medicnick83
Paramedic
I posted this on Facebook and but thought I'd share it with you guys since quite a few PM me about becoming a Paramedic.
Things I’ve Learnt In My Short Time In EMS
1. Once you become a BAA/BLS you’re going to walk out with a certificate and license an into the real world and realise that you were only taught the real basics and it’s up to you to want to keep learning – how you do this is up to you!
2. Be the type of medic who wants to know more than the other medics! Be the best medic you can be.
3. You’re going to meet a lot of EMS people and you’re going to like a lot of them and hate a few of them – at the end of the day you have to learn to keep the peace with everyone because all you need is just get 1 of those to hate you and he will make a mission of making your life hell and trust me, they can do it – probably because they really have nothing better to do – don’t ever become like that.
4. Reputation is a big thing in EMS – make sure you have a good one by not saying stupid stuff, doing stupid stuff and pissing off the wrong people – word travels very fast in EMS – EVERY SINGLE BLS medic will at some point say / do something stupid – don’t ever hold it against them – YOU will / have been where they are.
5. Treat another BAA/BLS medic the same way you want to be treated.
6. If you can – do your best to have your own equipment and make sure you give the best patient care / treatment YOU can – don’t worry about anyone else, you just give 200% !!!
7. 8 out of 10 calls are going to be the boring “abdo pains” type calls – put your passion and smile into every single one of those calls.
8. Never be scared to ask questions – most crews will be happy to answer you – take every bit of knowledge you can from the ILS/ALS guys you can and LISTEN to them when they talk – there are some clever paramedics out there for you to learn from – if you don’t know something, ask / Google – find out!
9. You will always hear ‘skinner’ and ‘gossip’ about ‘someone else’ – do not get involved – don’t judge someone till you’ve met them and gotten to know them because 90% of the time – the stories you hear are complete bull****.
10. Becareful of what you say to some people (fellow medics) – there are a lot that will take what you say and turn it against you or just generally change the story making you look like a ass – out of the 100+ medics I know and work with – I can say that the ones I know and trust 100% I can count on 2 hands – best bit of advice I can give you – don’t talk about other people and be very careful what you say / do.
11. Always be as helpful to fellow medics as possible – don’t do them favours expecting stuff in return - do them because you want to do them.
12. Spread your wings – work with different crews, different organizations – everyone does things differently, learn those things and you’ll just know so much more.
13. On social networking web sites (Twitter, Facebook etc) be very careful what you say – it’s not hard to upset people – this goes hand in hand with point 3 – doesn’t take much to upset people – rather just not say anything if you unsure – I **** you not – the smallest, dumbest thing will result in a “nuclear bomb type reaction” – it’s not worth the grief.
14. Know when to apologise for something you did and know when to stand your ground and tell them to piss off but also remember, to accept when you are right / wrong – don’t let people walk over you.
15. Don’t “kiss ass” – some will like it, but everyone else will hate it – this goes hand in hand with point 4 – don’t ruin a good rep.
16. Make sure you check and double check your paperwork/patient care etc – trust me when I say the following “When **** hits the fan – no one will protect you – so always make sure you cover yourself by doing things properly – if you can’t get a BP – don’t make one up, say you can’t get a BP – if you can’t feel the pulse, say you can’t feel the pulse!
17. Never be scared to get your hands dirty – clean a ambulance that’s full of blood, or help someone who is doing this - help each other – many hands make light work. EMS has it’s moments where is just SUCKS – you’ll experience it – if you can help someone out of that SUCKY moment, do it!
18. Something’s you just have to do yourself – want to send your CV into a EMS place for a job? Rather take it yourself – don’t let someone else do it – things go missing / get lost / never arrive – best to just do something’s yourself.
19. Arrive 30 min to 1 hour before the start of a shift – don’t be late – just looks bad!
20. Learn to balance – the passion to want to be on shift must not ruin a relationship / spend time with your boyfriend/girlfriend – there will always be another weekend / shift in the future – I personally learnt this the hard way!
21. If you think you’ve done something wrong, or could’ve done something better – ask for ‘constructive criticism’ and learn from it.
22. Working with someone who is doing something wrong, or saying things wrong – don’t be the type to keep quiet or go behind their back and start **** for them, take them aside and talk to them personally (one on one) and deal with it like that – if nothing comes of it, then decide “is it worth causing problems for myself” because ultimately, that is what you’ll be doing.
23. When on duty - Do not beg for calls – Do not wish for MVA’s etc – people do not deserve these sort of things to happen to them just so you can do something.
24. If you meet someone who is passionate about EMS like a first aider or something – but needs help with things – help them, remember that you won’t get anywhere alone and neither will they – we all one big happy growing family - we all had to start somewhere - some had help, other's struggled to get places.
25. See a fellow medic doing something wrong - try your best to NOT embarrass them infront of everyone by showing them what they did wrong - if you can, take them aside and show them the correct way - no ones perfect !
26. Do your best to make sure that you learn from each shift!
27. Care about every single patient as best as you can - I get ripped off sometimes the way I "care too much" but hey - whatever!
28. When in doubt - go back to your basics!
Thanks to everyone for everything - you know who you are because I let you know that I appreciate your time, knowledge and everything else you do for me.
