First thing every shift is the rig check. Every service I have worked for has had a check off list to standardize this function. In reality you do two rig checks. The first check is the quick once over to assure you have all of the essential equipment (Cot, O2, Monitor and Drug Box) that you will need if an early run interrupts the official check list. Once this is done we dutifully complete the entire check list assuring the proper quantities of supplies in the proper places.
When the rig check is done it is time to move on to some of the essential duties of EMS. If everybody is agreeable it is breakfast time. Lately this has been at the Mayberry Diner in Sylvania. I am hooked on the cinnamon raisin french toast (of course it is diabetic friendly mom)
The service I work for runs a combination of emergency runs and non emergent transports (Doctors Appointments, Dialysis, Wound Care…….). I like the mix.
The emergencies give me the opportunity to keep my skills up. These are the runs we trained for. This is what people think of when the think about EMS.
I love the transports also. Some of the most amazing people I have met have been patients I have transported to appointments. A couple questions “Are you from this area” or “What type of work did you do?” After that just sit back and listen. All of these patients stories to tell and I have taken something away from every one of them.
I am blessed to work with a great group of guys. The time we spend in between runs is almost like living in a frat house (minus the booze). This job can be stressful at times. The time spent at the station between runs allows us the opportunity to blow off steam and relax.
Working 24 hour shifts we literally spend 1/3 of our lives at work. We eat, sleep and live at the station. A lot of us either work second jobs or go to school. In reality we spend more time with our coworkers than our families.
No shift in EMS is ever the same. When you report to work in the morning you never know what the day may bring. There are days you are called out as soon as you walk in the door and you don’t see the station again for the next twelve hours.
This job isn’t for everybody. Truth is 75% of the people that enter the field change careers in the first 3-5 years. The stress of the job, combined with the unpredictable sleep patterns, time away from home, frustration over system abusers and discontent with the prevailing wages in EMS all lead to early burnout for many providers.
This being said, I can not imagine do anything else. I can’t remember a time when i didn’t have “EMS Back” (The chronic lower back pain that lets you know you earned you pay). Holidays with the family are a rarity (that makes them all the more special).
A majority of my friends are in EMS. They ‘get’ me. They are able to understand the gallows humor that we develop, as a coping mechanism, to deal with the stress. They understand the work schedule.
I am still Living The Dream…………
* Is yielding the right of way to an emergency vehicle that difficult of a concept for the average driver to grasp? Don’t stop in the middle of the road. Dont pull off to your left. Pull to the right and STOP.
