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Issue link: https://emsworld.epubxp.com/i/672538
24 MAY 2016 | EMSWORLD.com 14. Some people are just bad. When they're sick, and you don't take good care of them because they're bad, they win. 15. An EMT's work is about serving others. Expecting it to be about you, even once (your sleep, your schedule, your vacation, your family), would be your mistake. 16. Some systems are toxic. If you find yourself working in one, make a change before it changes you. (Yes you can, and you must, because it will.) 17. We gossip too much. Gossip destroys people's lives, and that makes it a safety hazard. 18. If you find yourself wondering whether you're gossiping, you probably are. 19. A whole lot of people you encounter as an EMT will neither respect you nor appreciate what you do for them. As a professional, it's your job to be nice to every single one of them. 20. Most street people don't live where they live or eat what they eat by choice or laziness. The vast majority are victims of a single calamity, over whose occurrence they had no control, and from whose consequences, without help, there is no escape. 21. You probably won't make a lot of money as a caregiver, but you can make enough. More important, your loved ones will never have to be ashamed of what you did with your life. And neither will you. 22. Never do anything you know is stupid. 23. Modesty matters, when it's yours. 24. Touch only with permission, and then gently. 25. People have names, and their names are important. 26. Caring counts. Kindness heals. Service elevates. And humor begets endurance. (Chris Ol n) 1. Insist on your right to come home safe, shift after shift and year after year. 2. See much more than you accept from the testimony of others. Listen much more than you speak. And keep your mind wide open to stuff you don't know. 3. No part of an EMT's training qualifies you to arrest, indict, judge or punish somebody you've never met for doing something you didn't witness. 4. Life ain't easy for a trained observer. 5. A whole lot of stuff is funnier than you think. (Bix Bender) 6. Burnout is not a static, terminal event in one's career. It's not unpredictable, and it's certainly not inevitable. Instead, it's more of a dynamic in the ongoing management of your personal balance. Those of us who are being honest will admit we've grappled with it more than once. 7. Nobody knows everything. Nobody's done it all. And nobody has the right answer to every question. Be wary of people who are sure they do, especially if you become one of them. 8. Where there's a rule, there should be a reason. The reason should be explainable, and the explanation should make sense. 9. As an EMT, you'll encounter many situations for which you'll have to make up your own rules. When you do, go easy on the "never," and avoid more than a sprinkling of "always." 10. When someone overreacts to something you've said or done, stop doing it. Instead, back off a little and see what they do next. (James Carter) 11. If you find yourself working with someone whose driving scares you, it probably should. And no matter who they are, if they say they "can handle it," you should bet your life they can't. 12. EMTs get lied to for a living. All people lie sometimes. That's not personal; it's one of the ways we all handle stress. 13. People who lie routinely are liars, and liars lie. That's not personal, either.