Stages of confidence

[skinut2234]

Just wondering if this is normal.

I became an EMT 4 years ago- Riding on a local squad that avg 7-800 calls a year so not too much action. When I first rode- I thought I knew everything and never hesitated to jump into a situation. I took a year off and just came back in a different town but feel like I am brand new again and not as confident. Just not as confident in my skills and decisions - so not sure if this is common with volunteer EMS or not.

[Nate]

Don't laugh, but I kind of thought that God didn't give you any calls he didn't feel you were capable of dealing with. I know that sounds really out there in left field, but I noticed how some of the new EMT's and Paramedics here started to get "better" calls as their confidence level started to build. For instance, we had one new paramedic that managed to always have an easy shift (even when she covered for one of us), but the day she said she finally felt like a paramedic she had two codes. :shock:

[Ridryder 911]

A little time off, might had claerd your head and make you realize of a better perspective things. True, sometimes it is a mixed blessing.

Good luck,

R/R 911

[Dustdevil]

It's very common. My confidence is certainly way below where it was when I left the field. I took one other break from the field for a couple of years and it shook my confidence then too. This is medicine. A lot changes in a short time. Even when you've been at it for 30 years, it's disconcerting to get back on an ambo and hear rookies talking of concepts you have never even heard of.

I've seen it happen to other medics who took time off too. And I'm talking about guys who were the best. So, don't let it discourage you. Just take it as motivation to get your head back together. Get into a refresher class. Find CEUs and take them. Pull out your textbook and workbook and work through them again. You NEVER know so much that your textbook can't still teach you things. Do NOT fool yourself into thinking that if you just make a lot of runs, it will all come back to you. It won't. You have to go find it.

[retired_medic61]

I have been off the ambulance for over a year now. If I stepped back on today I am sure my confidence is not where it was two years ago.