it is more money than I probably need. It is nice to see a paycheck and know that I have plenty of money to do pretty much what I like to do. Now applying that to a family would be different. While I believe it is doable, with an EMS salary, to support a family, more money is always better, right? Many families live off of less money than an EMT makes, so, it should be doable. Will it be easy, though, probably not. When I get married and have three kids popped out, I’ll come back and let you know how it worked out.

I like my job though. I enjoy the nature of the work, the environment, challenges, and learning aspects of the job. That isn’t to say that it is the mother lode of all jobs. I am quite sure there are other jobs out there where I could be just as happy, if not happier, and better off. Why do I stay you ask? Well, probably complacency. But, it is not uncommon to stay where one feels safe and secure. Changes can be scary and that probably has a bit to do why people feel stuck in the profession.

As far as careers to transition into, most feel that EMS should not be a transition career, although most think it is. I say transition into whatever you will be happiest with. A lot of folks transition into nursing, some move on to PA and the like. Others though, remain in the profession. There are also opportunities to work in a hospital or clinic setting as a paramedic, so there are some options for you. At our age, there is so much to do, I wouldn’t recommend making up your mind, but rather being flexible. Realize that in a year from now, your thinking and mindset will be different, and as such, your decisions for changes need to be made accordingly.

My successes are not based on buying a house or raising a family working EMS. Rather I consider the success to be personal in nature, in that I am happy with the decisions and directions my life has endured. I think that is the key reason you find such negativity in EMS. Many people are unable to be a generally happy person. I am sure you are familiar with the saying ‘misery loves company’. Make any sense?

Good luck Marzin, I hope this helps. If you wish anymore information from the ‘kids’ perspective, just ask !

Matt.

[island emt]

Well done Mateo:

As an old man in the business [38 years and heading towards retirement] I applaud your open eyed look at the industry and you willingness to continue you education.

There may be hope for the youngun's yet. :-}

[Lone Star]

Mateo,

Well said!

It's refreshing to see a 'younger view' like this. You've eloquently given us a glimpse into the 'younger mind' and the trials and tribulations that many of us 'older dogs' have put behind us as we've transitioned from young adult toward middle age and beyond.

A good number of us become jaded as we progress through a higly stressful and demanding career choice. We sometimes forget what it was like to be 'just starting out'. I know I'm guilty of it from time to time.

We can all probably recall our first calls, how absolutely terrified we were of potentially screwing something up. As we progress through our professional career, we tend to focus more on how we can become better at what we do. Sometimes we just need a little 'reminder' how far we've come from the days of the newjack with the trembling hands and shaking in our boots, because we weren't sure of what to do, or if we could even do what was necessary.

Thank you for that 'gentle reminder'!

[medicgirl05]

Kudos Mateo!

I am also a 23 year old medic. Im from TX and I have similar issues with growing up in EMS. I became a basic at 18 and fought tooth and nail to get hired. Not many insurances will cover an 18 y/o to drive an ambulance. Since then Ive had people look down on me for not having the same amount of experience as they do. Im still the rookie where I work and Ive been here 5 years. All that aside, I LOVE my job. Yes there are times when I get down at 3AM for a person that sprained their wrist a week ago and wants to be transported to the ER by EMS because they will be seen quicker. Ive also met some life-changing people. Old people with stories of REAL hardship. Young people who make me realize how I DONT want to live my life. Ive learned lessons by watching other peoples mistakes. Ive also been able to share in other people happiness. Ive been the one to look in the eyes of a woman who lost her husband of 60 years in his sleep and told her that despite our best efforts he died. I think all these things signifigantly impact the life of a young person. Maybe for the better, maybe not. However knowing what I know now, I can tell you that, despite the difficulty, and what may to others be considered low pay, I wouldnt change a thing. I do what I do for my patients, when thats not enough then I'll move on.

Just a young medics opinion...

[Just Plain Ruff]

ok, great posts Lone and Dwayne as well as others.

Let me put my career direction in to this mix and see if you can see some parallels.

I'm a Emergency room computer consultant. I leave home monday morning at 0500 or earlier to catch a plane. I fly for 5-8 hours and then drive another hour to the site I work at. I then work till 9pm most nights. I stay in a hotel each night I'm on site. I do not see my family from 0500 monday morning until 11pm or later thursday nights.

