r/Paramedics

I’ve been thinking about getting an associates degree instead of the cert for promotion opportunities. I’m curious for the ones that went that route how often was class? I’m working full time right now and would like to go to school while continuing to work.

I know with the cert it would be 1 year with the classes in my area being twice a week then the clinicals. I recently moved to San Antonio and have been trying to look online but haven’t found any information. If asking here fails I can try reach out to the colleges here or go to a campus when I get the time.

Again I’m curious if anyone has went the AAS route or knows anyone that has.

With the new changing DEA laws our service is looking to upgrade how we manage and store our controlled narcotic medications. We have looked at several new safe options for the trucks but thought I would reach out to see how other services handle their narcotics.

How are you currently exchanging narcotics with oncoming crew members? We have looked at several new RFID tracking options along with manual tracking with schedule2IT.

How are you handling waste of controlled substances after the call is complete? Are you filling out a DEA form after each call is complete? Is the waste form integrated in your ESO or similar patient care report? Does your partner sign for the medication waste?

How are your narcotics stored? Do you have one box that stores multiple vials for multiple calls or do you have multiple pouches but can only be used one time each? We currently carry three boxes of identical loadouts but they can only be used for one call each and then black tagged. Have been questioning the option to move towards a multi use box for less crew fatigue having to swap after a call.

Thanks for this input and any other ideas that you have would be great!

EMS is evolving, and we’ve had to evolve with it. When I started in EMS in 2005, the Lucas machine had already been out for almost two years, but it didn’t make its way to my area until late 2006. Even then, it was more of a luxury item until around 2013, at least where I worked.

The automatic stretchers, I’m not exactly sure when they first came out, but the first time I saw or used one was around 2009. Even now, though, a lot of companies in my area still use manual stretchers.

As for the automatic stretcher loaders, I don’t know the proper name for them, but I know they’ve been around for a while. I mostly saw them in bigger cities or on city-based ambulances, especially up north. I do know of one fire department here that has them on their units.

What are some of new technologies you like?

Quick context I applied for a city in the EMS division and was disqualified for dishonesty on my application, I can no longer apply with this city EMS permanently, but how does that effect my reputation and applying elsewhere with other cities or county’s. With Of course being honest on my application this time.

Advice needed from those who have gone from a busy department to a slower one. I’ve worked for two busy urban EMS departments over the past three years, just leaving the most recent after 2yrs of being on a 24/48. We ran call to call (911) and my mental state was in the trenches for the majority of the time. I’d have legitimate physical reactions to being on shift, my heart rate was rarely below 120 and would have a huge fear of going to bed at night as I knew that going home the next morning to take care of my kids and fight to be awake was equally worse. I took a few months to myself and I’m now at a much slower department that is on 48/96 with an amazing environment. My issue is, my body is still reacting the way it used to while on shift. I keep telling myself that it’s okay to take a breath and relax, but nights are still hard to fall asleep without fear and when not consciously reminding myself I’m extremely tense. For those who’ve done similar, how long did it take to train your body to relax? I love my job and I’d like for my nervous system to love it again too.

I took my test 8:30 AM on May 19 and was finished before noon and have not gotten my results back. Three other students in my class have taken theirs and all got their results back within 12 hours and today one of the students went in and took her test at the same time I took mine yesterday and she got her results back at 10 AM this morning. Of course I want my results like everyone else and I’m sure I will get them soon but I feel like there is something wrong?

I graduated from my four years paramedic degree in 2024 and started working 7 months ago. I had one year working before landing my job as a paramedic (due to how competitive the field is in Australia) and initially I felt good starting my role but for some reason there was no excitement when I landed a job. Just a feeling of fear of the unknown and what was to come. I did enjoy my first few months working as I had good support from my co-workers and instructors. We are given a month break at 5 months, but when I returned for my 6th month (arguably one of the harder months in our grad year regarding online workload and assessment days) my confidence was in the toilet by the end of the month.

I worked with an instructor that was much tougher on me than I had worked with yet, they had constructive critisicm for every job we attended no matter how good I felt about how I ran the job. I began to notice under their observation I would crumble under pressure. They would jump in often while I was running jobs, and I received lectures after every job. I was so exhuasted by the end of every shift I would cry all the way home, and sometimes for hours after. My pre-shift anxiety was awful, and I would be praying all day we wouldn't receive any jobs. By the end of the month I called in sick, and when I returned my instructor had failed me. I was gutted. They left notes for me to work on such as scene leadership, work on improving my recall of protocols under pressure, and a few other smaller things.

I've now been on two weeks leave (I requested it as I have also had family stressors happening simultaneously), and the thought of returning to work tomorrow is making me sick to my stomach. I am naturally a very anxious person, and was also was recently diagnosed with ADHD (combined). I feel as if I'm not built for this type of role, and have been kidding myself this whole time if I ever thought I could be a paramedic. I am so disappointed in myself, and so angry I didn't study something that gave me more avenues to go down besides being a paramedic. My family warned me the job would be stressful, but I just wanted to help people and was relying on the fact that 90% of our work is low acuity. I feel so delicate, and like I'm not smart enough, nor the type of person that will be able to last in this role.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated, I've had loads of co-workers sending me their support and letting me know they felt the same in their grad year, however I just feel like I'm the odd one out. I'm so annoyed at myself that I'm already feeling so tired/feel burnt out and I've only been here 7ish months. I've promised myself I would push through to at least try and finish my grad year. I don't know any alternatives I could do if I quit besides returning to study. I kick myself everyday because I almost chose a different degree, but was accepted into the university I wanted for paramedicine so I took it as a sign. I also live in a smaller town, and to return to study what I want (physio, radiology, sonography) it would require me to leave my hometown, friends and family to move cities all over again. The only study prospect here is nursing, and I doubt if I couldn't handle it as a paramedic that I could handle it as a nurse in hospital. I even considered doing a local GP pathway course here. I know it's medicine, but I thought maybe I could handle it in a more controlled environment... Thanks for your help.

