Was it always a calling to you?

[MrBrown]

Brown does not consider the Ambulance Service a "calling" it just fits Brown's various talents well ...

1) Brown can talk to people quite well and finds it interesting
2) Brown likes this medical mumbo jumbo
3) Brown dislikes sitting on Brown's bum all day
4) Brown likes a bit of variety
5) Brown likes to think Brown does something positive and meaningful

 

[bigbaldguy]

Brown does not consider the Ambulance Service a "calling" it just fits Brown's various talents well ...

1) Brown can talk to people quite well and finds it interesting
2) Brown likes this medical mumbo jumbo
3) Brown dislikes sitting on Brown's bum all day
4) Brown likes a bit of variety
5) Brown likes to think Brown does something positive and meaningful

You forgot number 5) mrs brown digs mr brown in his uniform

 

[the_negro_puppy]

I was never really interested in medical things as a child teen. I always found the first aid courses i did while in the military interesting, and after I got out my state service was recruiting. Its a well paying job I find interesting and challenging with a variety of work. Could I see myself doing this for the rest of my life? probably not (i'm 24) but we'll see.

 

[firetender]

At first, it was about survival. Then it became a matter of pride. Then, it felt like a sacred trust. Then it became a campaign. Then it became a burden. Then it became an obsession. And now, it's a calling out to me again and, as always, I can't say no.

 

[CAOX3]

Its definitely a calling, just ask my wife what I call it after some days.

 

[Seaglass]

The short answer: no.

The intermediate-length answer (because I don't have time for the long one): There's a calling, but it's about helping others, not EMS in particular. If you name a type of volunteer work, chances are I've done something related: homeless shelters, kids, the elderly, animal rescue, refugees, cleaning up parks... the full list is a lot longer. I fully intend to spend the rest of my working life in public service as well, though the goals I'm looking at have nothing to do with EMS.

 

[usalsfyre]

I love doing anything I am good at, and EMS is on the list.

Similar thoughts here. I do EMS because (I feel) I'm good at it, and I enjoy it. As far as it being a calling? I'm really not sure. I feel more called to "medicine" than to "EMS" if that makes sense.

 

[canadianpcp]

I use to watch Emergency as a kid and course Chips as well, but never thought I would become a paramedic. I always wanted to become a cop, until I took a OFA level 3 course when I was 22 years old. From there I did some other jobs, but always enjoyed being able to help people with the training I had as OFA level 3. After a about ten years of doing odd jobs, I decided to take my OFA again and I started working at a mine site as a first aid guy and from there took my EMR and now finally have achieved my PCP license and work for the BCAS. I wouldn't say it was a calling, but I was good at first aid, and was interested in learning more. I am lucky as I am one of the many who actually gets to do a job that we enjoy!

 

[Dougy]

(im sure this has been posted here somewhere, but id like to ask ya'll)
Was this career field always a calling for you?

I was never the kid that wanted to go into this field since i was *insert age here*. I was never the kid who got a fisher price BP cuff and stethoscope and went around playing doctor on my family. If you can believe it, when i was fresh out high school, i enrolled in college to take classes because i wanted to be a U.S. Government teacher. I didnt really get any fulfillment from the classes i was taking, but felt compelled to still go to school. I never even thought about doing EMS until this one day. When i was at work, i went to break, i walked outside to smoke a cigarette and walked past a fellow employee who was also smoking a cigarette. I nodded and said hi as i walked by. I went to my car to grab my water but realized that it wasnt there. So i decided to go back inside to go and grab a water. I headed back to the building and then that man that i said hi to was collapsed on the ground, with a ton of people around him, someone said he was having a heart attack. I heard the sirens of the ambulance in the distance and knew where they were going. I felt helpless. no one knew what to do, this mans life hanging in the balance of us, and i couldnt do anything about it, it was a horrible feeling. I was shaken by that incident and felt guilty with myself for not being able to do anything for the man. I went home after work and told my dad about what happened. I then started doing some research in EMS and then about a week later decided thats what i was going to with my life, be an EMS professional. After some hard work, countless hours of struggling, and some help from above, i made my dream become a reality and i am where the EMS was that day the man collapsed. This wasnt a always a life calling for me, until one day i made it become a calling. Do you guys feel the same way?

I thought it was so cool that my father did the EMT thing. I loved the stories and I wanted a piece of the pie. I am now his Saturday night riding partner. He's been doing it since 1983.

