How I Became An EMT

In January of 2020, I spontaneously joined an Emergency Medical Technician training crash course/boot camp to earn my EMT license. Little did I know that just a few months after, the world would face a global pandemic that would increase the pressure on healthcare workers everywhere. 

I took an accelerated EMT training course that lasted only two weeks during the winter vacation period and boy was it tough. I am talking, studying every night for hours and hours, feeling constantly drained, and feeling behind on everything. I drove an hour to class every day to stay there from 8 am to 8 pm listening to lectures, taking written and field tests, and further training. Though it was a lot of work and very time-consuming, I was truly excited to be certified as an EMT in the end. The ability to help others in need made every minute of training worth it. 

The topics we covered in the boot camp were very heavy and sometimes even drove participants in the class to tears. When they answer a 911 call, EMTs are often dealing with the worst emergencies anyone could ever imagine. In class, it was imperative to discuss and train on these subjects to give us an accurate idea of what it could be like in some scenarios while on the job. I cried a few times while driving home after having covered training on what to do if someone dies while in the ambulance or if a mother has a miscarriage while on the way to the hospital. Though the sensitive training was informative and necessary, it also scared me. I felt nervous about the traumatic things I could face while in the field.

I, unfortunately, haven’t gotten the chance to work as an ambulance driver yet due to school and the global pandemic that hit right after I graduated from the training program. But I am still open to the possibility of taking on such a career in the future if life leads me in that direction. Now, I at least not only see what is going on outside of ambulances but I also see and understand what is going on inside them as well. 

In uniform!