Emergency!!!

Well I am thinking of going into the field of medicine and I don’t know which one would be more suitable for me. I would like being an EMT or an Er physician, because I think it is great thing to be able to give somebody a second chance to life and when they think that all is slipping from their hands you jump in and help them. so if you have any friends or yourself that are paramedics or Er physicians or if you are a doctor of any kind please let me know which would be suitable for me.

Doubt there are any Dr’s on here, and I haven’t met any medics (yet). But I did work as an EMT while going through nursing school. EMT’s work with the paramedics but just can’t do everytbing they can do. The adrenaline rush you get when those tones go off is amazing. What I have learned is most medics are speed demons on wheels and racing to an emergency call can potentially be life endangering in itself!! (: its an absolute rush riding in the back of that rig—racing down the road.sirens blaring, and other cars are supposed to pull over when we come through (that’s the law, you woiuldnt believe how many DON’T) It is a really fun job, but sometimes it can be really sad as well.

Hey…I guess I shouldn’t generalize. All of the medics ON MY SQUAD that I worked on were speed demons. Sorry medicgirl!! C Nice to meet you!!

I’m going to ignore the “speed demon” silliness, and we’ll move on. It is very satisfying helping other people, because it helps us get outside of our own selves, and reach out to others in their time of need. Thats the good part, and I can’t imagine my life without helping others, not out of a need to be a ‘hero’ per se, but because if in some small way, just one thing I do can help one person, than I’ve done my job..and my purpose in life. Contrary to the hype you see in movies and TV, 80% of our calls are medical, not all that ‘exciting’ trauma one might expect. And the burnout rate is extremely high, because sometimes Medics just give so much of themselves to their job, that they forget to leave anything left for them. It can leave you emotionally drained and/or numb. I never knew any of this reality until I saw and have lived it, and see it every day around my co-workers. Just be prepared, thats all. I still love my job, I just had a preconceived notion of how things were in EMS before I got in. Life is life. My views are more in reality today. I went into this job to help other people, yet I had no idea the patients would teach me so much! I’ve learned to listen to my instinct; the patients at times have even given ME advice in the back of the squad about life! I’ve learned that sometimes there’s nothing in my medical bag at all that can fix a lonely old lady who calls us several times a week for this or that, but just wants company…(and to feed us cookies, no lie! yum) Seriously, sometimes, a “shortness of breath” is a panic attack, and I’ve learned I need to shut up and listen. I dont always have to have all the answers all the time. Sometimes, people just need to be heard. Thats true in life. I think no matter what you decide to do, it’ll be the right decision for you at the right time. It sounds like you have a heart for people. Now that I’ve been so serious, I have a raucously funny book about bizarre/crazy stories sent in from ER’s all over the country. I’ve been LMAO for days if youre interested in author/title. $6.95 paperback, at Borders. Anyhow, hope this helps!