Monday, November 1, 2010

Recent Life changes

Online EMT and Paramedic Practice Exams

I’ve experienced a lot of life changes in the last month. That’s why I haven’t posted anything new. I’m married an amazing woman. I moved to a new city, and I’ve been lucky enough to find two new jobs. Like I’ve mentioned before, healthcare is one of the only sectors in the economy that’s growing. Even if you don’t want to be an EMT, you can find a job in healthcare.

Let me say how blessed I feel having a full and a part time job in this economy. I’m so thankful. My full time job is great! It’s something I’ve never done before. I’m working as an ER tech. For all intents and purposes, I’m an EMT in the ER.




This ER is set up in several departments. It is a very well run, well organized ER. It has a chest pain center, a woman’s center, a pediatric ER, a major care center (this is like your standard ER), and an urgent care center (this is where you send people who come in with back pain or the flu). It is also a level one trauma center. On any given day, I might be working in any of these centers in the ER. This job offers me a lot of variety. It also allows me to see a lot more patients in a day than I would working on the ambulance. This job will really help me practice my skills as I prepare to return to school and get my paramedic license.

Good trauma is really a rarity on the ambulance. I’m not saying it never happens. I’m just saying it doesn’t happen every day, or even every week. A lot of people who are considering a job as an EMT or paramedic might have the idea that they are going to see nothing but car wrecks and gunshot wounds. It’s just not true. When you work a 24hr shift you will more than likely go too a couple of MVAs (motor vehicle accidents). More often than not, there are no injuries, or light injuries. Depending on where you work, months might pass without seeing a GSW (gun shot wound) or a stab wound. It’s really not as sexy as it seems.

The majority of your calls will be medical in nature. Chest pain, difficulty breathing, seizure, or diabetes related. You’ll even get calls for back pain, leg pain etc. To be totally truthful, many of the people you see would probably been able to take a taxi to the doctor instead of an ambulance to the ER.

Don’t let that discourage you. I love being an EMT. I love working on the ambulance. You just have to accept the reality of what it really is as opposed to what you think it might be, or what you’ve seen on tv.

2 comments:

  1. Well, first off congratulations on getting married and the 2 new jobs! Second, how long does it take to get a paramedic license? Just curious.

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  2. Thanks Jess! I'm not sure where you live, so I'm not sure how long it would take where you live, my research shows that it takes anywhere from 8 to 13 months depending on your state. My state also lets RN's take the National Registry test after taking one 40hr class. Let me know if you have any more questions.

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