If you are thinking about becoming a paramedic, this career summary is for you. This career summary will teach you about multiple advantages and risk you can have as a paramedic and multiple information that can be useful in your final decision.
Being a paramedic is a very stressful and rewarding job. You are often called by people that are having one of the worst days of their lives, and you have to help them. However, it is very rewarding when you do succeed in helping the people you are caring for, and you can make a real difference in their life.
Paramedics will receive a call and go to the patient. They will do everything they can to help them, and if they have to, bring them to the hospital. This job isn't only about caring for patients, you also need to make sure all your equipment is always ready, the ambulance cleaned after every call, and to always stay up to date with the new protocols.
It really depends on where you are working. If you are working at Urgence Santé in Montreal, it is very likely all of your day will be very busy, and full of call, so you won't have a lot of time to do something else. If you are working somewhere more remote you have a lot more time to clean the ambulance, get ready for the next call and decompress from the last call you had.
Most of the them paramedic will work in the ambulance, and then they will go wherever they are needed. It doesn't matter if it's in your personal home, a factory or outside they will go anywhere they can safely go. Paramedics can also receive special requests to work in the hospital and vaccination clinic.
To become a paramedic you will need to keep a high grade in high school to be admitted in the program. After you need to study and go to college for 3 to 4 more years, and do over 400 hours of internship. You will also need to pass a registration exam at the government. Once you have completed all of the steps you can join a paramedic's organization, and then do 6 more months of probation before you can become a real paramedic.
The salary can depend a lot with all the bonus you can have, but at the start you will usually make around $62 000 a year, and the most you can receive after 12 years is around $88 000 a year.
They will often need training to relearning some techniques they haven't used in a long time. The union are always pushing for the paramedics to be able to do more in the field and provide the best care possible to the patients, this is why we will often need to go back to school or for some instructor to come to us to show us the new techniques.
A paramedic can have to deal with a very big variety of dangers. Some of them are back pain, patient to intoxicated who can become violent, exposures to chemical, exposure to contaminated blood or needles, car accident when driving with the lights and sirens, and many others. This is why we receive an intensive training to protect ourselves, and or patients from any harm.
The chance that a paramedic would be replaced by a robot are very small. Even for later in the future. Paramedics have a very complicated job that requires a lot of trust from the public and a lot of very quick decision-making that can go outside of our protocol. We are no longer simply following guidelines. Now we can use our judgment to help our patients as much as possible. This is why I truly don't believe a robot will replace paramedics soon.
According to the Prehospital union, it is now possible to retire at 60 years old. It is also possible to take a gradual retirement. You would still be a paramedic, but you would be doing fewer hours and taking doing a lot more administrative work. You can start this gradual retirement at 55 years old.
I am currently doing my 3 year at Ahuntsic College. Next year I will start my internships, and then I will be over with school, and I will be able to become a real paramedic.
Rationale: to inform or educate
Authority: government
Date: recently published
Accuracy: probably true
Relevance: relevant for this document
Sources: no sources cited
Rationale: to inform or educate
Authority: government
Date: recently published
Accuracy: probably true
Relevance: relevant for this document
Sources: no sources cited