Ambulance crap

[Gelston]

So, I just started taking an EMT Basic course. We got any EMTs or paramedics here?

[Ltlprprincess]

I remember HermietheDentist saying he used to be one. Good luck. It can be a grueling job, I've heard, but worth it.

[Palcron]

I was for a few years. It definitely is a stressful job, but it can be a lot of fun, too.

[Gelston]

I was for a few years. It definitely is a stressful job, but it can be a lot of fun, too.

Why'd you quit? Too stressful or just found something better? Did you stay in the medical field?

[Palcron]

The pay is pretty awful, which was a large factor in my quitting after two and a half years. It's a high-stress, high-risk field and you get paid about as much as someone who cleans the bathrooms at a hospital (the pay obviously varies by state and whether you're working for a private company or a town, but I was in private EMS in Massachusetts, and it was particularly low).

Another thing that factored into my decision at the time was that my company decided to rearrange schedules, so I was slated to lose two of my favorite partners, and in a field like that, you absolutely must get along with your partner or the job is hell. Most people who start as basics only do so in order to move into nursing or medic school or onto a fire department, so there's a relatively high turnover rate, which also plays into losing partners on a regular enough basis to make it frustrating.

Personally, I got back into bar tending in order to fund a six month hike plan, but moving back into the medical field is something that is and will always be in the back of my mind. Working as an EMT made me think seriously about ER nursing. It's an awesome feeling when you get to be the person responsible for removing someone from a life-threatening state, and even just working as a basic, you learn so much about health and medicine that advancing your position in the field seems like the logical next step.

In all, it is a great job, but most people get too burnt out from the stress and from dealing with too many awful people at their worst to stick with it long term. And you quickly learn that the majority of 911 calls are complete bull shit, just people who are lonely or too lazy to drive to a doctor's office. But hey, responding to calls with lights and siren is absolutely incredible, so there's always at least some fun to be had.

[Palcron]

I should also point out that my company worked in the Boston area and covered a number of towns just south of the city, so we ended up in a lot of bad areas. If you work exclusively in an affluent town, the job is much different since most people have health insurance and visit the doctor regularly, so there are way fewer calls in general, and when you do get called, it's usually for something valid.

[Gelston]

I should also point out that my company worked in the Boston area and covered a number of towns just south of the city, so we ended up in a lot of bad areas. If you work exclusively in an affluent town, the job is much different since most people have health insurance and visit the doctor regularly, so there are way fewer calls in general, and when you do get called, it's usually for something valid.

Ah, yeah. It varies heavily here, but most of the neighborhoods are usually middle class. We have a few bad spots and a few good ones. City is only a couple hundred thousand people too, so not that large.