I'm new to the boards, so might as well introduce myself:
And, you know, I've earned my idealism, because I had it when I was younger, and then I lost it, and then I got it back again after a lot of rough road: this time I'm keeping it. People matter. Every single person. And I can't think of anywhere I'd rather be than in that ED when the chips are down trying to give someone just one more minute, or their ninth life, or to help them welcome the unexpected kid, or, when it comes down to it, to be there with them when their number's up so they're not alone.
It's kind of funny: experienced paramedics tend to try to use the same arguments on new paramedics: it's hell, you have no idea what you're getting into, you'll wind up hating it, etcetera, etcetera, ad nauseum infinitum. And I have the same answer for all callers on that frequency: if you hate it so much, quit and go do what you love to do. Because I didn't come for the money or the lifestyle or because I thought it'd be keen. I came because I was called to it, and I could no more not come than I could not breathe. I'd do it for free.
So, anyway, here I am, and you are all inspiring (some more than others: hi, blee!), and I hope to learn a huge amount from all of you and someday put my name up there as an MS1. Good luck to everyone.
- 35 this year.
- Dad to the world's most awe-inspiring kid.
- 5-year marriage to the world's most awe-inspiring wife.
- Original undergrad 1990-1994, with a glide-path GPA that started as a 3.9 and wound up on academic probation. Dropped out in 1994.
- 10 years in the internet industry, most of them in Northern California.
- Paramedic school last year while working fulltime and doing the dad thing, so I at least know I can balance harsh school demands with everything else (passmark was 80: A was 94-100, so 87-93 got you a B and 80-86 a C).
- Cumulative GPA since 2000 (when I went back to school) is 3.6, 4.0 sciences. I have no real idea how to estimate my actual cumulative incorporating the old stuff and the new stuff, but I'm sure one of you can set me straight.
- Hope to complete bachelor's + prereqs in the next 3 years or so.
- Hopefully will start applying around 2010 (at 39), and be "done" by 46.
- Strongly subscribe to "I can be 46 or I can be 46 and a doctor" and "it's only too late after the funeral" camps.
- Targeting UNM: we'll be moving to ABQ in a few years to establish residency (my wife's family is there: her support system will be crucial).
- The medical field ain't what it used to be.
- The medical field was never what it used to be.
- The money sucks.
- The hours suck.
- The recognition sucks.
- It's incredibly hard work for the opportunity to be humiliated by nature, abused by the healthcare industry and exploited by The Man.
- An awful lot of your patients die without you ever figuring out why.
- An awful lot of your patients live without you ever figuring out why.
- It takes forever, and did I mention that the money su...right.
And, you know, I've earned my idealism, because I had it when I was younger, and then I lost it, and then I got it back again after a lot of rough road: this time I'm keeping it. People matter. Every single person. And I can't think of anywhere I'd rather be than in that ED when the chips are down trying to give someone just one more minute, or their ninth life, or to help them welcome the unexpected kid, or, when it comes down to it, to be there with them when their number's up so they're not alone.
It's kind of funny: experienced paramedics tend to try to use the same arguments on new paramedics: it's hell, you have no idea what you're getting into, you'll wind up hating it, etcetera, etcetera, ad nauseum infinitum. And I have the same answer for all callers on that frequency: if you hate it so much, quit and go do what you love to do. Because I didn't come for the money or the lifestyle or because I thought it'd be keen. I came because I was called to it, and I could no more not come than I could not breathe. I'd do it for free.
So, anyway, here I am, and you are all inspiring (some more than others: hi, blee!), and I hope to learn a huge amount from all of you and someday put my name up there as an MS1. Good luck to everyone.
