Are there any paramedics here?

[Stryfe]

No I'm not bleeding to death and asking for help on the forum

My girlfriend has been considering a different career and keeps coming back to the thought of becoming a paramedic. The problem with trying to pick a career is always that what you think the job would be like doesn't always match up with the reality of it.

So, if there are any paramedics here, or if you know someone well who is a paramedic, could you talk a little about your thoughts on the day to day work the profession entails. What you like and what you don't like etc.

I'd especially be interested in the perspective of SJs as she's ISFJ but I'd welcome any types to weigh in.

 

[Lexicon]

[YOUTUBE="v1E49H3fDJ8"]tell her to take this into consideration before picking up any EMT courses.[/YOUTUBE]

 

[Biaxident]

Need to get back to work. But I'll be back in a couple hours or so. And give some answers.

BRMC117 might show up soon.

 

[Jonny]

I am an EMT for the county of Santa Clara, CA, so I work with paramedics regularly. Where exactly do you two live? The nature of the calls she receives will be different depending on location.

Any additional information about her situation will also be helpful. Also, when you're a medic you become very close with your partner, and in this case she might be teamed up with another guy. Will this bother you?

 

[Stryfe]

Need to get back to work. But I'll be back in a couple hours or so. And give some answers.

Excellent, I look forward to hearing what you have to say.

I am an EMT for the county of Santa Clara, CA, so I work with paramedics regularly. Where exactly do you two live? The nature of the calls she receives will be different depending on location.

Any additional information about her situation will also be helpful. Also, when you're a medic you become very close with your partner, and in this case she might be teamed up with another guy. Will this bother you?

The two of us live in Canada. Winnipeg, Manitoba to be specific.

What sort of information about her situation are you looking for?

Her being teamed with a guy would not bother me. As with most ISFJs, she's very trustworthy and loyal and I'm not the jealous type.

 

[Jonny]

The nature of a paramedics work is broadly defined as providing safe transportation to a nearby medical facility, and intermediary care as needed. However, the spectrum of various trauma and medical cases is quite broad, while at the same time correlated with particular demographic groups. Thus, the types of cases a paramedic will regularly be exposed to (which will basically define her work) will be affected by the breakdown of population ages, education rates, professions, etc. Since I do not work as a paramedic in Winnipeg, I cannot accurately assess what a paramedic will regularly be required to do there.

From reading the information provided by the Wikipedia article on Winnipeg, the economy seems predominantly white collar, with an absence of major industrial (e.g. physically dangerous) work. Also, from the above chart, it seems as though there are a good number of senior citizens located in Manitoba in general, and due to the fact that these numbers are roughly equivalent to the less specific results provided for Winnipeg only, I will assume that the proportions are roughly similar. Therefore, a good number of calls she runs will probably be medical in nature, and relating to senior citizens from both home and nursing facilities. These calls tend to be routine and somewhat depressing, but depending on how the EMS system is structured, these calls might also be bumped down to BLS (basic life support) units, rather than those with a paramedic on board. Again, this depends upon Winnipeg's specific structure.

All of this information I am attempting to infer from population statistics does exist in the statistics that the municipalities collect for EMS auditing purposes. For more specific information, I would consider contacting Manitoba EMS or Winnipeg Fire and Paramedic Services, or perhaps interviewing some medics from the area.

She will most definitely want to ride along with a unit if possible, as that first hand experience will grant her the most information with which to work.

 

[Biaxident]

^ What he said.

Also. Who you work for can have an effect on the types of cases you work. If you work for a municipal service you'll generally see more actual emergencies, than if you work for a private service.

How does she react to blood and body fluids? There can be some pretty graphic injuries involved in the job. Injured children? How does she do under time pressure to do the right thing?




I haven't been active in years, but some things you see don't fade all that quickly.

 

[Stryfe]

From reading the information provided by the Wikipedia article on Winnipeg, the economy seems predominantly white collar, with an absence of major industrial (e.g. physically dangerous) work. Also, from the above chart, it seems as though there are a good number of senior citizens located in Manitoba in general, and due to the fact that these numbers are roughly equivalent to the less specific results provided for Winnipeg only, I will assume that the proportions are roughly similar. Therefore, a good number of calls she runs will probably be medical in nature, and relating to senior citizens from both home and nursing facilities. These calls tend to be routine and somewhat depressing, but depending on how the EMS system is structured, these calls might also be bumped down to BLS (basic life support) units, rather than those with a paramedic on board. Again, this depends upon Winnipeg's specific structure.

All of this information I am attempting to infer from population statistics does exist in the statistics that the municipalities collect for EMS auditing purposes. For more specific information, I would consider contacting Manitoba EMS or Winnipeg Fire and Paramedic Services, or perhaps interviewing some medics from the area.

She will most definitely want to ride along with a unit if possible, as that first hand experience will grant her the most information with which to work.

Lots of good info there!

One unfortunate fact about Winnipeg is we do have more than our share of violent crime. There are more murders per capita here than in any other major Canadian city. There are plenty of stabbings and beatings here too. Much of it is associated to a fairly large native population (not to be racist, there are societal conditions that make this the case).

I realize you won't know for Winnipeg, but is it common for people to be able to come ride along with an ambulance crew. As you said, I imagine that would be quite revealing.

How does she react to blood and body fluids? There can be some pretty graphic injuries involved in the job. Injured children? How does she do under time pressure to do the right thing?

I haven't been active in years, but some things you see don't fade all that quickly.

Jonnyboy mentioned some of the calls for seniors being depressing and you mentioned seeing things that don't fade quickly. This is something I was hoping to hear a little about from a personal perspective.

I imagine many calls are simply routine but there's the occasional exceptional call that might be hard to deal with on an emotional level. Children gravely injured, accidents where someone has died, cases where someone dies on the way to the hospital despite you having done all that you could.

How do you deal with these sorts of things. How do you put it aside and go to work the next day? Do many people decide they are unable to continue in the profession because of these sorts of things?

EDIT: I'm not sure how she'd deal with blood and graphic injuries in person. I know she certianly has no problem with seeing that sort of stuff on TV while I often have to turn away. I don't think she's had any experiences that would indicate how she'd react in the real world.

 

[Stryfe]

*bump*

Anymore thoughts on this guys? Or did I hit a nerve?