I am expected to put in 40 hours a week while on site. That makes the 9pm nights a requirement.

I fly another 7-9 hours home on thursday.

When all the work I do culminates with a go-live for the emergency department, I'm usually working 15-20 days straight from 0600 to about 11pm I'm sleeping either in the hotel room or on an ER gurney in an unused room.

I make a lot of money, and I mean a lot. What they pay me they could pay 4 paramedics in my area.

The money's great but the downside is listed above.

Plus consider that I don't get to come home during the week so I'm away from the wife, daughter and son for those 4 days straight.

My son hates my job, my wife misses her husband and my daughter, well she's only 1 so she doesn't really know I'm gone.

I have other consultants who I work with who would sooner slit your throat than give you any education or knowledge transfer to help you do your job. Many consultants work in silos so you never truly know what they are doing or what they aren't doing.

I have consultants who I've worked with who have told me to fix something and then just because they wanted to be assigned to this site, they made it look like what i did crashed the system.

I have other consultants who want nothing more than to get you alone with them at dinner so they can tell you all their marital problems and then point blank ask you if you would stay the night in their hotel room with them.

I have had other consultants who are so stressed that they just up and walk out of meetings or never come back.

The infidelity rate is pretty high in the travelling consultant ranks because out of site, out of mind. Sort of the what happens in vegas stays in vegas type thinking.

I love the job don't get me wrong, I never have to worry about medical care, most of the docs I work with are more than happy to write out a script for whatever you ask them for. I get seen in the ER much faster because I know most of them who work the ed.

I also am in close contact wiht nurses, doctors, resp therapists and others and you see them at their worst in meetings.

So compare that with EMS. Do the two compare - I beleive they do.

My lifestyle (bills) are not too high but remember you spend what you make. Don't believe anyone who tells you differently. 95% of all people out there will spend every penny they make to pay bills and then pay fun stuff.

Would I change my career back to EMS full time -0 Yes in a heartbeat but that EMS job would have to pay what my consulting job pays and no ems job does that.

Maybe this makes no correlation to EMS but I think it does.

Take the EMS job at its face value. Many of us have been doing the job for many years, some on this forum have 30 years in the service, I have off and on about 20. I was 20 when I started and I'm 42 now. I plan on doing the EMS thing for the next 20 years as a part time basis.

You have to go into thejob without the rose colored glasses that many have, where they think they will be the hero and save the day. That is not the case, that will not happen. YOu have to understand the job and the complaints you are hearing here are complaints that everyone will eventually have.

Can you make a living doing EMS work - yes you can but you have to really have two EMS jobs and your spouse needs to work. I'll bet that those who complain about EMS not paying the bills have many extras that they don't absolutely need to have but they think are necessities. That's fine but this is where the whining comes in.

I have one friend who has two cell phones, one for his personal life and one for both his jobs to get ahold of him for shifts. He also has a pager. He has cable, internet, home phone, 2 cars, a boat, a jetski and a small cabin on the lake. He has 3 52 inch televisions, he has a 5K computer and a laptop he takes to work.

He consistently complains to me about how he has to have a third EMS job to pay for all his stuff. I have no symptathy for him. But do you see where I'm coming from?

But anyway. The job is what you make of it. you can survive on one paramedic wage if you are single but put a family into the mix and this is where things get tight.

Well I'm done rambling.

Be safe Ruff

[speedygodzilla]

To make a ling story short, what's your take?

Think the job is awful? -Then why are you still doing it?

Good but pay sucks when you're starting a family / trying to buy a house, etc? -What's a good career to transition into?

Any success stories?

Nope I don't think the job is awful, I love it. Where I live EMT and Paramedic pay is not quite as high as you originally posted but as a Paramedic it works fine for me. I guess a good transition is RN but I am not recommending a transition.

There are quite a few EMS providers that seem rather burned out and at times seem to be the loud ones. There are days that are worse than others but at the end of the day go home and leave work at work when you can. The thing that works for me is keeping a positive attitude. Trust me it goes a long way.