How has the EMS profession changed you?

[odessafdniki]

After I sat and read what everyone has said about this topic, I have to say that I agree with most of what was said to a certain extent. I'm not sure if EMS has changed me,... but then again I have never known anything different. I grew up in a family that was always involved in EMS. My grandparents and my parents have been involved in EMS since I was a small child.

I think in alot of ways this has helped me learn what not to do as well as what to do. I learned that if you don't talk about a bad call it WILL eat you up and affect everyone around you. I learned that there are those that you can save and those that you can't and you will feel equally good and bad at the same time.

I have learned that if you don't share what you have learned than you are only being selfish and that we all have something to learn. I have learned some of my most beneficial things from the brand new EMT, I learned what it was like to be excited about the job again, and I have learned equally from the "ol Timers", that no matter what we do it is not always in our hands. There is always a higher power.

On the negative side of things, I have come to be educated about the "personal advancement above all" theory. THere are those people in EMS who only do the job for their own ego, they will eventually rain on your parade and make you feel like you aren't doing what you should, and that you personally are in their way. I have also learned that there is a incredible amount of back stabbing and sabotage among EMS providers, we seem to "play" well together but then turn around and plan on getting screwed.

Overall, EMS is my first love and what I will continue to do for a long time to come, and as I become an instructor I hope to pass on the more important messages and prepare the newbies for what is going to thrown their way. Good Luck and Be Safe out there.

[Asysin2leads]

I recently got my passport redone. My old passport photo was taken when I was 16, which would have been 3 years before I did my first EMT class. Comparing the photo of me when I was 16 to my recent photo is really striking. I should post the two pics, a kind of "Before EMS" and "After EMS" comparison. Maybe I can get to a scanner at some point.

Being in EMS, to me, is like taking the red pill in the The Matrix. Your eyes are opened. You see the world differently than others, and for better or for worse, I believe you see it in its more true light. I think also, as Rid said, if you do this job long enough, you can forget what it was like before you started. I try and remember a time where doctors were infalliable miracle workers, police were there to always uphold the law, firefighters were all heroes and if you got hurt an ambulance could appear like magic and make everything all right, and to be honest, its hard. I think though, knowing what I do now about how life really is, it makes me appreciate it a lot more. Even at my worse moments, I think I can honestly say I am happy to be alive and relatively healthy. I appreciate simple things like the fact that I can walk, that I don't have a heart condition that requires me to take a bunch of pills everyday, I'm glad my loved ones, for all of their faults, are pretty decent people and aren't, say, drug addicts. I don't get upset at the things a lot of other people do. If my someone screws up my coffee order, usually, I'm still happy that I'm able to order coffee. I think thats why people accuse me of being boring, because I just tend to be content with the simplest of things, because I have run into a lot of people who would give anything just to have those simplest of things.

[ladyemt51_2000]

I have been amazed at the different personalities I take on and how quick they change with each call. From the little kid with a scraped knee at the county fair, to the Alzheimer's patient who was once a nurse now unable to care for herself anymore, to the 40's something guy who's corneas and organs I watched being harvested after an MVA, and to his girlfriend who called his name from her cot while we watched on as the coroner pronounced him dead in the next bay. All of the calls important in their own way. I never knew I could be so versatile in so many different situations, and I have carried that into my personal life as well. The things that used to make me fall apart now challenge my mind and encourage me to think rationally and act effectively.

[mobey]

So far EMS has taught me:

Don't be so judgemental, some things aren't as they appear.

Charish your family and close friends they can be gone in a blink of an eye.

Death is not the worst thing that can happen.

The people who say thier hero's aren't, real hero's don't realize they are.

When you think your life has gone for $hit, take inventory on your surroundings.

Before EMS I was the opposite of these!!

(I actually thought the off duty EMT who wore a flashy EMS jacket was a real hero)

[Michael]

Nice, mobey! I like it. Thank you.

[Happiness]

I am amazed at the amount of negative things that go on in the ems group. Maybe im blind to it as I happen to work with a great bunch of people. Our station doesn't have the problems of back stabbing ect. I know that if I have a Bad Call one of my partners is going to call or stop by just to make sure I'm okay. We always have debriefing with a unit chief who just cares about his crew. I love being a paramedic even though I was thrown into this career when my brother in law died infront of me (Death cert states "Cause of death unknown" and his whole family. On the day of his death there was NO ambulance available in our community, (it wouldn't have made a difference as he would have died anyways), we ended up with a doc and nurse on scene so the one girl who was an attendent could drive to the hospital. That was the longest day of my life and it had a crappy ending in more ways then one. After this day my friends who were paramedics said i would be good at it and arranged for all my training and babysitting (its good to have friends who believe in you befor you believe in yourself) Anyways how has this career changed me. I don't think it changed me but made think and learn in different ways. I think that I'm a better person as I now understand as said before that things are not always black or white and the grey in between is dispatch. I've learned that when i arrive at a scene it isn't always going to be what dispatch said it was, I'v learned that children behave much better than alot of adults when they are hurt (they will listen to you), I'v learned that there is always going to be some family member who says "What took you so long" and I will always have the answer for them after the call is complete, I'v learned even if they are a frequent flyer one day it will be real, I'v learned that I can and do think outside of the box, I'v learned that just because the nurse hasn't stopped what she/he is doing that they aren't listening, Iv learned that doctors do say thank-you, I'v learned that I need to always take time for me (I refuse to work on sundays if at all possible), I'v learned that even if my family can't understand why I do this job someone will be out warming up my truck when my pager goes off (and it always goes off at 10 min befor the family dinner is to be served) and my plate of food will be waiting in the oven for me, I'v learned many different ways to extracate pts from homes that are not ambulace friendly, Iv learned that the VFD is my best friend and I always say thank-you for comming to the scene so I don't hurt my back, I'v learned that I do this job for my community and even if I don't get a thank-you everytime I have helped someone I am appreciated. I do get burnt out, I cry, I laugh but I also know that I love my job and on the day that I don't I will quit. Anyone who does this job with out personal satisfaction should find a new career. Remember learning is our biggest asset to our profession and learing lifes lessons is the biggest asset to ourselves.

happiness

[Just Plain Ruff]

happyness, those were some really good points and lessons. I'm glad it seems to have made you a better person and more understanding.

Happiness check your pms