Thank you for basically proving my point. You WISH your service would do a random drug test so that people you work with get terminated.
It is not uncommon for medical or public safety professionals to have high demands for those participating in their respective field. There is also an overwhelming illusion that these practicioners of not normal humans, but some divine entity or larger than life hero figure.
While some conceal from view and others fall from grace, I can tell you I have seen a higher rate of substance abuse among medical students than I have EMS professionals.
adderall is the most common drug of choice, being cheaper and easier to get than cocaine. (a distant second) THC is also very popular in the earlier years where the textbook takes up most of the time.
Caffeine, nicotine, and alcohol, barely register on most radars despite the fact a large number almost chain smoke, or have theraputic caffeine levels at any given time and probably high levels of physical dependence. Not a day goes by without somebody having a drinking party and while not everyone goes to every one, (multiple class levels, etc) some do frequent more than their fair share it appears.
There are also other destructive behaviors used to deal with the stress. Gambling, prostitution, or other forms of risk taking.
It is commonly said "it is better to die than fail," as after a couple of years in addition to the social consequences, economically, short of hitting the lottery a person is pretty much ruined forever. At $250,000 borrowed, the monthly loan payment is $1400 on average for 20 years, which cannot be reduced or forgiven by bankruptcy. You can see where there is a great deal of stress even before a person starts worrying about what happens to patients. Many of those addictions and habits will carry over after school as a majority of people admitted do graduate.
"Your doctor will see you now... "
How about, you wish your department had a comprehensive addictions/ PTSD counseling program to help your coworkers currently battling addiction!
Nope, I am old school.
PTSD is a disease of the 20th and 21st century. (please spare me the propaganda , I studied and actively stay involved with, paleopathology, the history of disease in human populations)
It is a physiologic response to constant stressors which people had coping mechanisms for throughout history. In the modern world, those mechanisms have been removed or are broken by sociological norms. For example, during the industrial age, it wasn't uncommon for injured workers to drink themselves into a stupor, and wake up and go to the factory the next day hungover or still under the influence. If the person was hurt or damaged something, their position was forfeit and they lost everything until they found another employer. There was no workman's comp, partial/full disability. Survival forced people to pick themselves up.
Likewise, in the middle ages, death was so frequent that people actually distanced themselves from their children emotionally. However, such quality was made up for by quantity. Currently in parts of Africa and Asia, people still have 8+ offspring, expecting several to perish prior to reproduction. Doing so is impossible to do and maintain a western middleclass life.
So to pontificate, you cannot hope the world will be kind to you and your loved ones, you have to be proactive in making sure you can survive and maintain the life you want. (Don't think I mean build and defend a compound, I don't) But it is not the responsibility of others to teach people about death and loss. Ignoring the responsibility of being aware of what really goes on in the world or insulating oneself from the brutality of it does not make one "deserving" or "worthy" of treatment.
One thing military people seem to be keenly aware of, "beware of the old soldier/sailor" for (s)he has not fallen from wounds nor the stressors of the profession. They are tough.
And the market favors termination. (i don't agree, but it is true)
For every fire/EMS job there are usually hundreds if not thousands of qualified applicants. Employers simply do not have to spend money on retaining employees. Couple that with the average time anyone spends at a single EMS job and that means employers are spending money to keep a person 5 years tops.
I know a medic who usually rails two 80s every night or morning to get to sleep. This girl has recurring flashback nightmares almost every night of a specific call.
She will master her stress, or it will master her. if the latter, i am sorry to say she will pay an fearful price. To quote something more artistic:
"Some will fall and some will live, will you standup and take your chance?"
Not everyone can be a firefighter, an EMT, a soldier, a doctor, an accountant, a fisherman, a lawyer, or anything else. In any job or profession, many will try, some will succeed. It is the soley the decision of the individual what price they will pay before they decide the job/lifestyle is not worth it. Rehab and therapy just resets a person before another breakdown.
Like any disease, it is cured at the source, not the symptom. If eating McDs gives you a heart attack, the solution is not to eat it. If EMS is causing you to breakdown, the solution is to not do EMS.
Stephanie, you WISH your department could implement drug testing and get her fired? Your attitude is exactly what I am talking about.
I'd like to think my opinion and attitude has a bit of depth to it not just a recitation of "don't do drugs or we don't want you as a hero". Not everyone will agree.
