I wish I had some majestic story about what made me want to go into the medical field, let alone be a paramedic, but really I don’t. Junior year of high school I did a nursing home type class and decided that I liked health care, but not wiping asses. Then senior year I could take an EMT course and I thought ,"well, that might be fun." NO IDEA what I was really getting myself into, but it turns out I love it (thank God).

Being an EMT is fun and all, but you are really just a glorified Bandaid applier. You get trained on the basics, like CPR, first aid, and some intubation. You get a better sense of anatomy and physiology, and ultimately you figure out if you are cut out for the job. You are first on scene of some of the worst car accidents where everyone is already dead and there is nothing you can do. You are one of the first on scene to a stabbing or shooting where there is so much happening around you and your number one goal is to keep yourself safe. You are pooped and puked on by a drunk guy or an old lady. You are being screamed at by a family member as you are doing chest compressions on their newborn baby or their 95 year old mother. If you can’t handle that, then you won’t make it long.

Now what is the difference between an EMT and a Paramedic. Well a paramedic can start IV’s and give medication through them. They can do electrical cardiac interventions, surgical airway interventions, drill a needle into your bone to establish a site for fluids and meds to go through, and most things nurses can do. The major difference is that we don’t have a doctor standing over us to take over if shit hits the fan and we don’t have to ask permission. There is a year or more of schooling depending how you do it. There are other certifications you can get on top of your paramedic that open the window a little more.

I do believe we have one of the toughest jobs out there and a lot of people aren't cut for it. You have those God awful days where you want to quit and where you don't know why you got started in this field. You also have the days where you save someone's life or have the biggest impact on it. We are there during the worst time of some people's lives, but we get to go home at the end of our shifts. There are days where all you do is transport old people from the granny stacker to the hospital and that's okay too.

Being an EMT and working in an emergency room of a very horrible city has taught me so much. I am lucky to have started out here because I have had some experiences that people in the field didn't get until they were 10+ years in. I get a wide variety of experience working with people of all ages and different backgrounds. At the end of the day I get to come home from doing what I love to a family that loves me for what I do and supports me through it all.