Later all! Off to EMT school!

[jester47]

Hey all its been a fun time on these boards, but I got into the EMT program I was trying for (150 try to get in to the program I was trying for, only 36 are chosen) and the course is a killer. So, while I will lurk occasionally and still buy the books, all my D&D activity is coming to a stop for 11 weeks.

In the coming weeks I am going to be getting ready for the classes and working to get some articles into some gaming magazines that I said I would submit. We will see how that goes, and I will post back here when I am done with the classes.

So if you don't see any posts here, thats where I am.

Hopefully I can make it to GenCon this year, I would love to meet some of you people, esp PC, EN, Morrus, JD, Alz, the FR bunch, and the Col (been wantin to meet him for a while!)

Anyways, best wishes and take care.

Aaron.

 

[Alzrius]

Bye bye Aaron! Best of luck with the EMT program!

 

[Morrus]

Good luck at EMT school! Uhh... what's EMT school?

 

[jester47]

Emergency Medical Technician. Its required for firefighting in these parts, and working for an ambulance company is not a bad living.

Aaron.

edit: heh... this was my 777th post!

 

[Skade]

Good luck with your training and your future career. We'll be looking forward to your return.

 

[alsih2o]

remember, kicking butt is no fun if you don't take names too!

good luck, drop by and let us know how it goes.

 

[Airwolf]

Good luck!!

See you in 11 weeks.

 

[Mathew_Freeman]

Hope it goes well!

 

[Zenon]

working for an ambulance company is not a bad living[/i]

Well, I don't want to chip in with negative remarks, but one of my friends is an EMT (ambulance driver) and is trying to get into firefighting.

He loves doing it, but at the same time, he has complaints about it:

1) The pay is low for the work he does. Seriously, I make about 1 1/2 to x2 what he makes for doing IT work.

2) The hours are terrible. It's rotating days on/off shift work (and he mostly works nights but they can call him in at any time). 12 hour shifts - emergency personnel are not subject to overtime limits. If his replacement calls off, he has to stay until they can find someone who wants to come in the relieve him.

3) He has blown out his back by carrying 300 lb. people down three flights of stairs on a stretcher. His company has been jerking him around for over two years about the injury and it still isn't resolved.

4) Massive CYA due to liabilities. They'll stick you with a partner and you better hope he's really good or that you can write up your trip sheets to reflect that you are not at fault for anything that might go wrong. Welcome to the world of "Lawyers & Lawsuits".

5) High career burnout rates. Due to the stresses of the job, there is a high turnover in personnel.

Some facts about these types of jobs from the International Occupational Safety and Health Organization:

http://www.ilo.org/public/english/protection/safework/cis/products/hdo/htm/drivr_ambulance.htm

Other than the doom & gloom above, I wish you luck with it. Just be sure you enter this career with your eyes open and know what you're getting into and that this is something you absolutely love & want to do.

Note: all of the above is IMHO and from hearsay. IANAL.

 

[KnowTheToe]

Let me just say congrats and good luck!