My friend, Jason, is an EMT which stands for Emergency Medical Technician. They are the ones who respond to 911 calls in situations ranging from allergic reactions and overdoses, to suicide attempts. When you call 911, you will be sent a Basic Life Support Unit (BLS), or, if the situation demands it, an advanced life support unit (ALS) which consists of paramedics in addition to the BLS.
I met Jason on my freshman floor last year. Despite his sarcastic personality, as I have gotten to know him, I have seen how kind and selfless he is. He volunteers hours upon hours of time in his hometown in Plainsboro, NJ, as well as at the University of Delaware. I don't think he gets enough credit. I decided to interview him about his time he spends so we could all learn a little bit more about what he does.
Jason works a lot. He works long shifts multiple days a week. Sometimes I worry that he will fall behind in schoolwork, but he finds that he gets some of his best work done while waiting on shift. He explained,
"I typically work 24-36 hours a week on the ambulance, and then many other hours doing other tasks related to EMS. A typical shift in EMS is 12 hours long. But shifts can be as short as 6 hours or as long as 36 hours."
He dedicates a ridiculous amount of time to EMS. In fact, now that I no longer live on his floor, it is rare that I even get to see him much anymore. I asked what a typical shift was like. I wonder what he is even doing there for so long. He said it is a lot of sitting around waiting for your pager to go off. You cannot drift off even when you are working a night shift, because you must be ready at all times to help someone in need. He describes it as the best and worst thing that happened to him.
"It drains my time and energy, and to be honest, it causes me tons of stress. But i couldn't live without it. All that time and energy drained pays off when you respond to someone who is critically ill or injured, and I'm there and get to turn their day around. And not every call, in fact, most calls I go on aren't life threatening calls or serious medical emergecies, but to these patients, they are. And it's my job to make it better. And there's nothing more rewarding or satisfying than making someomes day better."
Jason does not get paid one cent. He volunteers every hour. By volunteering so much, he is able to gain tons of experience dealing with difficult situations that will help him as he most likely will continue on to med school some day. I admire Jason's dedication and sheer selflessness. I would not be capable of handling the situations, and balancing the time he puts in like he does. Hopefully you get to meet someone involved with EMS some day. They are great people. I am lucky to have met a friend like Jason!