Inquiring to those in the sub that are well read on the topic of which directions this career is trending

I’m U.S. based but if you are in another country and want to share some info on how things are going where you are feel free

My research into this topic has not yielded much. The BLS pegs paramedic roles growing quite a bit more than average (like basically all healthcare jobs) but I have not seen that supply and demand shift work in our favor too much in regards to working conditions & salary.

Anyone notice paramedics increasingly filling in gaps within non-ambulance sectors of healthcare?

In the northeast I’ve seen some increase in salary since COVID that has basically stayed stagnant but haven’t noticed much change

Obligatory I know other healthcare jobs are paid better pls don’t turn this thread into a nursing-is-better circle jerk thanks

I’ve been sent to a station with a notorious history of shitty management, and I’m not a kiss ass, so there’s constant friction and they’re constantly on my back.

Is there any solution apart from just sucking up to them?

Moving to a different EPCR software in October. We had FirstDue and it has been nothing but problems.

Wondering what you all use and if you like it (specifically now after the NEMSIS update).

As the title says, i keep going to a hospital and theres a charge nurse who gets mad at us for bringing patients. Sometimes its gets really busy and we have multiple units at the hospital waiting to get triaged, and at one point the EMS supervisor shows up and starts yelling at the charge nurse

Paramedics, as an 18-year-old who is somewhat desensitized to gore and death, is this a career I should pursue? When I say “desensitized,” I don’t mean that I don’t care, it’s more that I don’t fully process it. I’ve looked into so many stories, and my friends in law enforcement, paramedicine, nursing, and surgery often tell me about their experiences. However, I’m not sure if my mental health history (major depressive disorder and severe social anxiety) would affect whether I’d be allowed to pursue this career. How does that work? I’m also very interested in helping people. I’ve looked into becoming a surgeon myself, cosmetic surgery specifically, lol, since I’m already a cosmetologist and barber with qualifications in those areas. However, I’ve always wanted to do something important and meaningful, whether that’s something like what you all do or even military service, specifically embassy protection. I want a career where I can truly make an impact. You all do so much, and I feel like your work is often overlooked.

Hey y’all, in a bit of a career crisis. Long story short, I’m almost a year into a part-time ADN program at a community college and am completely over it. The organization is chaotic, turn around times are terrible with paperwork/compliance for the hospitals, I am registered for a class that in the second week of the semester has no teacher or room number assigned, we are basically self teaching and the program itself is currently on probation with the Board of Nursing until late next year for low NCLEX passing rates.

All of that to say…I’m seriously considering switching to the EMT/Medic route. I know the biggest issue is pay, but I currently have a really flexible full time job 7:30-3:30 that pays the bills. I’m jot going to leave that until I’m settled as a nurse, EMT, medic, whatever. And I’d be willing to do whatever I end up in part time while working my regular full time too. If I withdraw, I can do EMT this Fall and start Medic school next Summer for a year to complete the Associates in Emergency Services. If I take three more classes after that I can get the Bachelor’s in Emergency Services offered by that school. It would be my second Bachelor’s.

But…it seems like most medics end up as RNs either way. Would I be stupid to switch? This ADN is not cheap and there are no other part time programs in the area. It hurts me to be paying for a program where I’m the dog sitting in the burning room saying this is fine.

The original plan a few years ago was EMT school and then Medic, but I had a few things go on in my personal life and by the time I came back to the subject of school I figured Nursing was better pay. But I can’t shake this feeling that I’d love the pace of being a Medic, and I can’t tell if this situation with my current program is a sign that thats where I should be.

Any advice is appreciated.

Got accepted into three medic programs: 1. Weber State-Ogden, UT (length: 8 mo) 2. Front Range Community College-Fort Collins, CO (length: 15 mo) 3. Yavapai College-Prescott, AZ (length: 9 mo). Does anyone have experience with these? Should I go to school where I hope to eventually work? I'm aiming to get on with a fire department somewhere once I graduate. I have experience volunteering for a fire station and working in an Emergency Department as an ED Tech.

I’m always a bit paranoid about unsolicited emails. I received an email from EMS compact with a “certificate of recognition” download link.

Has anyone heard of these guys or gotten a similar email?

I’m an old medic. I’m not concerned about the “certificate”, just wondering if it’s a malicious email.

Thanks y’all.

hi everyone! this is probably a dumb question, or a question with multiple answers. i got my emt 6ish years ago (US, NC) and i remember them teaching us that we don’t keep epi on the truck, but we can administer if it’s the patients epi. is this still the case? if so, why? i feel like epi is a pretty universally agreed upon med for anaphylaxis and could potentially be useful

again i have been someone removed from this field of knowledge for a little while so bear w me if some of this is wrong/misinformed :)