Career as an EMT

Hi all, my name is Marcus. Uh, let me share these slides really fast. So, a little brief introduction about myself. My name is Marcus Cedro. I'm a nationally registered emergency medical technician and I've been serving San Francisco and more so the entire Bay Area for the last three years. First off, thank you all for coming. Um, it really does mean a lot to me that so many of you uh took time out of your day to come to this event and show interest in my career and my personal experiences. In addition to that, I know that we're a pretty small group and so I invite you to make this as collaborative and intimate as you feel comfortable. So, if any point during this presentation you have questions or any top points of interest that you want to talk about, feel free to uh unmute and ask your questions or even if you're not comfortable doing that, just leaving a little text in the comment section and I'll be sure to get to that. But yeah, here is um what being an EMT is like and how to become one. So, first off, what is an EMT? EMT stands for emergency medical technician and the very textbook definition is that we are specialized in emergency care and transport of the sick and injured operating within the basic life support scope of practice. So basic life support basically encompasses all forms of emergency medical care that can be done without any real special equipment things that can be done with mostly your hands. So, think of things like CPR. Think of things like fracture immobilization. Think of things like stopping a bleed. These are all very life-threatening ailments, but they can all be easily stopped, prevented, and treated with very handson skills with very minimal special equipment. So, another thing that's really often brought up is EMTs are oftentimes confused with paramedics because both EMTs and paramedics are present on the ambulance. Um, so just a quick disclaimer, EMTs and paramedics are different. Uh, even though they do work in tandem, as I've said before, EMTs are specialized in basic life support. So, think of just hands-on emergent care, while paramedics are trained in advanced life support. This is a higher scope of practice, which gives them access to advanced airways, um, narcotics such as fentinyl, morphine, as well as some crazier procedures. Um, some that come to my mind are intraosius access. So, think of like needle going straight into the bone to deliver medication, needle decompressions, which is when a collapsed lung needs to um be reressurized. So, they put a literal needle through the lungs. A lot of these crazier things a paramedic is able to do. Um, so like I said, EMTs have their own scope of practice within the basic life support system, but when they work in tandem with a paramedic, they take on more of an assistant role. So even though an EMT can work independently, when they're paired with a paramedic, they're able to assist in these more advanced procedures, like I said, with special narcotics such as fentinyl, morphine. Um, they can assist in intubations, and they can assist with EKGs, which are the little heart monitor things. So, to become an EMT, it's surprisingly very straightforward. Um, I got my EMT license at 19 years old, which is about three years ago. And I first became an EMT because one of my friends had actually got his EMT license right out of high school. And this was such a surprise to me because in my head, um, being an EMT was such a big career decision. To see someone so young achieve it was just crazy to me because I I didn't know it was possible for someone that age. Well, the only prerequisites to become an EMT are you must be 18 years old. You must possess a high school diploma or GED equivalent and have a AHA approved basic life support provider card, which basically just teaches you basic CPR and some basic choking relief. Uh once you meet these prerequisites, you enroll in an EMT course. There are a bunch of EMT courses, especially in the city. Uh CCSF comes to mind. They offer a free semesterl long EMT program. um or SF residents and most EMT courses have around 200 hours of didactic in-classroom training which involves like lectures um textbook readings along with hands-on skills practice where you practice um trauma management where you practice bleeding control where you practice CPR and a lot of these hands-on skills. Um in addition to this EMT course and classroom training, you also have 24 hours of ride alongs. So, in your education, you will actually have the opportunity to ride along and shadow a 911 crew. And during those 24 hours, you actually get to experience what it's like to work on the ambulance without quite having your license yet. And it's a really great opportunity because it's such it's so low commitment because you haven't applied for a job yet. You haven't committed to um taking the national exam or anything like that. And so you really get a very good taste of what it's like to work in EMS without actually being an EMS yet. And it's really fun because depending on the paramedic and the EMTs you work with, they allow you to really get as hands-on as you are comfortable with. My first time uh being a ride along on a 911 shift, my paramedic