Where I live, EMT-Basics don't see many real emergencies unless the emergency happens while they're doing the nursing home run.
I'm licensed as an EMT-B and ended up working as a home health aide because at the time I got into HHA, I was dealing with health problems (hyperthyroid, then effects of the medication they had me on) and wouldn't have been able to deal with the physical demands of EMT, and I'm also a GODAWFUL DRIVER.
Health problems have since resolved and after a few different consumers/clients/patients (what they're called depends on what agency, what kind of agency, and who hires you) I can safely say I learned a lot more than I bargained for.
People will "poo-poo" (pun intended
) this work, but I've seen a greater variety of things and had a much greater scope of practice than I would have had working on an ambulance. Many HHAs (along with the stereotype) indeed don't have a high school education and don't speak English, but there's a spectrum, and in my case, I work with medically high-maintenance consumers in positions that generally hire nursing students and CNAs. I've participated in my consumers' ongoing care with their healthcare team, which I wouldn't participate in, on an ambulance. I'm trained by a visiting RN in managing one consumer's pressure sores, and a huge part of my job is assisting the RN. In many cases the HHA ends up doing things that in a facility only an LVN minimum would do. I've also dealt with real emergencies. 85% is domestic drudgery, but the other 15% has been invaluable.
One of the reasons I'm switching to hospital or facility, *is* because my field is so unrespected, and because of the pay. We don't get good benefits most of the time, workman's comp (for doing a job that can render the *giver* disabled if there's an accident) or for that matter, respect. I'm just waiting for people to start making jabs the moment I said "home health aide".
At some point I may very well end up working ambulance, but I'd be going from having a broader scope of care to a narrower one. It's my experience as an HHA that made me decide to get my CNA license, which I'll be doing soon.
