Being an EMT and a parent of a toddler...

[Squeaks]

Hello,

So I had an important question about the life as an EMT. I have been really praying for direction and I believe that I'm being called to follow the path as an EMT. I want to help people, and I honestly don't care about salary. I really have been researching and preparing myself for pursuing this, I just have one thing I worry about. 

I have a 2 year old son, and I understand that the job will demand a very large chunk of my time. For those of you that do have kids, how do you handle it? Do you have any advice for me? 

(I'm currently looking to the child care aspect, as my husband wouldn't be able to keep an eye on him throughout most of the days. He's studying biomechanical engineering, so I have a pretty good idea how unavailable he'll be. But I know that if this is really where the Lord is guiding me, He will provide a means. )

Edited August 15, 2016 by Squeaks
Misspelled words

[JTEMS]

I had a girl in my EMT class who had 5 kids. It can be done. EMS usually works 24 hour shifts, two days a week where I live. It can vary, though. 

EMT school will be the most important thing in your life. Your kid obviously has to be taken care of, so that means EMT will cut way into your free time (and it did for me. And I'm 20 and live at home with no kids.) 

I would do it. It's amazing the things I've seen. I've done CPR on a man in front of his wife and got a pulse back. I've rushed into someone's house with the fire department to pull a man out who loss consciousness making his family breakfast. It's indescribable. 

Edited August 15, 2016 by JTEMS

[Just Plain Ruff]

JT just stop,  EMT School for some is the most important thing in their life but many adults in emt school have many priorities that they have to balance on top of EMS school.  Kids, husband, family, work, church, other commitments that they also have to add EMT School or medic school.  You lived at home, no kids, so do you really have the perspective to say that EMS takes precedence over every other aspect of their lives like you did in a previous post?  

It's obvious you have drunk the Kool-aid and are now a fully devoted EMS junkie with no kids and living at home (maybe not living at home now) but others have priorities bigger than EMS that they have to juggle and they do the best they can with what they have.  

EMS/school does not have to be EVERYTHING and be the number one priority of someone's life, That's bad advice, especially if that person has a family and commitments that go along with keeping that family fed and supported.  

You wrote "I would do it. It's amazing the things I've seen. I've done CPR on a man in front of his wife and got a pulse back. I've rushed into someone's house with the fire department to pull a man out who loss consciousness making his family breakfast. It's indescribable."   Have you also done CPR on a man in front of his wife and not got a pulse back, or rushed into someone's house to pull a man out who lost consciousness in front of his children and not brought him back.  That's not so indescribable.  Don't just give the rose colored glasses viewpoint.  

 

it sounds like I'm busting your balls here, but the advice you are giving is in my opinion(and it's just that, my opinion - like it or dont) not great advice.  

[JTEMS]

Im not really sure what your problem is.. I have an opinion, you have yours.

[JTEMS]

I have no problem with you, and I realize your opinion may hold a lil more weight than mine, but I still feel the way I do. I understand completely what you are saying, and I to an extent I agree.. but I still treat this as my life. I don't have a girlfriend. I have 2 friends. Literally. I chose this life knowing everything else would com second. I understand not everyone works like this, but for people like me, it does. I can see how your opinion may be a little more beneficial to people with kids, but still. 

[scubanurse]

I'm not in EMS anymore but I am an ER nurse with a 15 month old baby girl.  It is tough to balance work and home life, especially when you have the ped's code that is the same age as your child.  Make a list of your priorities and if you can shift some around for the length of the class, then go for it.  If you can't make room in your top three priorities right now, then EMS may  not be for you at this point in time.  Once you're through the class there are all sorts of options available to you, EMT tech in an ER where you do three 12's a week, 24's on a rig, who knows.  It depends on your area, but there are plenty of options available to you, even more so if you pursue a degree in EMS and get your paramedic.

 

Hang in there and good luck

[paramedicmike]

4 hours ago, JTEMS said:

I have no problem with you, and I realize your opinion may hold a lil more weight than mine, but I still feel the way I do. I understand completely what you are saying, and I to an extent I agree.. but I still treat this as my life. I don't have a girlfriend. I have 2 friends. Literally. I chose this life knowing everything else would com second. I understand not everyone works like this, but for people like me, it does. I can see how your opinion may be a little more beneficial to people with kids, but still. 

Please read your text carefully.  Please think very carefully about what you've written.

An educated opinion formulated by years of experience is worth much more than that of someone who is brand new to the game.

You're right.  It's your life.  That being said please consider the well seasoned experience from people who have been doing this much longer than you.  Pace yourself or you'll burn yourself out.  And burned out is not a good place to be.

[Just Plain Ruff]

6 hours ago, JTEMS said:

I have no problem with you, and I realize your opinion may hold a lil more weight than mine, but I still feel the way I do. I understand completely what you are saying, and I to an extent I agree.. but I still treat this as my life. I don't have a girlfriend. I have 2 friends. Literally. I chose this life knowing everything else would com second. I understand not everyone works like this, but for people like me, it does. I can see how your opinion may be a little more beneficial to people with kids, but still. 

And JT I have no problem with you, none whatsoever, I just have an issue with the advice you are giving.  

I get the fact that you have chosen EMS as your life's calling and I get it,  I was like you way back when, but your advice is based on a small smattering of time and the fact that you were presenting it initially as fact is where I had the issue.  

Continue doing what you are doing in your life, I'm not here to tell you any way else to do what you do with your life, but when you tell someone that EMS is now to take over priority over EVERYTHING and all else is secondary, that's bad advice.  

Brother, I get it, I was like you once,  I hope that you will see after a year or so of experience, once you do get a girlfriend who begins to get jealous of your EMS life, you will begin to understand the EMS is not everything.  That the next major EMS Call is not going to be the next awesome thing.  

Again, I have no issues with you, I'm sure you are a great guy, I just have issues with your advice.  

Please don't mistake my criticism of your advice here as a criticism towards you as a person. 

[JTEMS]

3 hours ago, Ruffmeister Paramedic said:

And JT I have no problem with you, none whatsoever, I just have an issue with the advice you are giving.  

I get the fact that you have chosen EMS as your life's calling and I get it,  I was like you way back when, but your advice is based on a small smattering of time and the fact that you were presenting it initially as fact is where I had the issue.  

Continue doing what you are doing in your life, I'm not here to tell you any way else to do what you do with your life, but when you tell someone that EMS is now to take over priority over EVERYTHING and all else is secondary, that's bad advice.  

Brother, I get it, I was like you once,  I hope that you will see after a year or so of experience, once you do get a girlfriend who begins to get jealous of your EMS life, you will begin to understand the EMS is not everything.  That the next major EMS Call is not going to be the next awesome thing.  

Again, I have no issues with you, I'm sure you are a great guy, I just have issues with your advice.  

Please don't mistake my criticism of your advice here as a criticism towards you as a person. 

I understand what you are saying. I appreciate the advice, and thank you for being respectfully candid. 

[ERDoc]

And back to the OP, the answer is, it depends.  EMS is very different from one location to another.  In my paid position I worked 8 hour shifts and was off on time, most of the time.  As for EMT class, it's really basic.  If you can pass high school, you have a really good chance of passing EMT class.  Most EMT books are written on an 8th grade level.  As for the calls, yeah, you'll get your saves in once in awhile but most calls are mundane calls that don't need an ambulance.  In some places you will be doing renal roundup or interfacility transports.  It's not the way they make it look on TV.