had actually allowed me to perform CPR on an active cardiac arrest. And that was an opportunity that was like so foreign and new to me because I was still in school. I was still in training. And to be placed in a situation where it's like, wow, what I'm doing is actually making a difference in this person's life. And watching a full resuscitation happen and watching uh a pulseless patient regain a pulse was such an amazing experience. And to have all of that as just a student was really impactful. And yeah, so those I think I really do believe those ride alongs during your EMT program are one of the most valuable experiences you'll have in your education. Once you've completed your ride along practice and your dactic training, there is a national exam. This national exam is about 70 to 120 questions. And once you pass your course and pass this national exam, you will receive your NRMT, which is basically your certificate or your lensure that says that you are licensed to be an EMT nationwide. Once you have that NRM, there's some additional certifications that a lot of companies ask for before they hire you. This is more things like uh hazmat precautions, um understanding weapons of mass destruction, understanding instant command systems during like mass casualty events, so like triage. And these are all just little online courses that you can just slideshow your way through. And then once you have all of these requisites, so getting your prerequisites in terms of getting your provider card, uh completing your EMT course, completing your ride alongs, and then completing that national exam, you're now able to apply for EMT positions. And contrary to popular belief, there are actually a many different types of EMT roles. Um I think the very the most common EMT role that comes to mind is 911. That's what people think of when they see an EMT. They think of a 911 ambulance. Someone responding to these crazy crazy emergencies, this very like high um high adrenaline, high stress environment. But that's not always the case. Um what I like to tell people um when they're considering being an EMT is that you can really choose your stress level. You can choose how out there and how active you want to be. Um I think the next slide demonstrates that. Um I may be mistaken but I think I know it comes up later. So um I we talked about earlier about the EMT scope of practice and what's it incorporated in basic life support and what's incorporated in your EMT training the classroom. And so here's a quick little preview of all the things that an EMT is trained to do. And for those of you who are considering the career, this is what one of the subjects that you will be studying. So we because we are working in emergency medicine especially um in the field. So responding to people's houses, responding to schools, responding to parks, basically any public event, we are trained to respond to a very wide array of emergencies. This includes respiratory emergencies. Um, so in cases where someone can't breathe, we've trained to insert uh they're called LMAs, lendable mask airways. So little plastic tubes that sit right above the throat. And this allows us to ventilate the lungs and give oxygen to patients who are unable to ventilate themselves. We're also trained to give oxygen therapy, which is basically just administering high flow oxygen at desired levels. We're also trained in trial management. So, this could be sports injuries in terms of just like um bracing an ankle, a sprained ankle, or it just can be something more serious and thinking of like car crash with crush injuries or maybe maybe blood loss from a traumatic injury and closing that wound or perhaps even uh spinal precautions. If you're in a very traumatic accident and you have spinal potential spinal damage or potential um neck injuries, you're trained to stabilize those parts of the body to prevent further injury. We're also trained in emergent care. So, think of things like CPR in the event of a cardiac arrest or think of things such as using the AED defibrillator pads, the the little shocky pads that they use in like Grace's anatomy. Um we're also trained in vitals assessment. So just understand how to take vitals and also what the numbers mean. So basic things like blood pressures, blood sugars, heart rates, temperatures, things of that nature. And we also have a a handful of narcotics that we're allowed to administer or a handful of medications we're allowed to administer. Some some really important ones that come to mind are albuterol. Albuterol is used in asthmatic attacks to open up the airways. Epinephrine, we use that in allergic reactions. Nlloxxone is a for opiate overdoses and then nitroglycerin is used to alleviate a lot of chest pain. And one of the ones that we're also trained on but comes very rarely something I've never experienced myself is also child birth. Um because we are working in EMS which is emergency care. An emergency could really be anything. One of those emergencies could be an emergent child birth where the mother is unable to make it to the hospital in time. Um, so we are trained to deliver a live birth if the deliver if the baby's position in a normal position. Um, so