Tell us a bit about your current work and how long youve been at it.
Ive been in emergency services in Michigan for almost 10 years.
I started as a volunteer firefighter.
What drove you to choose your career path?
It wasnt anything planned.
I really didnt have much direction in my life at the time.
I had just quit being in a band and was moving on from that point in my life.
I one day asked the local fire chief if he needed any help on the department.
So I turned in my death metal gear for fire gear.
It also meant I lost the job I had at the time.
It just so happened I really liked medical work and focused on that.
I went on to become a paramedic and am now employed full time at an ambulance agency.
How did you go about getting your job?
What kind of education and experience did you need?
To become a paramedic, you have to first be an EMT.
I have been in school for about 4-5 years to become a Critical Care Paramedic.
This might include chest tube pumps, ventilators, and certain cardiac devices like balloon pumps.
You now have a thorough education of physiology, pathophysiology, cardiology, pulmonology, pharmacology, and neurology.
What kinds of things do you do beyond what most people see?
What do you actually spend the majority of your time doing?
EMS jobs can actually be variable.
Some people work for hospitals and just transport patients from one hospital to another, or to nursing homes.
This can be as a basic EMT unit, or as a Critical Care unit for intensive care patients.
Each of us are doing different things with the same goal of treating and transporting the sick and injured.
What misconceptions do people often have about your job?
The general public often thinks that all we do is take people to the hospital.
There is very little that the emergency department does that we cannot in the short term.
Paramedics are physician extensions, the same as a physician assistant or nurse practitioner.
We are their eyes and ears in peoples homes and on roadways.
We bring the patients story along with them to the emergency department.
Many people often think it is all blood and guts.
Those calls are thankfully rare.
What are your average work hours?
Is it a typical 9-5 thing or not?
In my agency, which is more rural than urban, we work 24 hour shifts.
Sometimes days at a time.
I just got off a 48 hour shift.
I have 48 off, then Im back on for 24, 24 off, then 24 back on.
I worked 72 straight last week.
No, it doesnt make sense.
And yes, we do sleep at night if there are no calls.
What personal tips and shortcuts made your job easier?
The way to do that is to remain calm and be professional.
What do you do differently from your coworkers or peers in the same profession?
What do they do instead?
I spend a lot of extra time reading medical journals for EMS and physicians.
Medicine is constantly changing, and how we do things in EMS is not any different.
I have a go at keep everyone up to date on the new information.
Whats the worst part of the job and how do you deal with it?
I would assume being a paramedic is immensely stressful!
The worst part of EMS is working with children.
I dont mean that in I dont like kids.
I happen to really enjoy being around them, and Im always happy to be there for them.
But, we dont get to see kids on good days.
It is physically demanding, and many of us, including me, are overweight.
We dont sleep well.
Whats the most enjoyable part of the job?
Knowing that we do help people.
Sometimes the days just start to blur together, and it is easy to become jaded.
Running on alcoholics, psychiatric patients, and drug seekers gets old and some people stop caring.
When people thank us (which is surprisingly rare, honestly), it feels good.
We were able to save his life, and he came in to our office to talk to me.
He was difficult to handle on scene due to the head injury, but was able to fully recover.
The look on his face when I told him I was the paramedic that day was wonderful.
What kind of money can one expect to make at your job?
Or, whats an average starting salary?
Pay can be a huge variable in EMS.
An EMT will often not make much over minimum wage in my area.
Unfortunately, EMS is very much still young.
How do you move up in your field?
The difference between EMT and paramedic is huge.
It is like going from nurse aid to doctor.
You not only know what to do, but why.
You now can do things that might kill a patient if you dont know what you are doing.
Depending on your employer, you may become a field training officer, supervisor, or manager.
It can be very frustrating to suddenly hit a ceiling after becoming a medic.
Some paramedics make a move to become nurses, while some go to become physician assistants or physicians.
What do people under/over value about what you do?
I think many outsiders undervalue EMS, right up until the point they need an ambulance.
To most people, we can be an annoyance.
We made them pull over or something like that.
What advice would you give to those aspiring to join your profession?
It is a great job and extremely rewarding if you like helping people.
It isnt easy work, and you have to be able to handle those calls that are terrible.
EMS is part emergency doctor, part social worker, part councilor, and part detective.
It is a labor of love, and I couldnt imagine doing anything else.
This interview has been lightly edited for clarity.
