Acknowledgment
I would like you thank God for saving me and allowing me to go back to EMT school.
Also to Victory Outreach Church for taking me in and providing a home where I could get my life together. To the Pastors and leadership which are too numerous to add here. But a special thank you to Pastor Ed and Mitzi who showed me how to be a man of God.
My wife Lucy for always wanting me to be the best, my children Victoria, Soraya, and Cyrus who drive me to be a better Father every day
Ignacio and Tiffany Garcia, Rachel Zepeda, Jackie Hua, Delfino Romayor, and, Steve Watts for helping me put this book together.
Tom Sanchez, John Sagli, Joe English, Garrick Ongolea, Sue Stapleton, Samantha Burch and Johnny Reyes who read my book and inspired me to go forward with this project.
For all my Paramedic friends who gave their “Words of Wisdom”. Thank you for believing in me and contributing your years of experience.
Thank you all so much.
PREFACE
The birth of this book started when I came to work one day and spotted this young kid fresh out of EMT school. He was one of the nicest kids I ever met. It was his first day and he was smiling, happy and excited to be there. After a half hour of standing there and not knowing what to do, I began to sense the anxiety within him. I began to sense his fear and uncertainty. It reminded me of my first day not really knowing anybody... thinking, can I really do this without messing everything up? People's lives would be in my hands, could I really do this job? Where do I start? School had prepared me but I knew there would be so much more to learn. Most importantly, I would have a field training officer that would either say I failed or succeeded. I remember grabbing the young man by the shoulder and saying, "Do you know what to do right now?" He looked at me with a sense of relief and said, "No". I began to take this young man to the side and show him the ropes. I also prepared him for his first day; what he could expect, some tips and tricks and what to do at that very moment. I gave him a sense of direction and I could tell the young man was very grateful. From that day on I knew I had to write something for these new EMT's. I had to help them...
INTRODUCTION
My name is Albert Reyes and I’ve been an EMT for the past 16 years. For seven of those years, I was also a FTO (Field Training Officer). I currently work on an ambulance in Santa Clara County, California. I wrote this book to help new EMT's make a smooth transition into EMS. To give you a heads up, the inside scoop, and just plain tips and tricks of the trade—information that will help you stand out and shine above other new EMT's.
This book is not an EMT course! It will not help you pass EMT school, show you how to be an EMT, or describe how to assess a patient. That's what school is for. This book is designed to help you transition into the field once you get hired on an ambulance. I have gained all my experience by working on an ambulance—many nights, days, and hours on an ambulance. Experienced EMT's can benefit from this book, but this book is for brand new EMT's. This book is geared towards working in the 911 system. Stay tuned for the next book in this series FRESH OUT OF EMT SCHOOL called “BLS LIFE.” It will focus on working in the BLS system.
Beginning a career in EMS can be stressful, challenging, and even scary. I will be giving you a lot of information in this book about your role in the 911 system. Fresh Out of EMT School will primarily benefit EMT-B's that will be assisting AEMT's or Paramedics. It is meant to teach and give the EMT-B their roles when assisting the person with the highest level of care on scene. My hope is to challenge you, not to scare you. I will not share horror stories or traumatic events. You will develop your own experiences. It’s inevitable on the 911 system. 85% of your calls will not be an emergency. In fact, most of your calls will be helping people in a different way. While you will have your share of saving lives, most of the time you will be helping people with your smile, gentle care, empathy, compassion and sometimes just holding their hands. My experience as a new EMT was pretty exciting and scary all at the same time. When you are a new EMT you have to remember you are just that—new, ripe, and fresh out of school. What we do in the field is sometimes very different than what we learn in EMT school. When you’re new, you will be treated as such. Earning respect comes with a great attitude, an open mind, and old-fashioned hard work. Your effort will show how bad you want to work in EMS. My hope is to relieve you from some of the stress and anxiety that can come with being new.
Pay attention in class because you will need to have the basic EMT knowledge and skills. That is a must. There is nothing worse than having to teach an EMT the basics all over again. Being a hard worker and knowing your basic EMT knowledge will at least let FTOs know that you have the basics down, and they can work with you on the rest. Again, they don't want to go over fundamentals with you—you should know it already. I can’t stress that enough.
You will be new and there is nothing you can do about it. Don't try to act like something you’re not and pretend you know everything. Anybody in the field who has been doing this for awhile can tell you are new. Accept it and be willing to learn and grow. Start your EMS career with a great attitude and you will do well. My hope is that you will read this book and feel comfortable on your first day of work. That you will go in confident (not cocky) and take on the challenge of being a great EMT. I hope to inspire you to take this challenge head on.
"Tips and Tricks for the new EMT" A good EMT is like the Medic's Surgical Assistant, always paying attention and handing equipment before the Medic has to ask for it.
FRESH OUT OF EMT SCHOOL… WHAT TO DO NOW?
HOW TO START
So you’re fresh out of school and now you want a job. Good. Getting your EMT certification will open up many doors for your life! All of my experience will come from working on an ambulance, but there are numerous jobs EMT's can do. They can work in the Fire Service (most firefighters are EMT's), in a hospital as an ER Tech, at an amusement park or sporting event — the list goes on and on. So get going.
EMT's are in high demand so start searching in your area.
Start doing ride-alongs or volunteering wherever you can, on an ambulance or with your local Fire Dept. It all looks good on your resume and in your interview.
Get ready for that National Registry Test. There are many books to help you study for that. Go to emtb.com, cram.com or quizlet.com and search for EMT National Registry.
APPLY NOW
The fear of not being hired stops most people from even applying. Don't believe it. Go and apply at your county ambulance provider. Most of you will want to work 911 right away but BLS (Basic Life Support) is where most EMT's start off. Don't let BLS scare you away.
BLS does not respond to 911 calls but can be called on when ambulance levels are low in the county. BLS will mostly do inter-facility transports, long distance transports, appointments, courthouse standbys, sports standbys, etc. They are sometimes more busier than ALS and will help you gain a lot of experience before transferring to an ALS system.
One of the myths is that they are not hiring right now. I've seen so many people not apply because they heard that they are not hiring. Go and apply for yourself and let them tell you they are not hiring. In EMS you will also have to knock on doors more than once. Apply again and again. Don't worry about bugging them. Sometimes persistence pays off. Be determined!
People will tell you that you need this and that