I've actually had a few co-workers who I don't know if I want to say pleasure because truthfully it scares me a little bit, but they've been able to give live births in the field and it is such an crazy experience just hearing their stories and I can't even imagine the guts they have to just watch that happen because that's terrifying to me. [sighs and gasps] But yeah, child birth. Um, so now that we've talked about what it takes to be an EMT and what EMTs are able to do, um, I'll get more into why you would want to consider being an EMT. Aside from the obvious answer of wanting to work in emergency in the emergency field and as a first responder, um, not everyone is here for life. Most EMTs actually don't stay on the ambulance forever. uh a lot of people such as myself are using EMS as a stepping stone for u future healthc care goals. Um because you're working in the field and you have a lot of hands-on experience with patients, other providers such as doctors, nurses, paramedics in the field, you are given a lot of hands-on experience. You really get to see what a sick person looks like and how to treat it. And I think EMT is really valuable in that sense because as opposed to a lot of other health care or entry- level healthcare positions such as medical assistants or nursing assistants for example, EMTs actually have a lot of autonomy over patient care. They they're able to dictate which hospital is best for the patient. They're able to withhold or administer various medications to improve patient outcomes. they're able to talk to patients directly and really make these important decisions that not a lot of entry- levelvel providers are able to make. Um because of that I feel like EMTs who pursue higher degrees such as nursing, such as physician assistant, such as doctor, they really gain a high level of understanding of the field, but also a lot of confidence because to work in emergency care and to work on an ambulance and to be a solo provider, it really does teach you how to trust yourself. And aside from just getting clinical hours for your resume, I think that is a huge huge huge um benefit. And it really is something to talk about when you go to these interviews to be an MD or to be a nurse. And I think it really does separate providers because it it teaches you how to be the solo person on scene. It teaches you to trust yourself. And I think that's a very invaluable skill. So here are some of the examples of the various um the various faculties of EMTs that can happen. So on the right side here um is an example of a 911 emergency shift. So this is what people typically think of when they think of an EMT working on 911 system responding to 911 calls. As you can see here, I'm smiling in every other picture. In the 911 picture, I am quite tired. So, this is really what I mean by you can pick your level of hard and you can pick the level of stress you're willing to put up with. Typically, 911 shifts last about 12 hours. Um, so an example would be working from 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. or maybe the opposite 700 p.m. to 7 a.m. And during that call, you're posted at a random location. So for example, if I'm thinking about San Francisco, a common posting spot would be like post in Larkin and you're there and any 911 call that comes in your vicinity you respond to. So 911 can be very demanding in that sense because um you're kind of stuck in one location and your days are very variable. It's very whatever happens you just have to catch. Um, and that's really difficult for some people, especially people who are in school and studying like I was. Um, I was an EMT all throughout college. So, I needed some sort of work life balance, which is why 911 was never a full-time career for me. Um, at least while I was in college, more so, I spent a lot more time doing what's called inner facility work. So, that's what you see on the left side. in a facility work is a lot more um draws a lot more work life balance because as opposed to just typical 911 emergency, you're in a more scheduled environment. You're in a more controlled environment. And when you're performing in facility transports, you're really just moving sick patients from one hospital to another hospital or maybe from hospital being discharged to home or maybe hospital to a specialized surgical center. So, you're still interacting with sick patients. You're still interacting with um these really crazy and interesting medical diagnosis, but it's a lot more structured because since they're coming from a hospital, um these patients are typically stable and since the hospital transport is very scheduled, when you bring them to the next facility, they're typically ready for you. there's not a rush or stress that comes in as opposed to like you're barging into the ER and you're saying hey I have a sick patient where do I put him in in transport a lot of things are scheduled and that provides a really good work life balance which is why I was able to stick through it all throughout college um yeah in this picture for example looking at this IF picture I'm wearing our bunny suit because we had what's called a donor call so this is a donor call is when you have a