Ah gotcha.
I wouldn't want to have to work EMS either :rofl:
I've seen more than a few single role EMS places where the techs don't want to be forced to do EMS. It doesn't matter if you're getting $8/hr or $35/hr, getting up two to three times a night, for an hour + each time gets old, real old after a while.
That crap can affect your health and your relationships. I worked with a guy who was diagnosed with clinical depression, had significant marital problems, and took an extended period of leave because of the constant call volume and sleep deprivation. It sucks when you've been away from home for 24 hours, run calls for most of the night, and get home with nothing left in the tank. The kids want to play, your spouse needs you to get things done, and you've got nothing left to give. It's all the more psychologically damaging when you realize that most of these patients that rob you of sleep call for such minor issues, that are nowhere close to worthy of emergent tx/txp. C/C's like "I haven't pooped for four days" (0230), "I've had a fever for two hours" (0400), or my favorite - "I have no real complaint, I just took the wrong bus, I'm out of cash, and I just need a ride home (0100) - I needed to make up something to tell the dispatcher" will wear you out over time.
It's things like this that make people not want to do EMS txp in a combined organization. You're out of the station for long periods of time, while the engine is back in 15 minutes. The reasons that you're out are typically nowhere close to a real emergency. Even the most apathetic hardcore fire slayers will step up their game when they're assisting the ambulance crew for someone that's actually dying or severely injured. It's just that the culture is no one wants to have their time wasted by ignorant people calling for taxi rides. I hate eating cold steak three hours past dinner time because a 25 y/o called me for flu-like Sx, or an All-State-itis 5 mph MVA and they want to be transported.
The joke is that besides the money, I became a medic to do more for the patient, and also to get away from all the BLS calls. Where I come from (for non New-Yorkers), BLS handle most injuries, MVA's, sick jobs, abd pain, EDP's, medical alarms, single Sz, intox, etc. The joke is that my system used to be tiered BLS/ALS. That changed about a year after I got hired. Now, every career ambulance is ALS. It's back to running toe pain and hurt feelings. This has killed my enthusiasm for EMS. I'm tempted to look for per-diem ALS work back in NY just so that I can remember what it was like to be a medic and actually see real patients/use my protocols.
