So you want to be a paramedic?

The first step you need to take in order to be a good paramedic is to simply get in the game. I am a firm believer that a paramedic card does not make you a paramedic; it just gives you permission to learn how to be a paramedic.  So just get the card and start your journey. I have worked with medics with graduate degrees and medics with GEDs. I have worked with medics who have graduated from a two year program that was touted as the best school in the area, as well as, the 6 week condensed course that jammed packed everything in so fast the students barely remembered a thing. Each and every one of these people was issued the same card. They each were given the same opportunity to begin their journey as a paramedic. I have seen medics from each extreme and all in between both succeed beyond my expectations and also fail miserably. So forget how you got the card. It doesn’t matter anymore. Don’t think you are the shit just because your schooling cost a fortune. On the other side of the coin don't be insecure because you received your training from the Fischer Price Paramedic School. It's all what you make of it. If you want to be a good paramedic start by being a good person first, then make a commitment to learn each and every day because if you aren't moving forward you and moving backward. Medicine is not a stagnant profession. It is always evolving and changing in practice.  If you aren't learning something everyday then you are probably behind the times. Learn from each and every person you come in contact with. You can learn just as much from a bad paramedic as you can from a good one. You just learn what not to do rather than what to do. You can learn just as much from your patients, family members, and bystanders. Don't be afraid to ask questions. By all means don't be one of those paramedics that is silently ignorant. Just because you are a paramedic does not mean that you have suddenly become an all knowing savant. Just be honest, genuine, caring, and inquisitive and you will blossom into an excellent paramedic.