So you'd like to choose Emergency Services as a career, eh? With all the 9/11 aftershocks, all the stories of heroism, the extreme showings of humanity that the media loves to pump up... why not? Besides, it must be a rush to drive around wailing that siren and flashing all those pretty bright red lights. Well, hang on a minute... before you plop down oodles of bucks for that EMT class, let's talk a minute...

Let's not use 9/11/01, Oklahoma City, Columbine, tornadoes, earthquakes, hurricanes, etc. as examples of why you want to be part of the EMS system. These are extremes, and while it would be a rush to be involved with such tragedies, it is highly unlikely. Since 1975 I've seen many EMS personnel come and go, and it's understandable in some respects that this may be a high turnover career, but is it right for you?

To begin with, you have to ask yourself why you're doing this. Everyone has their own answers, but the one most common is the deep down desire to make a difference no matter what. We all first talk about the "feeling good" stuff on the surface or the "I want to help people" thing, but there's much more... we're talking about the nitty gritty, down and dirty, never-say-die want and need to be able to take responsibility for a stranger's pain, suffering and tragedy, each and every minute of your shift. Can you do it? How do you know?

OK, think hard... can you put someone else's life in your hands... at 3am... in some ditch... in the pouring rain... 30 degrees... with minimal flinching? Can you handle the horrific visuals that will be presented to you when that family of four in the SUV kisses a wall at 60 mph? Can you hold back judgemental action when responding for a child beaten by a drunken parent? How about keeping your composure as a room full of family members scream at you to "DO SOMETHING!!!" for their loved one who has long known heart history, lying on the floor, and no one in the family took the time to learn CPR? Or being first on the scene for that school bus that couldn't make that sharp curve? ...when all these scenes happen to you in one 24 hour shift? ...or what if nothing happens at all in a 24 hour shift, for a week, or two? Can you spell B-O-R-E-D-O-M? You can only take so much online CE and no textbook is going to prepare you for everything you're going to get yourself into.

This, my friend, is reality, not all the pats on the back for a good job, not the attaboys, not the newspaper article claiming heroes... Those that tame this amazing force within all of us survive in EMS. Those that don't, well, don't, with possible unusual consequences. Don't be a statistic, know what you're getting into. Know that many of the rewards are invisible and come from deep inside the heart and souls of those that remain in this exhilarating business of EMS. You will create a new family with those that you will trust with your own life... those that understand they are part of the system that saves lives each and every minute of the day. True heroes... maybe not the ones that make the headlines on the evening news, not the ones that get the media to turn their heads... but those in EMS know amongst each other they exist for one sole reason... to comfort humanity in its darkest hour. Realize not what EMS can do for you, instead think about what you can do for EMS. I hope you choose this career, then once you get there, you'll know exactly what I'm talking about.