patient who has recently expired and they are certified as a organ donor. And so during this call, we brought them straight to the surgical site where we were able to not only like assist in the organ procurement but also watch the surgeons work which as a student and as a aspiring um as someone who's aspiring for higher things in healthcare that was a very valuable experience. Another fun thing you can do as an EMT sports standby events. So, in this picture, I'm working the Berkeley football games. Um, and these are really fun events because it gets gives you a break outside of the ambulance. So, you can be an EMT for concerts, you can be an EMT for sports games, for company conferences. A lot of cool opportunities lie there. Um, some fun ones for me, I was able to see Via Doobie. I was be able to be her EMT. I was able to see Anderson Pack. Uh, I don't know how popular these guys are for you, but I scheduled to see to be an EMT for the Sacred Souls and Jack Johnson this coming week. So, those are all very exciting things. And you get a free show out of it. You get a free concert out of it, but you also get to be a part of the crowd. And you get to see the crowd from a different perspective. Um, not every shift is crazy. Sometimes you're just picking up drunk people who've fallen down. Sometimes you're um helping people who got into a fight. Sometimes you're helping an elderly person who just fell down the stairs. Sometimes you're dealing with an unexpected overdose. And so you're still really seeing all these um interesting patient demographics, but you have the luxury of having a show. So, some other additional EMT pathways that exist that I haven't really had the opportunity to explore are uh one that really sticks out to me, search and rescue. So, there's a lot of national parks out there. Yusdi comes to mind where they request for EMT level providers or higher to serve on search and rescue teams. So, a lot of these search and rescue teams are volunteer based, but I know a lot of our national parks will offer you free lodging and housing if you serve as a volunteer u over the summer as search and rescue for their park. Another uh pathway could be a SWAT medic. This one is honestly kind of crazy to me. So when the SWAT team is doing their thing, you're there with them and you're not only like holding your medic bag, but you're also like joining the squat excursion. So you're in the midst of the battle or however you want to say it. So that's really for the peak of the peak adrenaline junkies out there. I don't know if I've ever touched that. Um, another EMT pathway could be firefighting. Um, most people don't know this, but all firefighters are nationally registered EMTs. In order to become a firefighter, you have to be an EMT first. So, a lot of the EMTs I work with currently are aspiring firefighters or they're interviewing to be a firefighter somewhere along that process. Uh, additionally to that, you could also be a fire paramedic. So, if you love being an EMT, you love the medicine aspect, but you also love being a firefighter, you can merge the two and become a fire paramedic on the fire truck and have that advanced life support scope of practice at the fire scene, which can be a really rewarding thing because those are two very high level professions all at once. Um, another career that I've been able to witness but not really partake in is being a flight medic. So I'm specialized in ground transport. So I've typically just driving the ambulance. Um and so something that will happen oftent times is a flight crew will come in bringing a patient from super far away and for example they need to go to UCSF because UCSF has all this specialized medical care or maybe Stanford and this patient has gone super far away to receive this very specialized care. And so me on the ground ambulance will meet the flight medic and their crew as the helicopter touches down and then we'll transfer them from the helicopter to the ground ambulance and now we're going to the hospital. Um yeah, and flight medics don't only do just like little transfers like that, but they also respond to emergency calls. So for example, we talked about search and rescue. If you're stuck in the middle of nowhere and a ground ambulance simply can't reach you, they will send a flight medic out on a helicopter to find you. Um, which I think is super cool. Very crazy. Um, that would be a fun thing to do. I don't know if I'm going to get there, but that's really interesting to me. Yeah. So, um, before I end my spiel and open it up to questions and conversations, I want to leave you guys with a quote from my chief Santos, who was my training officer when I first became an EMT. And the thing he told me right before I graduated was, "Never forget that when you walk into someone's home, you may be stepping into the worst day of their life." And this really stuck with me. And I think this is a big reason of why I think being an EMT is so impactful to me and why I love my career so much is because unlike every other health care provider, you are the only one who's ever going to step into their home. Um, you're the only one who's ever going to see them in their bed. You're the only one who's