Things I’ve Learnt In My Short Time In EMS
1. Once you become a BAA/BLS you’re going to walk out with a certificate and license an into the real world and realise that you were only taught the real basics and it’s up to you to want to keep learning – how you do this is up to you!
2. Be the type of medic who wants to know more than the other medics! Be the best medic you can be.
3. You’re going to meet a lot of EMS people and you’re going to like a lot of them and hate a few of them – at the end of the day you have to learn to keep the peace with everyone because all you need is just get 1 of those to hate you and he will make a mission of making your life hell and trust me, they can do it – probably because they really have nothing better to do – don’t ever become like that.
4. Reputation is a big thing in EMS – make sure you have a good one by not saying stupid stuff, doing stupid stuff and pissing off the wrong people – word travels very fast in EMS – EVERY SINGLE BLS medic will at some point say / do something stupid – don’t ever hold it against them – YOU will / have been where they are.
5. Treat another BAA/BLS medic the same way you want to be treated.
6. If you can – do your best to have your own equipment and make sure you give the best patient care / treatment YOU can – don’t worry about anyone else, you just give 200% !!!
7. 8 out of 10 calls are going to be the boring “abdo pains” type calls – put your passion and smile into every single one of those calls.
8. Never be scared to ask questions – most crews will be happy to answer you – take every bit of knowledge you can from the ILS/ALS guys you can and LISTEN to them when they talk – there are some clever paramedics out there for you to learn from – if you don’t know something, ask / Google – find out!
9. You will always hear ‘skinner’ and ‘gossip’ about ‘someone else’ – do not get involved – don’t judge someone till you’ve met them and gotten to know them because 90% of the time – the stories you hear are complete bull****.
10. Becareful of what you say to some people (fellow medics) – there are a lot that will take what you say and turn it against you or just generally change the story making you look like a ass – out of the 100+ medics I know and work with – I can say that the ones I know and trust 100% I can count on 2 hands – best bit of advice I can give you – don’t talk about other people and be very careful what you say / do.
11. Always be as helpful to fellow medics as possible – don’t do them favours expecting stuff in return - do them because you want to do them.
12. Spread your wings – work with different crews, different organizations – everyone does things differently, learn those things and you’ll just know so much more.
13. On social networking web sites (Twitter, Facebook etc) be very careful what you say – it’s not hard to upset people – this goes hand in hand with point 3 – doesn’t take much to upset people – rather just not say anything if you unsure – I **** you not – the smallest, dumbest thing will result in a “nuclear bomb type reaction” – it’s not worth the grief.
14. Know when to apologise for something you did and know when to stand your ground and tell them to piss off but also remember, to accept when you are right / wrong – don’t let people walk over you.
15. Don’t “kiss ass” – some will like it, but everyone else will hate it – this goes hand in hand with point 4 – don’t ruin a good rep.
16. Make sure you check and double check your paperwork/patient care etc – trust me when I say the following “When **** hits the fan – no one will protect you – so always make sure you cover yourself by doing things properly – if you can’t get a BP – don’t make one up, say you can’t get a BP – if you can’t feel the pulse, say you can’t feel the pulse!
17. Never be scared to get your hands dirty – clean a ambulance that’s full of blood, or help someone who is doing this - help each other – many hands make light work. EMS has it’s moments where is just SUCKS – you’ll experience it – if you can help someone out of that SUCKY moment, do it!
18. Something’s you just have to do yourself – want to send your CV into a EMS place for a job? Rather take it yourself – don’t let someone else do it – things go missing / get lost / never arrive – best to just do something’s yourself.
19. Arrive 30 min to 1 hour before the start of a shift – don’t be late – just looks bad!
20. Learn to balance – the passion to want to be on shift must not ruin a relationship / spend time with your boyfriend/girlfriend – there will always be another weekend / shift in the future – I personally learnt this the hard way!
21. If you think you’ve done something wrong, or could’ve done something better – ask for ‘constructive criticism’ and learn from it.
22. Working with someone who is doing something wrong, or saying things wrong – don’t be the type to keep quiet or go behind their back and start **** for them, take them aside and talk to them personally (one on one) and deal with it like that – if nothing comes of it, then decide “is it worth causing problems for myself” because ultimately, that is what you’ll be doing.
23. When on duty - Do not beg for calls – Do not wish for MVA’s etc – people do not deserve these sort of things to happen to them just so you can do something.
24. If you meet someone who is passionate about EMS like a first aider or something – but needs help with things – help them, remember that you won’t get anywhere alone and neither will they – we all one big happy growing family - we all had to start somewhere - some had help, other's struggled to get places.
25. See a fellow medic doing something wrong - try your best to NOT embarrass them infront of everyone by showing them what they did wrong - if you can, take them aside and show them the correct way - no ones perfect !
26. Do your best to make sure that you learn from each shift!
27. Care about every single patient as best as you can - I get ripped off sometimes the way I "care too much" but hey - whatever!
28. When in doubt - go back to your basics!
Thanks to everyone for everything - you know who you are because I let you know that I appreciate your time, knowledge and everything else you do for me.
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