Anyone here an EMT?

I have never been an EMT, exactly but I have been part of a Fire Department, but I know people that are/were. They liked their job, and tended to be firefighters on the side. I wouldn't worry too much on sad sights, it depends on your 'skin'. I would say this is something you should thoroughly research. You could even visit the nearby station, it might do you some good.
As far as your son, I think he'll be okay. If he goes into a daycare, he's interacting with other children and developing character and communication skills with 'outsiders'.

I'm not, but I worked with someone whose son is. His son absolutely loved it.

ETA - Isn't Uncle Jim an EMT?

Pagey's_Girl said:

ETA - Isn't Uncle Jim an EMT?

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Yes, I think so.

How old is your son? It might be difficult to find daycare for those overnight shifts if he's not old enough to be left on his own. Do you have relatives nearby who could pitch in?

As for how you'd deal with the gory/sad stuff, I'm not sure if talking to someone else would help you figure out how you yourself would deal with it. You may just have to bite the bullet and find out.

Best of luck, whatever you decide.

Ren said:

The problem(s)? I wonder if I could handle the gory/sad sights. Mostly the sad. Hurt kids and so on...

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I think this is an important consideration. I knew a guy in the Navy who had been an EMT and he told me all sorts of horrific stories involving accidents -- the ones involving motorcycles being among the worst.

I wouldn't worry about him adapting to another caregiver, especially if it's Grandma. When our son was a baby we had more trouble adapting to daycare than he did, because we were afraid we'd miss his first steps, his first words, etc. Didn't end up that way, though.

ren, Shwebb was an EMS thingie and her husband is one now. you could drop her a note and ask her. i'm sure she wont mind. (you dont' mind, do you, shwebb?)

I second visiting your local Firehouse, because EMT's often work in conjunction with the Fire Department. Check about going on ride-alongs, some places will let you do that to get a feel for the job, some of the things you might see/feel/experience.

Ren said:

One more thing: After I finish the schooling for it I have to take the test to actually be an EMT. Supposing I'm a decent student, how hard is the test?

I mean, is it killer, even after the classes, or should the classes prepare me for it pretty well?

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Hey Ren!

I used to be a flight nurse and worked a ground ambu at the same time. If you are sensitive to things like blood, bones sticking out, vomit (and really stinking smells) this might not be the job for you. Hours wise there are some areas that do 12 hours and some that do the 8-5 in the station then oncall after that. So you would have to see what is available in your area. I think you will find that most of it is bread and butter runs, you know, picking up nursing home patients and taking them to the ER, stuff like that, minor injuries. Most areas have access to helicopters now and in the more rural areas like where I flew, the police officers will call the chopper first so they can get there nearly as quickly as the ground units if it is a really bad trauma. Protocol is that if a patient meets certain criteria with mechanism of injury, they go straight to a level I trauma center. Time can be critical. But many times it is the ground unit that does all the extrication and stablization (back boards, bandages, c-collar, etc.) If you have the "right stuff" you can become a trauma junkie real fast, I did!

I double the suggestion about doing a couple of ride alongs to see what it is really like. If possible do it on a weekend. Might see more of the trauma side from drunks wrecking etc. and will help you determine if it is something you can handle. I would suggest trying to do at least two so that you get a better experience and can make a better judgement. If the local unit won't do it, you will be doing ride alongs during your training and can always decide to quit during it if it really turns you off. But I would say if the crap one sees in these freaky movies like the Saw series doesn't bother you, then the real thing most likely won't. You will learn that it is the walking wounded at the scene with no blood on them that are hurt the worst on average than the person that has a shallow cut on their scalp that is bleeding copiously. It can be an acquired taste.

If you want to talk more, just PM. I would be more than happy to discuss this and any other questions you might have. That you are asking them tells me that you would make a great EMT. Good luck!

What's an EMT?

Ah, we call 'em Paramedics.
I have no advice for you, but if you do go ahead with it, I have a good, family sized dose of kudos for you. I have a great deal of respect for those guys and the amazing job they do.

Hey, Ren--Nevada is correct; I was an EMT-advanced for more than 10 years. Mr. Shwebb has been a professional paramedic for almost 20. Matter of fact, we met on a squad run when I was an EMT and he was a student. I let my certification expire when our first child was born. My husband also works as a paramedic instructor (he's in charge of supervising the clinical experience, mostly) at the local college as well as a number of extra classes medics and EMTs take to keep certification up.

What the job is like also depends on where you live. In our corner of the world (SE Ohio and northwestern part of WV), we have less gunshot/stabbing sort of thing and more medical emergencies versus traumas.

One thing I've noticed over the years is that everyone has his/her thing that they don't deal with as well. For me, it was motion sickness at times. And patient vomit bothered me to the point that it would make me gag. However, it didn't keep me from performing my duty--