going to see them at the site of the accident. You're the only one who's going to see them um when their family first calls 911. And that's such an intimate moment. And I feel like it's such an honor and a privilege and a pleasure to be able to be in the room when that happens. Um because there's something so human about that. Something that's transcends the medicine of it all and the healthc care of it all. It's just a simple humanto human interaction and being able to see another human in their time of need and say like and just being able to offer help. maybe you can't fix their problem, but you tell them you'll try their best. And there's something really impactful there that sticks with me. And that's something I really do hope for those of you who pursue this career or are thinking about it experience because I think it's something that everyone in healthcare should. But yeah, um thank you for listening to my presentation. I'll open up the floor to Angela or anyone else who wants to ask further questions or start a conversation. Um, I'll be here. >> Hi Marcus, thank you for the presentation. Uh, so far no questions in the chat, but I have some questions I am curious about. Um, what kind of situations or emergencies do EMTs usually encounter on the job? >> Yeah. So, because of the nature of our work, um, emergency medicine as a field encounters basically every facet of medicine. Um, just off the top of my head, I've responded to strokes. I've responded to cardiac arrests that required just full CPR. I've responded to car crashes. But I've also responded to a lot um lower acuity things. I've had people having anxiety attacks who just needed someone to talk to, but they didn't realize that's what they needed. Or I've had people who've had nosebleleeds and they freaked out because they thought it was more serious than it really was. Um, I've working a lot I've worked a lot of Sharks hockey games down here in San Jose. And while working there, I've responded to maybe um a couple broken ankles or a couple like fractured wrists cuz like kids will slam into each other on ice. And I've even seen like some like comical things like I'll work in my medic tent during um a sports game and some concerned mother will bring their bring their baby to me and they'll say I think he shoved a popcorn kernel up his nose. Can you check? And then that'll be my job. Check if the popcorn kernel is still in his nose. And so I feel like EMTs are very infamous for these super high acuity, super high stressful events such as like heart attacks or car crashes or this like crazy gore, but that's really isn't the everyday. If anything, that's a very rare occurrence in my opinion. >> Thank you for that. Um I know like in the ex um in the education part of the presentation you mentioned ride alongs. Is there are there ones where if you're not in the EMT um courses to do ride alongs or is it strictly only for those who are in the program? >> So to be on an a working ambulance you do need to be associated with a program. Uh I think that's for liability reasons. But for people who are looking to gain access to the field, there are a lot of volunteer programs that take on um like one program that comes to mind is Rock Medicine. So Rock Medicine is a volunteer organization that takes volunteers to medically staff um concerts and sporting events. And the minimum qualification for that is to have a CPR card. And once you volunteer, you get to work under uh an EMT or higher and you kind of just shadow them for the whole concert. Um I think that gives you a pretty good insight into what EMS looks like and how to respond to these emergency situations without actually going through all the formal training of doing so. So for people interested but aren't ready to quite commit to formal training, um check out those volunteer programs. I think that would provide a lot of benefit. Thank you for that. I I didn't know about that. Um, what are the most rewarding experiences you have during your um, current EMT career? >> Yeah. Um, I really have two answers that come to mind. Um, one is the more traditional adrenaline junkie answer where it was my I believe I was 19 years old, so I was a fresh EMT and I had witnessed my first cardiac arrest and I remember performing CPR and watching the paramedic intubate the patient, push IV drugs, and then eventually transport the patient to the ER where the physician ision took over care. And I just remember being in that situation and not really knowing what was happening because prior to that experience, everything I had ever learned and done was in the classroom. And so it really did feel like I was just going through the motions. But then being in the ER and seeing um an actual resuscitation occur, like seeing a flatlined pulse finally regain its own rhythm on its own was such like a beautiful experience cuz that was the first time I ever saw almost like the fruits of my labor. Just to see like just like that feeling of looking back at myself and being like I did that. Um, of course there was a whole team behind me, but that feeling of like I was part of that like what I did made a difference and that was in terms of my healthcare journey like such