5 Biggest Disadvantages of Being a Paramedic

This article is going to cover the biggest disadvantages when it comes to being a paramedic. By the end, you should have a good idea as to whether or not it’s for you.

It’s not all rainbows and unicorns over here in paramedic land. Especially for fire medics.

We have a lot thrown on our shoulders. We’re tired, we’re grumpy, and we really want our hospital uncrustables. It’s a hard life.

But in all seriousness, going the paramedic route for promotions isn’t for everyone.

If you’re a fire fighter- or just an EMT- you’re probably looking to promote soon if you’re reading this. For many firefighters there are two paths to promotion.

You can either be an engineer or a paramedic. If you’re on the fence about which path to take, let me help.

If you’re new here, I’m Shay. I’ve been working fire and EMS for over a decade now. Obviously I went the paramedic route. It’s not the route for everyone though. Often you would be much better off becoming an engineer.

And I get it. Engineer is the easier path.

You get through the class, pass the interview, and viola, you’re a driver. It’s tempting for sure.

“But I already do so much EMS. It just makes sense to go the paramedic route!”

Again, I totally get it. But I truly believe if you are just using medic as a stepping stone to captain, you should choose to be an engineer.

Not that I’m trying to talk you out of it. But before you decide, lets go over the 5 biggest complaints medics have about being paramedics.

They are

• Up Time
• Reports
• Continuous Learning
• Nurses
• Responsibility.

Let’s break these down.

Disclaimer: I’m gonna talk a lot of crap about engineers. All in good fun.

MORE TIME AWAKE

Huge disadvantage. You’re going to spend more time awake at night.

Sure, the engine will run more calls as a whole. If you’re lucky you won’t even get dispatched for the transport. But think of how long those calls take.

Depending on hospital times, paramedic calls can easily take an hour.

But a basic sick person refusal? Shoot the engine can be back at station in 20 minutes. You’ll be snuggled up in your bed before you fully wake up.

Mean while your paramedic brothers are stuck at the hospital waiting for a room.

And it’s not even just at night. Those longer transports during the day really eat into any free time you had. No more personal projects. Your workouts are constantly cut short. And if you through any trainings on top of that, your whole day is shot.

Those lucky engineers might not even get out of the truck on basic calls. Who else is gonne fend of all those truck theives?

Plus, engineer certs don’t really expire. They have fewer hours of CE’s to complete than paramedics.

So if you aren’t ready to lose a little sleep, and maybe miss out on some side projects, paramedic class might not be in the cards for you.

REPORT WRITING

Oh I forgot to mention something else in the time suck of being a medic. Reports.

You will be writing them after EVERY CALL. And you can get pretty quick at them for sure. However, it still keeps you up at night. It eats even more into your day.

With all those missed workouts no wonder we gain that medic 15.

But seriously, if you hate writing reports now, you’ll hate it more as a paramedic. It’s an annoying part of the job that you just can’t escape.

And these get reviewed all the time.

Your medical direction will probably pull all significant calls and judge your performance. Yes they are making sure you comply with standards. Yes they just want more data. But if they see something they don’t like you can be sure you’re going to hear about it from one of your officers.

Be prepared to get reports sent back to you for you to fix. It’s like the gift that keeps on giving.

Engineers write reports too. Sometimes. But usually its for simple calls like public assists or maybe a patient refusal. These are pretty basic and easy to write. Overall they spend way less time writing reports than medics will.

And if that sounds like hell to you, maybe say no to the next paramedic class that comes up.

CONTINUING EDUCATION

When was the last time an engineer complained about needing to go get more CE’s to recertify?

Yeah, once you’re an engineer you’re pretty good to go. Math is math. If you can figure out how to pump a 200 ft hose line, it’ll be the same every time after that.

Yes there are a few times you need to learn something new.

Engineers might get new equipment they have to learn. You might have a new hose pack on the truck, or a new tactic to work on.

Overall these are few and far between for engineers.

Paramedics on the other hand… They have it rough.

Medical direction is always changing protocols. Personally, we see changes to our administrative orders at least once a year. Medication dosages can change. SOP’s are always being updated.

A lot of being a paramedic is un-learning and relearning new material all the time.

If you’re a big ol’ nerd (like me) that’s what makes being a paramedic fun. If you want your promotion and kind of coast for a bit before looking at becoming a captain, you aren’t cut out for paramedicine.

NURSES

Ok, not all nurses.

Some are great and awesome to work with. If you’re nice enough to them most are pretty pleasant.

But some are just full of rage and looking to take it out on some unsuspecting paramedic. Today that medic is you.

It’s hard to blame them. Think about it, you spend an hour with your most annoying patient. They deal with them for hours. And we’re the ones bringing the problem patients to them. Basically, paramedics are the cause of a lot of nurse’s problems.

Plus they have no idea what we do in the field.

Our jobs are wildly different from theirs. I don’t fully know what they do all day and I’m sure they think we spend our whole day lifting big and eating snacks.

Patience is a must when transporting to hospitals.

The more you’re able to work with the nursing staff the easier your life will be as a paramedic.

But if you’re an engineer you almost never have to interact with the nurses. If they’re in the hospital then something wild has happened.

In fact engineers get to skip the whole transport.

They probably got right back into bed before you even arrived at the hospital entrance.

RESPONSIBILITY

Time to really piss off some engineers.

Paramedics have way more responsibility than engineers. If they try to say otherwise they’re wrong.

Yes, they are responsible for keeping the truck functional. Yes, they get the crew to and from calls safely.

On the rare fire their sweet hydraulic skills are why we can even go interior.

But that’s where the engineer responsibilities stop.

Medics are in charge of making life and death decisions. We run codes and traumas. We have a whole drug box in our control.

Specifically, we’re in charge of a bunch of narcotics.

That’s a huge freakin deal. If we mess that up the DEA will come raining down on us and the department. Medications that have been tampered with or go missing can cost us our career, so don’t be upset when paramedics get territorial about our drug boxes.

Engineers definitely have important things they are responsible for. Paramedics just have more.

PARAMEDIC OR ENGINEER?

If you want to eventually promote to captain, engineer and paramedic are often your only two stepping stones.

Both are hard, but you have to choose.

We deal with grumpy nurses, spend a long time training and writing reports, and take responsibility for some serious drugs. All pretty heavy disadvantages.

If this list sounds like absolute garbage, good. Now you know. There is no medic out there that wants a paramedic student to finish class and then completely suck in the field.

That’s how mistakes get made and people die.

But if you’re STILL on the fence, here’s another article I wrote on exactly why you should be a paramedic.

If this list doesn’t scare you and you’re willing to take the next step in your career, check out these other medic class resources.

Good luck out there!

P.S. If you’re looking to make the jump to paramedic classes, try Pocket Prep.

It’s an amazing study app. Updated for the newest version of the NREMT, Pocket Prep helps you study for national registry exam-like questions.

Seriously, give them a look. Plus if you use our affiliate link it costs you nothing more but it helps me keep making awesome posts like this.