Condider becoming an Emergency Medical Dispatcher. There are many wonderful, talented EMD's, some have been doing it for years and still others who are taking classes now. EMD's are an intricate part of Emergency Medical Services. (EMS)
If you are looking for a very rewarding career, you should defiantly consider becoming an EMD. The only problem is, you have to be able to see your own self worth. It is not a job where you will receive formal recognition. As a matter of fact, most people forget about the job you do completely.
When the 'atta-boys' are passed out after an emergency, when the Paramedics and EMTs are getting their backs patted, when the 'thank-you' cards sent out, and when it is time for recognition awards, no one thinks about the dispatcher. It is a very rare thing that anyone even considers the job that you do. So I am going to tell you some of what they do.
When your spouse is having a heart attack and you pick up the phone and dial 911. You are talking to a real person on the other end. Someone who can hear the panic in your voice, a calming voice that can help guide YOU into saving the life of your loved one.
When you find you son or daughter floating in the pool and you are so upset that you can not even think straight, there is a person on the other end of the phone line who is there to help you. When you are screaming, and calling the dispatcher names, that person will calmly assure you that help is on the way. A compassionate, caring person who hears the most horrible things. Imagine sitting in a chair, talking to a completely panic stricken, distraught, angry, or even violent person, and doing it for hours on end. Always speaking calm to a storm.
Dispatchers are talking to people who are experiencing the absolute worst, most traumatic moment in their lives, and they are doing it with dignity and a genuine desire to help.
Also keep in mind, that while they are guiding the caller in whatever emergency they are experiencing, that dispatcher is also alerting the ambulance crew of the location and nature of the emergency. They are coordinating any support departments such as the fire department, police department and/or rescue crews. They are in charge of relaying information that they are gathering from the caller to the crew and making sure that the scene they are sending THEIR crew into is safe. Can you imagine trying to explain to someone, over the telephone, how to perform CPR. And doing it in a way that the caller will understand. The caller may be YOU. And you may find yourself standing between life and death of a loved one, or even someone you don't know. When you need help, all you have to do is dial 911 and help is there. A trained, compassionate, REAL person who feels your pain, but is able to remain calm and help you through your ordeal.
There are many documented cases of the 'caller' saving a life even before the ambulance arrives. A child choking, in a panic, someone dials 911. The dispatcher instructs them on how to dislodge the obstruction in the airway. By the time the ambulance arrives, the child is crying in the back ground. Yes the person on scene physically saved a life, but he/she was able to do so because there was someone on the other end of a telephone with the education, and ability calm and instruct them on how to do it.
There are just as many times that EMD's do not get the 'happy ending' outcome. Those are the rough days. I am an EMD. I love my job. Today was a tough day. I received a call for a car accident. Car vs. tree. Bystanders who saw the collision, called 911. They described a father and a son. The father was unconscious laying across his son in the passenger seat who was also unconscious. The twelve year old boy was not breathing. I wanted to cry, I have my own children, and I cant even imagine how the mother is going to react, but my job does not involve allowing myself to feel those things, at least not at that moment. My job was to instruct the caller in how to do mouth to mouth resuscitation on a boy that they could hardly even reach in the wreckage. They did the best that they could, I did the best that I could, and the paramedic/EMT team did the best that they could, but the boy could not be saved.
I will go home tonight and cry. I will weep for a child that I never met. For a bystander that went above and beyond the call of 'Good Samaritan', for a mother that has lost her son, and for a father that may not make it himself. I will go home and hug my children, and tomorrow, I will come back and do it again. Because tomorrow, I may be able to save a life. Hide