an impactful moment. Um, I suppose and then the other memory that comes to mind something that's more intimate I suppose is um I guess just going back to idea of being there for on someone's worst day. I've had a lot of patients um hospice care comes to mind. I think this is something that not a lot of people know about, but hospice care or end of life care is when someone is on a do not resuscitate order or do not intubate order and they're essentially sent home where they're allowed to pass away at peace um at their own consent. And this is a really beautiful experience because it preserves the dignity of the patient a lot. It prevents them from undue suffering of staying in the hospital longer than they really want to and allowing them to sort of pass with dignity which is the a huge thing in healthcare. And I've had my fair share of hospice calls mainly because most of these patients are too sick to be transported by family or relatives. So an ambulance is entrusted with that responsibility and during those calls there's really nothing medical to do um because they are on end of life care and so other than making this patient comfortable and talking with them that is the only real treatment and those conversations I've had with patients on end of life care is such a beautiful and intimate thing because It's almost like the whole ambulance knows that this conversation is a temporary one and we all acknowledge that and I don't know to take the time and and provide space for that dialogue and to say and just be there and talk to someone like that's a very fulfilling experience and I think something that really does stick and impact what I do. >> Wow. Thank you for sharing that. >> On that note, what kind of personal qualities or strengths do you think someone uh that would make someone be a good fit for it as a EMT? >> Yeah, I think number one is empathy. Um I feel like this is something I've been feeling a lot lately, but empathy towards your patients, empathy towards your fellow providers, because being in medicine can be hard at times. Um, of course, people don't call an ambulance if they're healthy, right? And to have empathy for what these other people are going through and to also have empathy for your co-workers as they sort of take carry that burden with you. There's a lot of feelings. There's a lot of emotions happening and it's really important to hold space for that. Um secondly, I'd also say a willingness to learn because there are a lot of qualities to being an EMT that um come with repetition. So maybe like confidence and skills and sort that trusting your medical abilities that will all come with time and with repetition. But what doesn't come very easily to most people is a willingness to learn and a willingness to be okay with making mistakes and a willingness to accept criticism from others because at the end of the day um as an EMT truthfully you're not very high on the totem pole and I think some people have a little ego problem with that but to me it's a little inspiring because it shows that look I'm surrounded by these nurses and these doctors and these paramedics and all of them know more than me which means that they can all teach me so much and to have that mentality I think is very important because without it it's very hard to grow not only as a provider but also just as a person. >> Thank you for answering that. I guess how physically and mentally demanding is this job would you say? Physically there is a quantifiable number for physically um >> as an EMT it is a very um physical job um because you are in charge of the transport of the patient. So this involves things like loading up the gurnie. So carrying the gurnie up into the ambulance with the patient on it. Um in San Francisco we're very infamous for our hills and our stairs. So there's often times where you're in a cramped apartment and you're carrying a patient uh down those stairs and so you need you do need to be uh quite physically able. I forget during my new hire training there was actually a um what's the word I'm looking for? A lift test where you had to be able to lift a certain amount um to be hired. And unfortunately, if you did weren't able to lift that weight, you were um disqualified from the hiring process. I believe it was maybe 110 lb squat or something like that. Some >> arbitrary number. I can't remember anymore. But yeah, um but the minimum qualifications for strength aren't isn't too crazy. But I think a huge another benefit is when you're responding to a call, you're never really alone. Um when you're working 911, you have firefighters with you, you have cops with you, and if you are alone uh with EMTs, it's very it's not hard to call for help. Um there's always people on the radio when they will send assistance very easily. Um yeah. So, and then I think the other side of your question was the mental strength. Is that correct? >> Yes. >> Mental strength. Um yeah, like we said before, um health care in general, but specifically emergency care can be very mentally taxing because you are seeing people on their worst day and you're seeing people um just um in all honesty just suffering, right? We're suffering mentally to suffering physically