 

[dstevens58]

I can't say it's always been a calling. But, with several relatives in nursing and medicine, I would say that influenced me to a bit and when I enlisted in the military, I insisted on the medical field.

I first tried the Air Force, but when it came down to sign in/swear in day, they couldn't guarantee the medical field. I stuck to my wishes, delayed my enlistment by a couple of months, then I was on my way to Navy Hospital Corpsman.

Coming in straight after Vietnam, all male hospital corpsman immediately went to field medical school (think combat school for medics), where we not only learned how to treat patients in the field, but also to protect ourselves.

I fell in love with Emergency Medicine and now would rather do that, than any other form of medical field.

I'm loving it.

 

[citizensoldierny]

Serving the public was a calling since I was young , I originally wanted to be a firefighter like the majority of tykes out there, big red truck, cool gear etc.. Then after realizing what the world is really like I decided being a cop would be the thing to be.Went far as to get a degree in criminal justice and work as a jail cop a.k.a. correction officer. As for EMS lucked into itrofl by wanting to get a job that would show P.D.'s and F.D.'s I could work the streets, deal with people etc. . After approx. 2 years with AMR and a kid on the way,I decided money would be a good thing so I did LPN school,have been a Low paid nurse for over a decade. Since moving to New York,7or so years ago I've been able to fulfill my calling as a volly firefighter, EMS officer and ALS provider. Also just recently finished Army medic school and will be starting EMT-P in August. Long story short though I guess would be my non-specific calling to help people has become a calling to be in EMS.

 

[TransportJockey]

Found it by accident. Took a year off from NMT while pursuing explosives engineering there, decided EMT-B sounded fun and wasn't a hard class so I took it. Decided I liked medicine more than engineering (still like blowing crap up though), and wanted to make medicine a career. EMS is a good starting point.

 

[STXmedic]

Fire was my "calling." I didn't know a thing about EMS. Took my EMT B course and my mild obsession blew up from there

 

[Iceman26]

Fire was my calling, coming from a firefighting family. Got my EMT-B because you have to, though I did have some medical curiosity and desire to learn based on my dad also being a medic first and then a firefighter/medic. Once I started EMT school I just really took to it and loved learning the medical stuff and once I got done I desired to be at a higher level of knowledge and thus decided on going to paramedic school. It was tough, time consuming, and all around stressful for those reasons among others, but it was also a blast and I had so much learning everything and developed great bonds and friendships with my classmates and instructors. It's been a lot of fun and definitely feels like something I should've been doing all along.

 

[abckidsmom]

You forgot number 5) mrs brown digs mr brown in his uniform

Haha, have you seen those epaulets? Hmmmm.....

 

[Dober317]

If you asked me three years ago about considering a career in EMS, I would have laughed and said that it wasn't my thing. I really wanted to be a forensic scientist throughout high school, and before that, a detective.

Taking the First Aid merit badge in Boy Scouts piqued my interest in emergency medical services, learning what to do in emergencies was something that really grabbed my attention. Still, I couldn't see myself being the kind of person who would become an EMT back then.

I got offered the opportunity to take an MRT (Connecticut's old EMR) course while in high school, and decided to do so. I was happy taking the course, and I was excited by doing the skill sheets and learning technique with things like the KED and the stair chair. Once I passed the course and got my EMR certification, I wanted to move one more level up to the EMT-B and see how that worked.

And throughout that course, I came to realize that this was something that made me happy. I had a blast on my ride-alongs, and I was feeling great about what I was doing.

And so, it wasn't always a calling, but I feel that it became one.

 

[RocketMedic]

Its a calling for me. My parents are both paramedics, and I've grown up around EMS. It's a job that makes a difference for the better, and you can make a living wage. Its never the same, and its a lot of fun.

I knew I was going to be a paramedic eventually. I just didn't know how to get there, so I joined the Army and got lucky enough to find the opportunity to go to paramedic school. Here I am now.

 

[zzyzx]

It became a calling for after I got bored with my old career. I got into it for some of the wrong reasons (thinking I would make a lot of money, ha ha, and saving lives) and some good ones (wanting to help people and do a job that provided a benefit to society). Ten years later I'm still very happy to be involved in EMS, but if I had to work full time again as a medic, and without any goals of doing anything else, then I would probably get burned out eventually.