Are there any paramedics here???

[bossman_1986]

i've been thinking of going to school to become a paramedic, i want to know how you guys feel about your job? what are the chances of you getting hiv, since you have to deal with many people who are bleeding??

[pw154]

I am not a paramedic but considered it and decided against. I know of too many paramedics that burned out early. It's a hard job with long hours and not nearly enough compensation for what you do. Especially in Ont.

[Danger]

Dunno much, but my bros best friend(female) is a paramedic and from what I've heard if your a built guy you are pretty much gauranteed to work with a hot chick which is probably nice.

On the down side you will get called out for people who "fell" ass first onto a shampoo bottle and got it stuck in there ect... from what i've heard when were out having drinks you end up dealing with some really bizzare shit. Sounds like fun tho!

[guest]

Dunno much, but my bros best friend(female) is a paramedic and from what I've heard if your a built guy you are pretty much gauranteed to work with a hot chick which is probably nice.

On the down side you will get called out for people who "fell" ass first onto a shampoo bottle and got it stuck in there ect... from what i've heard when were out having drinks you end up dealing with some really bizzare shit. Sounds like fun tho!

lol, i heard that exact story from an EMT in edmonton years ago.

[Matt Rock]

I also looked into it and decided against it at the advice of a good buddy that is a firefighter and knows the ins and outs...

What was said earlier regarding burning out is very true... I've heard it's an average of 7 years before a paramedic is completely "done".

[ab_chic25]

i looked in to it and will start the schooling, as soon as I can this coming year. Just think about the good you will be doing. I mean lots of the time your one that mean s the different between life and death. Without paramedics many wouldnt be here today.

[Trevor S]

Flight Paramedic here on the Toronto helicopter...been in the game for 19 years. Also a volunteer firefighter. In terms of getting HIV, if you wear personal protective equipment and wash up when you should, risk is not all that high. And we deal with alot of bleeding on my crew given what we do. There is a risk but HIV/AIDS is not that rampant that you encounter infected patients with that much regularity - guess it depends on where you work too. There are a lot of other easier to catch diseases out there.

It is a 2 year program (most colleges) with a couple of private condensed 1 year programs. Money is much better than it used to be. There are much worse ways of making more than minimum wage out there, but it is a tough job on your back and knees...and there can be the burn out factor. It depends on how you deal with what you are dealing with. It's not for everyone but there are many more medics retiring from the profession now than before.