considering getting out

[ZVNEMT]

Lately I've been thinking more and more about leaving the field. I've only been working for about 2 years, but I'm feeling like I'm trapped in a cycle of Nursing home -> ER -> Rehab -> Nursing home ->

I do my best to care for my patients, but they mostly end up back where they were and i see them again in a month for the same reason. The cna/lpn's don't care. hell, sometimes when the Pt dies, they move them into a little corner to be ignored until the next shift finds her. but i guess thats how the system works, and I'm sick of it. It's not really the job itself that's getting to me, just the sheer apathy of the "professionals" I have to deal with. I thought getting into medic classes, things would get better, but no... I'm introduced to even more people who piss me off.

I'm considering dedicating myself to learning portuguese, training hard in my Jiu-Jitsu, and eventually living in brazil. teaching english for money, and training full time until I reach the point at which I become skilled enough to instruct. at least that's my dream... I might also become a plumber... something about plumbing has always appealed to me... it's not the smell...

 

[SanDiegoEmt7]

Sometimes change is a good thing.

It can definitely be a grind sometimes, maybe time away could help?

 

[firetender]

something about plumbing has always appealed to me...

Probably the respect; people actually believe they need you!

But, you know, no shame in leaving. You did it, and presumably, put a couple GOOD years into it, with good intent and a real desire to help. That's more than most regular folk; most want NOTHING to do with the ill or disabled.

You also don't have to want to make this a career, or feel obligated to, or stay in because you don't want the partners you like to suffer alone! They'll survive without you.

You especially have the right to really go for what you're passionate about. I don't hear you running away so much as beginning to wonder if you wouldn't be a whole lot happier putting your time and energy into something you love.

Go for the love...always.

(This was my 777th Post! Good luck to YOU!)

 

[rescue99]

Hey, same s***, different pay! 50 bucks an hour different in fact! I'd say go for it. EMS can be a side job for a while. The money's definately more appealing as a pipe fitter / plumber and ya gotta have a financial future too. Teaching english in Brazil would be a fun experience but it may not be a good paying occupation. Fun is sometimes worth the trade off though.

If one is cut out to be in EMS long term he/she can put the ugliy side into perspective and move forward. It's a tough job on the ole psyche for pay that just doesn't equal the work..especially in an area like ours (big city).
Welcome to the reality that people today simply don't care about one another like they should. Not even their own often times.

Modern medicine has improved enough to keep a body alive just enough to allow for such horrible treatment by all these nursing facilities and hospitals. I tried to work in a hospital once. Couldn't stand it. As long as family sat there and watched, the care their loved one received was fine. When nobody was watching....the neglect made me sick! A few are very good care providers. The majority are pathetic and seemingly ignorant of the actions. I found Techs to be among the best providers across the board but they aren't enough. It takes everyone doing his/her job.

Facilities make a buck then whine about over crowding but, they need to stay in business so the walls remain lined with poo,r helpless people who need all the compassionate care we can offer. The disgraceful condition in which we find some of the poor folks remains a daily issue for EMS. We truely see (and feel) the human side of abuses and neglect that most never know close up and personal. It is unfortunate our job has to include such a tragedy but it does. I think of it as someone has to care and we're it. Sometimes our kindness is all these people see in the last days of their lives and we're the only one's saying good bye when they die.

 

[fast65]

Have you thought about getting out of Detroit and working for a different agency? That might help, or maybe you are just burnt out of EMS, which is fine. As for being a plumber, if that's what you really want, then go for it, it's a good career, especially if you run a lot of service calls because that's what a lot of people really need. Either, good luck with whatever you choose!!!

 

[NeverSatisfied~NorCal]

Here is my one and a half cents.

I actually did what you are talking about. I got burned out working on a BLS rig and my right foot helping me to speed up my exit. My high school best friend is a welder in the refinerys and said, I can get you 30 an hour starting. So I left it all, let my cert lapse and traveled from job to job.

My heart has always been in EMS. By all faults of my own, I made a poor decision and my right foot got me into some trouble that helped me make the decision. Now 3 years later, I find myself with a current B cert and starting paramedic school in October.

I actually work now inside a refinery as an operator and industy fire/EMT. It is not glorious and very boring on almost all ocassions. But for 6 figures a year, it helped me to see that no matter how much money I get paid, when your heart is set on something, nothing else will ever fill the void.

So I find myself a few years older and now with a clean driving record again I am able make a sound decision to re-join the ranks of the fine group of folks who care for people when they need help.

Just thought I would say a little on my past experience. Good luck with your journey.

 

[joeshmoe]

Getting away from Detroit might help. I lived in Inkster and didnt fully realize what a S*$%thole it was until I moved away. I'm as far away from the big city as I can get now and have no plans on ever moving back.

 

[EMSLaw]

If you're asking yourself if it's time to get out, it probably is. Life's too short to spend it doing something you hate, especially EMS which, for the most part, doesn't have much of a career path anyway.

Good money in plumbing, a shortage of qualified labor, and it's an honest day's work for... well, a sometimes slightly shady rate of pay.