bamamedic44

Unfortunately,,this is all part of EMS,,they call,we haul,and thats all. I get so sick of the frequent fliers,they know all they have to do is call and we come. Most of them are just pain med seekers. So I just follow protocol to the letter.Have headache,could be a bleed,,Iv must be obtained...lol.(gotta love a saline lock) They will try every excuse in the world to try and talk me out of starting an IV on the way to the hospital. My response is,"If you are so sick that you call for an ambulance,then I must treat you,its my job". I am careful how I talk to them,I remain as professional as I can. I do everything that is called for.lol. And we have a way of letting the nurses know what we have before we get there. Alot of them are put in triage,or filed way in the back. Believe it or not,some of the idiots are learning. They see me and all of a sudden have a ride with a relative..cracks me up. If I had a dime for every looser I have picked up over the years I would be rich by now. Bullcrap is the biggest part of this job,abuse of the system and taxi rides go hand in hand. But I will say I am keeping my IV skills well honed.lol The abuse of the whole system just makes me sick,and people who really need us wonder why their insurance premiums are so high,,if they only knew.

I understand what you are all saying. I feel the same way,,my shifts are really bad and are not going to improve,,the city I work in is averaging 10 new roads a month,,its growing like crazy and the call volume with it. We work 24/48 everyone is tired. We still have only 3 shift trucks running and the rest are day trucks. Needless to say we are up all night long. I have had more than my share of no sleep during work.Last shift was 20 calls for me with only 18 mins of sleep,,I don't remember fully my last three patients,and the boss tells us he doesn't pay us to sleep. Ok,,maybe he is going to wake up and smell the coffee when one of us drives off the road and wrecks or god forbid gives the wrong drug. Not to mention the moral at work is really bad,,,there are a few of us long term folks left,but not many,,most of the new ones leave after less than two years,,they just cant take the bullcrap from the boss or the run volume..Whats really sad is the boss used to be a paramedic,,started the company cause he didn't like the way the company he worked for treated the crews..guess they all resort to type... I myself am going to put my house up for sale after the new year and relocate to a rural community..the big city stuff is wearing me out. I want to stay in EMS,,but cant last long with this type of run volume.Burn out is just around the corner and I know it,,I am probably already there... Stay safe out there during the holidays,,Merry Christmas...

After my shift good or bad I go to the barn,,I have 6 horses that keep me busy. Its quiet there,no phones,cleaning the barn after they are up all night is an easy workout and great stress reliever. If I am not to tired I go for a short trail ride around the property.I come back relaxed,my mind is clear. Then its off to the house,,light housework,laundry and playtime with the dogs,,if it was a bad shift I take a short nap,then up again,make dinner,do dishes and back to the barn..usually in bed early the first night off.Next day is great,all chores done,well rested and can do whatever I want.Some computer time,but most of it is spent at the barn,,I have a 2.5 yr old filly I am in the process of breaking..so she keeps me on my toes.Then back home,make dinner,get my lunch ready for work and off to bed,,sounds boring for some,but this job gives me enough crazy stuff during my shift I enjoy the boring,,lol

