Interview with an E.M.T.
The field of emergency medicine requires dedication, skill, and a passion for the job, and nowhere can this be better demonstrated than in the performance of the front-line heroes known as EMTs." Emergency medical technicians (EMTs) and paramedics respond to automobile Crashes, shootings, medical emergencies, hazardous Material incidents and large-scale disasters. Knowing this I wanted to know exactly how exciting it would be to be an EMT so I had the opportunity to interview my friend Ryan Thomas. Ryan is in college but works as an emergency medical technician-riding in ambulances and helping people. Ryan discussed with me some of the details about his job, what he does, and how he helps people. I chose to interview him because it is easier for me to talk to someone I know than someone I don't know, and also I wanted to find out what’s it like being an E.M.T.
Ryan became an EMT because he really liked to help people and loves working under pressure knowing that something’s at stake and that it makes a huge difference in people’s lives.
He gets to have an impact on people every day, whether it’s doing CPR, giving someone oxygen, or helping bandage their wounds, but sometimes the impact he has can’t be seen and goes unnoticed to everyone but the person being helped such as talking to someone who has a sick or injured family member. He also said “being a paramedic or EMT isn’t always about helping the injured person but also the family. Many times the family is as scared as the person who is injured, and we have to help them also. Often they don’t know what is going on, so we try to explain what is happening and answer their questions and concerns.” When a call comes in and we have to grab our stuff and jump into the ambulance, and race to the scene of an emergency, a car accident, fire, or anything really is the most exciting part of his job.
Prior to becoming EMTs, Ryan had to first become certified in cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). Other requirements to become an EMT-Basic include completing training, passing regional exams, and meeting state licensure requirements. He also had to have a state driver’s license, a required Ambulance driver certificate, also a special endorsement on state driver’s license. Some of the special abilities you need to do EMT work is you have to be calm and collected in any kind of emergency. This way you can help people calm down when they are scared. “In my line of work you need to know many medical skills, like how to start IVs, splint broken bones, bandage cuts and burns, perform CPR, and many others.”
A lot of the times Ryan sits around waiting for an emergency call to come in – it can get boring for him and had wished he had known this before getting this job. He really loves helping people but doesn’t like the bad things that come with the job such as having to smell and clean up vomit and urine, to name a few. An EMT’s salary can every day. “As an EMT I get paid hourly, but depending on where I work, I may be paid per ambulance ride.” Being on call means that if the alarm goes off you are the person that responds to the call. You can't leave your area because you have to stay available if the pagers do go off. Being an E.M.T. doesn't really affect his personal life too much. The only time it really does is if the pager goes off and he’s on call then has to stop what he’s doing and respond to the call, or if comes across an accident he has to stop and help.
The most common type