and that can be very taxing. Um but I think the best for me to that is again empathy. Um empathy for yourself, allowing yourself to feel your emotions and also empathy for others and allowing others to experience that emotion with you. Um working these 10 12 hour shifts with co-workers. It's really interesting to me because oftent times um these co-workers start off as strangers. Especially if you pick up a shift or you're called in on a day where they're short on staff, you're going to work with a stranger and possibly like someone you've never really met before. But after those 10, 12 hours, you start to feel a connection because that empathy exists so strongly. And a lot of my closest friends have been made on the ambulance just for that very reason. So yeah, empathy, huge answer. >> Sounds really great. Um you talked about the gurnie and the uh ambulance truck, but what kind of equipments do EMTs use regularly? >> Yeah. So um there are actually different uh types of ambulances. So like we said before, basic life support was the word I kept using. And so basic life support ambulance is going to be staffed by two EMTs. Um this is sort of the minimal staffing or the minimal I'm forgetting the word um skill level that you can have on an ambulance. And >> good afternoon we are having Lego engineering program in our community room. This is for the students in second grade through 8th grade and teens are also welcome to join us. So this program takes place every Wednesday 3:30 to 4:30. If you are interested in Lego you can join this program. Thank you. >> Apologies, library. [laughter] Um, but yeah, so on a BLS ambulance, we have two EMTs. Um, we're kind of staffed with everything um I described earlier. So, you have your narcotics bags, which uh which has um aluterol, nitroglycerin, aspirin, epinephrine, a lot of these sort of more basic medications. Uh you'll have oxygen tanks um which are used to provide oxygen therapies. You'll have the gurnie obviously to transport the patient. You'll have your trauma gear. So this is like bandages, splints, trauma shears in case you need to cut clothing. Um and you also have your backboard equipment. So like your C-spine collars, um the little neck braces to go around neck and also backboards that are used to stabilize a spinal injury. Spinal Yeah. spinal injuries. And then as you approach higher levels of care, so for example, critical care transport is two EMTs with a nurse and advanced life support is a paramedic plus an EMT. On those rigs, you get a lot more diverse equipment. So one example would be the addition of a cardiac monitor. So these monitors actually able to read the EKG waves of the heart and virtual impulses. Um and with that with their higher scope of practice comes a lot more medications. Um you get things such as Versed. Um you get things such as fentinyl, morphine, ketamine, these more um I don't want to say dangerous, but more drugs that require a higher level provider to administer. And we als um yeah and with that higher scope you also get things such as intubation tubes. So literal tubes that are able to go all the way down to the bronchi of the lungs to provide oxygen. And you also get um IVs. So drugs that go directly into the vein or intraosius needles which go straight to the bone. And so with higher level providers, you get to see this like wider way array of medicine. >> Oh wow. Okay. >> Yeah. It's really fun because even though as an EMT, you're not allowed to touch a lot of those medications or administer them on your own, being able to assist in the process is super interesting. >> That is very interesting. You did talk about transport a lot. Um where what was the farthest you have ever transported your uh the patients in your ambulance? Yeah. So um on the topic of inner facility transports um we do a lot of hospital transfers. So for example if we have a patient that needs to go to a is already in the hospital but now needs higher level of care or maybe vice versa where they're at the high level facility now they need a lower level of care or even they're getting discharged from a facility and we're just bringing them back home. If the patient is too sick to be transported by family and friends in a car, um an ambulance is entrusted with that responsibility. And so you can really go um my company in particular goes as far far south as I think LA and as far north as Oregon. Me personally, I think the farthest call I have done is from UCSF Parnasses down to a facility in LA. And this was for um a home discharge because a patient had received a specialty surgery from UCSF and now required um specialally transport to go back home. >> That's that's a really long way. Do EMT hours typically range 9 to5 or is it longer, shorter? >> So, it really depends on the company you work for. Um, typically if you're working 911, those shifts are 12 hours. Um, if you're working in a facility transport like I did primarily, you're going to be working 10hour shifts. Um, but you're also subject to potential overtime. Sometimes calls uh happen last minute and if the call happens during the duration of your shift, you have to see it to completion. So the off time that you are given on your