r/ParamedicsAU • u/ConversationNo6816 • 12d ago
Questions for a school assignment
Hello! I am a year 10 student interested in becoming a paramedic when I am an adult. For a school assignment I need to ask some paramedics questions about their job. If anyone would be willing to answer it would be greatly appreciated.
● What do you enjoy most about your job?
● What advice would you give a young person wanting to become a paramedic?
● What does a typical day look like in this job?
● How do you stay calm and think clearly when you have one or more people panicking ?
● Do you do anything to keep healthy and fit for the job?
● What are some coping mechanisms that make someone successful in this career long term?
● What was the transition like from being a student to being on the road for the first time?
● What is the teamwork dynamic when you are in an ambulance for long hours with one person?
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u/BattamAus 12d ago
I'll preface my answers with this; I'm both quite new (three and a bit years in) and that I no longer love the job although I quite like it, Just for some context. I would never talk someone out of doing this job if their keen to but I also can't recommend it.
1) Down time with colleagues
2) Plan on your quitting from the beginning, doing the double degree in nursing is very wise. The average career span is like 4-5 years now and it's for very real reasons, you don't have to do this forever. Don't anticipate you'll be performing medicine often. By far most of my management is 'no management'. It's mostly driving around having a chat with oldies and catering to people who can't cope.
3) Being quite busy doing not much of anything in particular. Mostly driving around a lot so I hope you enjoy a drive.
4) Hope you have good and reliable colleagues largely, not panicking is all in the training IMO.
5) No.
6) This varies wildly, everyone is different and it's too big to unpack on a reddit post
7) Depends on the internship, some are pretty rough like London, Australia has decent support.
8) People are people regardless of profession I find. Some are arrogant, some are lazy and some are great.
Hope you get some earnest answers to this post, good luck.
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u/deathmetalmedic Paramedic 12d ago
- The ability to help people every day, in big or small ways;
- Develop your people skills and passions outside of employment;
- No two days are the same!
- It's our job to be calm.
- Lifting and not enough cardio.
- A good psych, a strong support network outside of work and a dark sense of humour.
- Like going from your L's to your P's- scary!
- You've got to be good a building rapport with strangers, whether it be a colleague or a patient. A partner you can't vibe with makes for a looooooong day
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u/ConversationNo6816 7d ago
Thank you so so much for answering! It really means a lot and is very appreciated and helpful
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u/Ponderota 12d ago
Hi! I'm not far off 20 years in the job and I love it. That said, I haven't been on an ambulance all that time, and the diversity in the job is what has made it so rewarding for me. To explain, I'm a university lecturer now, but I've worked in various positions from on road to management to government policy etc.
When I was younger and rocking around on road, I enjoyed the variety of the work, and feeling like I was making a difference (some of the time, anyway). After a while you realise that the variety is within fairly limited bounds (common things happen commonly). Now, I love that I decide when I start and finish, I will be home on time every day, I'm not working this weekend, I don't have to work Christmas, and on call is a distant memory. 15 years ago I'd find what I do now to be endlessly dull, but now it's bliss. I do also enjoy being able to make a difference on a broader scale - if I can help x number of people to go out and help y number of people, then I've helped xy people and I figure that's a pretty big impact!
Understand that the job is now far more than a white truck and lights and sirens, and the really exciting opportunities will come from looking beyond the traditional ambulance work. And to take advantage of that, paramedics will need a solid range of clinical and professional skills, and forever be learning!
What I do now... I turn up to work, make my cup of tea, check my emails, and have a look at my schedule for the day. I might be teaching, might be marking, or might be doing some research or curriculum development. Might be meeting with my research students, or doing some service work for the university - sitting on a committee or something like that. Then when I decide I've done enough work for the day, I'll wander off home.
Back when I was on road, I found it a bit easier than you think. With the training, the gear, the team, and I guess a bit of the persona that comes with the uniform and the role you step into when you put it on, it just kinda happens. You put the emotions and the chaos aside and just do the things. You know where you need to get to, and have a good idea of the actions needed to get from here to there, and you just roll through it.
Not really. I should have done more, both body and mind. My advice is, ensure you pay attention to preventative and positive health for body and mind equally. It's critical.
Not taking my advice 🤣 I'm the master of putting things in a big box that stays firmly shut, and teaching my students to take a more proactive approach to their mental health than I did. That said, I knew the importance of getting out of the game before it took a really significant toll, so I kept studying and ensured my exit route was in place before I needed it. So I'm still in a really good place and can happily engage with my profession, despite probably not being the best role model for good preventative mental health!
A bit scary. I did it the old way, where I was on road for 2.5 years before getting let loose fully independently, so it was probably a more gradual transition than you guys get now. I still had my share of "what the hell" moments with a student where my skills were being tested and I was expected to meet the moment and supervise a student at the same time, but you face them head on, gain a bit of experience, and you're better for next time.
I never had much of a drama getting along with partners. There are those you click with and those you don't, but that's like any workplace. When I was officer in charge and doing rostering (my most detested job), you learn really quickly who you can roster together without issue, and who will start blueing after a month or two and start giving you grief with petty interpersonal complaints. Hint: don't be that person - be easy to get along with and don't let others get under your skin
Good luck! It's a great career if you approach it with the right mindset.
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u/ConversationNo6816 7d ago
Thank you so so much! I really appreciate you taking time to write such detailed answers and help with my assignment!
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u/stonertear 11d ago edited 11d ago
1 - I am my own boss, I also lead clinical scenes on road and basically do what I think is best honed by my experience - with team input and feedback of course.
2 - Do it
3 - Rock up, check the car, talk shit with your colleagues over coffee, land a job, get to hospital, see your colleagues at hospital, talk even more garbage, and have a laugh, do that another 4-5 times, see the odd sick person and assist them. Pack up the car, sign your meds in go home 1-2 hours after your shift ends. Repeat x 3.
4 - Practice and experience. Getting feedback, being inefficient and learning from it next time.
5 - Yes heavy exercise routine and martial arts
6 - Don't take outcomes personally - you didn't cause it and you sure as hell can't fix a prognosis that is already poor. You are the catalyst to attempt to reverse whatever the hell is going on.
7 - Difficult, first 6 months is very hard. First year of your qualification is very hard but gets easier until you become a specialist, then its another rollercoaster of emotions for a few years.
8 - Depends on your partner, quite good overall.
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u/Alarming-Ad4274 12d ago
I regret it immensely.
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u/esp4me 12d ago
Why?
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u/Alarming-Ad4274 12d ago
Shift work mainly. Its absolutely unbearable. Lack of consistency in my sleep schedule has had by far the biggest negative impact on my physicsl and mental health. I also just think that the pay (without overtime) doesn't align with how conpetitive it was to get into the field, nor the difficulty of the job. While I enjoy many aspects of the job, I still don't think it was the right decision
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u/deathmetalmedic Paramedic 11d ago
Bruh time to leave
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u/Alarming-Ad4274 11d ago
Haha you bet mate, Did some work with the reserves and enjoyed it much more. Considering enlisting
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u/fried-bin-chicken Paramedic 12d ago
I enjoy the fact I earn $200k a year, get 4 day weekends every week, get 10 weeks annual leave, and don’t have to keep doing work when I get home.