I started catching up on the comments of this blog today. Lots of people I never got a chance to respond to over the years. In the course of doing that I re-read a lot of my old posts and noticed that I used the phrase: "If your in this business any length of time" quite a few times. It struck me as odd at first that those were he only words repeated often. Then I came to the following conclusion. IT FITS.
If your in this business for any length of time you will...
notice that your call volume increases sharply and proportionately to the las time you took a piss.
If your in the business for any length of time you will...
get screamed at for taking too long to get there, even though no one moved out of your way.
If your in this business for any length of time you will...
know what it feels like to wear the same underwear for 48 or more hours.
If your in this business for any length of time you will...
know the pain of a complete stranger crying on your shoulder.
If your in this business for any length of time you will...
feel wracked with sadness over telling a parent their child is dead
If your in this business for any length of time you will...
eat from every single fast food restaurant in your area.
If your in this business for any length of time you will...
miss your children's plays and sporting events, not to mention special evenings with your spouse. You will cancel and re-schedule appoints almost monthly.
If your in this business for any length of time you will...
respond to find a friend or family member seriously injured or deceased and your the only truck available.
If your in this business for any length of time you will...
see a near complete turnover at your station, leaving you feeling alone and with strangers.
If your in this business for any length of time you will...
see new EMTs burn out and fade away even before their carrer starts, due to one bad run.
If your in this business for any length of time you will...
witness the miracle of life and the sadness of death all within 24 hours.
If your in this business for any length of time you will...
find your boots fit differently at the end of the day because your feet are swollen from all the walking.
If your in this business for any length of time you will...
learn to eat when you can and never miss a chance to take a leak.
If your in this business for any length of time you will...
know the difference between: mostly dead, almost dead and dead.
If your in this business for any length of time you will...
opt to work when your sick and save your PTO for "Important" things.
If your in this business for any length of time you will...
learn from someone everyday and teach others without knowing you did it.
If your in this business for any length of time you will...
be constantly reminded to lift correctly, but still lift incorrectly and suffer back bain almost 50% of the time.
If your in this business for any length of time you will...
ruin at least 2-3 perfectly good relationships, but replace them with stronger bonds than you ever thought possible.
If your in this business for any length of time you will...
notice that most nurses don't even listen to your report.
If your in this business for any length of time you will...
see at least 10 patients more than 10 times each per year. They will start calling you "friend"
If your in this business for any length of time you will...
stare blankly when someone approaches you in the mall rattling off a call you were on that helped them. You will struggle to remember the details.
If your in this business for any length of time you will...
measure your payment in the smiles you recieve from little old ladies, they know someone cares. (JS)
If your in this business for any length of time you will...
sit behind your computer and write lists of shit that occured to you...
There are literally hundreds more I think of day to day but forget to add here. Please leave a comment and I'll keep editing this post until we have covered as many as we can think of. I need to start carrying a tape recorder, lol.
Take care guys, stay safe out there.
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4 comments:
If your in this business for any length of time you will..
Wonder why you don't miss it as bad as you thought you would when you finally walk away (or are forced to because of health problems)
I do, but I don't.
I miss the people the most..
The Administrators the least
and the 3am psych transfers not at all!!
:) I like this list, even for someone who is not a medic, I know and understand what you are saying.
Thanks for your comments!
Appreciate your bllog post
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