schedule isn't always what ends up happening. For example, when I was talking about that long-distance call from San Francisco to LA, I think that was a 17-hour day because it incorporated the drive to and fro as well as managing the patient at facility, at destination, and in between. So, um, the days can be variable. >> Wow. 17 hours straight. I don't know how I would be able to do it. Um, so what does an average day or shift look like for an EMT? Um, just curious like do you normally wait until you get calls to do it or is it like pre-arranged? >> Yeah. So, um, I can describe the day I had today actually. Uh, I was working today from 4:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. And the typical day starts with you clock in and you check out the rig. So, you make sure all your medications are present and not expired. You make sure all your equipment is working. So, like your AED pads, your blood pressure cups, all of those things are in working order. Your oxygen tanks are full. And once your rig is fully stopped and ready for service, you call into our dispatch and you say, "Hey, um, this is unit whatever whatever uh on ambulance XYZ and on board we have EMTs Marcus and Marcus and Marcus." And from there, they'll post you at a location and say, "Hey, post at this location." And you essentially just post wherever they tell you to post until a call arrives. And there are some days where you can just be, for example, you're just at the park for hours because there's no call. Or it could be immediate back to back to back where they have something waiting for you and you're just going. So it's really hard to give a average dayto-day just because the experience is so variable. But oftent times there is a lot of downtime in between calls which allows for a lot of personal rest and for a lot of students like myself time to study. Wow, that sounds really interesting though since the days are like solely different uh dayto day. [gasps] >> Never boring. Yeah. [laughter] >> Um I don't see any other questions um in the chat or in the Q&A. So if anyone has questions, feel free to raise your hand. Um I only have one last question. is that how do you stay calm in a high pressure scenario? I know you mentioned you had um dealt with like a car crash. Is that I would assume that's like a high pressure scenario. I'm just wondering how do you would keep calm in that situation? >> Yeah. Um I will say there's not really a straightforward answer that I can think of because so many people respond to stress differently. Um, and I understand that my stress response isn't a very typical one. Um, for me personally, um, I've thought about being in a healthcare for my entire life >> and being an EMT was such a big goal to me that and I studied so much and I trained so much. So that when an opportunity for me to actually use my skills finally arrived, I found myself quite excited. um which is a very which is not a traditional response that most people would have especially most lay people who aren't in the field. I don't think they respond that way but for me personally that really is how I felt. Um I felt like it was an opportunity to show myself um like look how hard you've worked, look how hard you've studied, how hard you've trained, look how far you've come. And that's really how I viewed those opportunities. Um, but I will say that stress is real and fear is real. And I think a way I've coped with sort of scary situations where maybe I'm with a patient and I'm seeing them deteriorate and I'm thinking to myself, wow, this is beyond my control or this is beyond my pay grade is sort of acknowledging that and saying, hey, I can't handle this, but I know who can. And that person could be a paramedic um on an ALS rig that you call for backup or that person could be the physician at the ER. And so having that trust in your co-workers and your partners and your f healthcare providers, knowing that they um knowing that if I can't do it, they can is a is a very comforting fact because it shows that you're not really alone um in that emergency. It really is a team effort. Yeah, that's thank you for that answer. Well, there's no other questions and we are a little bit early, but I think we can end the presentation um right now if no one else has any other questions, but I'd like to thank Marcus for coming and sharing about what it's like to be a EMT. Um it's a very interesting profession to say because I always see ambulance in and about um in our daily lives. So, I always wonder what it's like for someone who is driving that vehicle um and what what it's like actually. Um thank you for sharing your knowledge on what it's like to be EMT. Um I like to thank everyone for showing up and uh participating. Hope you found this presentation informative and helpful to you guys. I'll be sending out a uh recording link as well as a survey. Uh if you guys could fill out that survey, that would be great. Any feedback uh can help us improve in our programming. And with that, good luck everyone and I hope you enjoy the rest of your day. And thank you again, Marcus, um, for coming by after your shift. >> Thank you so much. I hope to see you soon in person. >> Yep. Bye everyone. Bye.