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08-09-2019, 08:51 AM | #31 |
Just Hook it to My Veins!
Location: František! How's the foot of your turtle?
Posts: 32,741
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linger on
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08-09-2019, 08:56 AM | #32 |
real estate cowboy
Location: if Monsanto and Purdue Pharma had a baby
Posts: 36,881
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the two jobs and the school, not all at once I hope?
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08-09-2019, 10:07 AM | #33 |
NOPE.
Location: :/
Posts: 15,108
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Yeah, for the last eight months or so. I had one day off every two weeks. It was rough, but I needed the second job to pay for school. I was in paramedic school, so I also had ride time (on the ambulance learning) in addition to class. Thankfully that ended about two weeks ago. We have a two part exam, and I passed the first part and have to take the written exam in two weeks. Hands down it was the hardest thing I have ever done.
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08-09-2019, 11:56 AM | #34 |
real estate cowboy
Location: if Monsanto and Purdue Pharma had a baby
Posts: 36,881
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jesus. hope it was somewhat enjoyable too at least?
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08-09-2019, 01:20 PM | #35 |
NOPE.
Location: :/
Posts: 15,108
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I love the work, I do. Sometimes it really is the best job, I learn something new every day, and I have met and become friends with some great people. Becoming a paramedic is one of the only ways to advance in the field (unless you are also a fire fighter) and since I work primarily with paramedics, I had an idea of how hard it would be. The workload is ridiculous and if you do not have family in the field or familiar with it (which mine are not), it is hard for them to understand why you are consistently not there for things. So, there was that and two of our coworkers died (one of which was our chief, who died on duty) while I was in class. There was a lot of added stress that you do not factor in when you start. That being said, the job has really made me a more assertive, braver, and smarter person than when I just sat behind a desk.
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08-09-2019, 05:04 PM | #36 |
real estate cowboy
Location: if Monsanto and Purdue Pharma had a baby
Posts: 36,881
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sounds like a life-changer!
i had to look up the word paramedic, I'm still very dutch apparently. my sister's boyfriend is a surgeon who used to be on a trauma helicopter for a year and that was absolutely devastating for him, he was basically dealing with heavy car crashes and the like all the time, situations where a whole family dies save for a toddler or something horrible like that. I hope and I suppose 'normal' ambulance work is somewhat less traumatizing on average? another thing that comes to mind is that over the last so many years apparently people have been behaving more and more violent towards paramedics here in certain situations, is that a phenomenon you're sometimes faced with too? where exactly are you from again? |
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08-09-2019, 08:43 PM | #37 | |
NOPE.
Location: :/
Posts: 15,108
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Ah, gotcha. Your sister's boyfriend probably had the worst of the worst calls due to him being a surgeon, which I cannot even imagine day in and day out. We do get bad calls here, and sometimes there are days when you get a lot of them. The thing is, because of the hours we work (and its not uncommon to have multiple jobs) and the nature of it, a lot of people get sucked in and do not do much outside of it. Having hobbies and things to clear your head is really important, but I think no matter what we to tend to have more friendships and relationships with people who work in the field, whether it be emergency medical services, police, or fire departments just because they understand.
I am extremely lucky to work for a hospital-based system that has a lot of psychological support services readily available and are very pro-active. After particularly bad calls, we have "debrief" meetings, which are more a discussion and a lot of times have a counselor for anybody who needs to talk. It is not uncommon for our current chief to send people home who were on a bad call and shut down a unit until the next shift if it was particularly bad. When our last chief died on duty, the hospital shut us down from when he passed away to the day after his funeral and paid everybody for the shifts they were supposed to work. Violence against paramedics and other emergency services workers is unfortunately a thing here also. Angry family members, people strung out on drugs, or psych patients are an every day thing. People get angry because you're not an x-ray machine, pharmacy, or taxi driver. Or because you did not respond quickly enough for when they called about having a cold for a week. You learn to be very careful very quickly. It is also not uncommon for us to wear bullet-proof vests, which are fantastic in summer let me tell you I live in Delaware, but work in Chester, Pennsylvania. Here's a nice little tidbit: Quote:
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08-10-2019, 05:22 AM | #38 | |
real estate cowboy
Location: if Monsanto and Purdue Pharma had a baby
Posts: 36,881
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Quote:
how did your chief die if I may ask? your life must very rarely be boring I suppose! nice to see you posting again |
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08-10-2019, 08:19 AM | #39 |
NOPE.
Location: :/
Posts: 15,108
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Our chief (Bob) had a massive heart attack while working at a charity event at the soccer stadium at which we provide medical support. He was sitting in the stands and went unconscious. Our crews got called there for an unconscious person without initially knowing who it was. It was pretty awful - we had two people quit and one retire as a direct result. Bob was the chief there for 36 years, the entire hospital and county knew who he was. If he met you, you were his friend. They had to hold his funeral service at a community center because of how many people they knew would come. I owe my entire career to him and cannot say enough good things about him as a boss and a person, and I am sure most of the people in my department would say the same. My dad actually worked at the same hospital for over 30 years before he retired, and said that Bob was the only guy who he never heard a bad thing about. Our new chief was one of our assistant chiefs and has done a great job taking over thankfully.
I have so many stories that nobody would believe! I wish I had figured out what I wanted to do sooner but it's so nice to be here now As I have some free time and boredom is still a thing, I'll probably pop up more often. |
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08-10-2019, 12:14 PM | #40 |
Just Hook it to My Veins!
Location: František! How's the foot of your turtle?
Posts: 32,741
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over six years ago, i bought some smashing pumpkins singles off you.
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08-10-2019, 12:14 PM | #41 |
Just Hook it to My Veins!
Location: František! How's the foot of your turtle?
Posts: 32,741
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they're in the attic now.
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08-11-2019, 07:44 AM | #42 |
NOPE.
Location: :/
Posts: 15,108
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Well, hi. Hope you're enjoying them.
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08-11-2019, 03:42 PM | #43 | |
real estate cowboy
Location: if Monsanto and Purdue Pharma had a baby
Posts: 36,881
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Quote:
if you'd care to share some of those stories, I'd like to read them. |
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08-12-2019, 01:40 AM | #44 |
BOTTLEG ILLEGAL
Location: I'm faced with so many changes that I just might change my face
Posts: 32,800
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08-12-2019, 01:40 AM | #45 |
BOTTLEG ILLEGAL
Location: I'm faced with so many changes that I just might change my face
Posts: 32,800
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good to see you pbe
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