Specter of Death in the Wings |
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September 19, 2005
By Austin Brentley
Technical Programs Columnist
First to arrive on the scene, an emergency medical technician is responsible for stabilizing victims long enough for them to receive proper medical treatment in a hospital or health care facility. It is a job that is both exhilarating and challenging. Rewarding and frustrating. As an emergency medical technician, you spend your days fighting off the specter of death waiting in the wings.
The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
As you can imagine, emergency medical technicians have good days and some very very bad days. As first responders, they often have to deal with very dramatizing, complicated, and critical situations. If you decide to pursue this field, expect to deal with car accidents, heart attacks, strokes, burn victims, bullet wounds, and other accidents or attacks that need immediate medical attention.
It is not a job for the faint of heart. However, few things are more rewarding than rescuing a life. Few jobs can give you greater satisfaction than saving another human being from near-certain death. Emergency medical technicians are able to perform miracles that were unthinkable to most doctors just 10 years ago. Thanks to recent advances in technology and science, an emergency medical technician of today can seemingly reverse death and restore life.
Emergency Medical Technician Training
In order to work your magic, you'll need extensive medical training. Whereas standard physicians can diagnose problems and treat them at their leisure, as an emergency medical technician, you will have to assess the situation, decide on a course of action, and implement the correct treatment; all within a matter of minutes.
This is why training is so essential. In many cases, the victim is barely grasping on to life by the time that you arrive. As an emergency medical technician, is crucial that you possess both the medical know-how and a calm disposition for this line of work. Training can provide you with the former; the latter a will have to come from experience and lots of practice.
About the Author
A freelance writer and researcher, Austin Brentley is an English teacher currently living and working in Yamaguchi, Japan. His previous experience includes working for a lobbying firm in his native Washington, DC and working for various record and television studios in New York. Austin holds a B.A. in history.
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