I have been a paramedic for 8 years now,,I work for a very busy company. I have lost many patients during my time in the field,some of them I remember like it was yesterday,some of them I don't remember at all. Not just anyone can do this job,we walk a fine line between reality and crazy I think. You have to do the job the best you can and you cant take it home with you. You have to be able to find humor as well. The best part is I have my fellow paramedics I can turn too,they all understand how it feels to lose a patient,to save one,the frustrations that come with this job,if it weren't for them I wouldn't have lasted this long.Burn out is big where I am at,,shifts are long and the call volume is high,the pay sucks and it doesnt look like it is going to get any better anytime soon... Why am I still here,,I love my job,I like making the difference. One of the hardest loses I have had came only a few weeks ago. Pickup truck versus logging truck,,not a pretty site. He was only 46 yrs old,his son was 14 and was in the truck with him,,we were able to get the son out right away and sent him to the hospital in our other unit...I was with this man for over an hour,,he was trapped in his truck,never thought we would get him cut out of that mess. It was dark,cold,glass everywhere. Did all I could for him while we were tring to cut him out,IV's going,most of the bleeding controlled,o2..most of him was entangled in the metal and we couldn't treat it..He was scared and was talking to me,I knew his name,he asked for mine,I kept him updated with his sons progress. I knew it was very bad,but allowed myself to think he was going to make it..I even started thinking heck,he has lasted this long(over an hour)with extrication.Got him loaded,everything else done enroute to the hospital. 20 mins transfer to hospital,,he was still talking to me,asking about his son. Make it all the way into the trauma room,move him to the ER stretcher,,telling Dr.s all what we have..HE CODED...They worked the code for about 30 mins..I am still standing there in disbelief.. After it was called I went outside to help my partner fix our truck,,I grabbed an IV bag and threw it as far as I could,,I was so mad,,crying the whole time..I didn't know him before that time,but to me it became personal..I had spent almost two hours with this man and lost him anyways..I even asked myself Why am I doing this???? I don't usually get attached to my patients,,you cant afford to do that...I was even thinking,if you are going to die,,don't talk to me just let me do my job(see what lack of sleep can do to you) Not 40 mins later we get another call,,a 4 yr old,something lodged in his throat,,poor little thing is blue and listless,,I made the difference for him...He will be going home to his family.Now I know why I am doing this..... Sometimes you just cant make the difference but you have to be able to tell yourself you did your very best. Thank god there are others out there that understand this,,if it were not for them I would not be able to make that difference.

Hi there; Just joined this forum,,actually found it today and glad I did. I work a 24/48 shift,,it went from being a busy service to insane,,the population has doubled in the last few years and our call volume is not getting any lighter. Last shift my truck did 20 calls and I only managed 18mins of sleep,,thats right 18 mins. I was so tired after restocking the truck after every call and getting all the paperwork done. I dont really remember my last 3 calls. I know this is not safe by any standard,,but I work for a company who has a boss who likes to say,,"Tough,I dont pay you to sleep" Nice attitude buddy,,hope I dont run on any of your family members at 3 am when I am so tired I cant think straight. The sad thing with this company is the Owner used to be a paramedic,,he didnt like the way the company he was working for was treating the crews so he started his own company.He had the right idea when it all started.Now he has resorted to type..its all about the money now...He just sits in his office and acts like he doesnt care. Alot of us have been with this company for years and remember better days,when being loyal meant something.Now we are all frustrated and tired. This company wont add any more trucks,,they figure if they can make X number of calls with 8 trucks,why pay for 9...they dont take into concideration these 8 trucks are making about 15 to 20 calls per truck.And the moral is in the toilet. I could be on here forever telling you how it has become at a company I cared about. We all feel we are nothing more than a blue shirt. Experience means nothing,,you can come staight out of school and make the same money I make after 8 years with this company. Both my husband and I work there,both paramedics,,me with 8 years,hubby with 12.Now we are looking to relocate to another state and go into rural ems. We have asked this company to look into going to 12 hour shifts,,but they dont want to spend the extra money to add another shift..so we are stuck doing 24's with no sleep.The call volume is increasing and now we get the crap kicked out of us almost every shift,,we are allowed to nap when we are not making calls as long as our duties are done and the truck is stocked and the paper work is done...But even that is hard to do,,sometimes I will have 7 run reports on the dash board and not see base for 10 hours. Its all very frustrating not to mention not very safe for either me or the patients I am treating. Sorry to seem like I am venting,but you can see the frustation...thanks for listening.

I am new to this board,just found it today.Nice to have a place where everyone understands what we all go through. I have 6 horses,TWH's,,they are my stress relievers,,both my husband and I are paramedics,I have been doing this for 8 years and hubby has been at it for over 12. No matter how tired we are after a shift we go and hang out at the barn with the horses,nothing beats the quiet,,you can actually hear yourself think..lol. We lease a 7 stall barn with 12 acres of pasture,this all sits on about 400 acres,,the rest is in trails and other pastures...If its been a really bad shift 24/48 we try to get out for a short ride...I always feel better when I come back...other times we just hang out down there. Its the only place we know of where we dont hear any noise,,no phones,nothing,just the whole nature thing going on. When I figure out how to post pics I will add a few of our beasties.... Merry Christmas to all...