There are some very severe health risks associated with working as an EMT. EMT personnel typically must adjust to periods of relative inactivity and periods of very intense and strenuous activity. This type of challenging lifestyle poses serious health risks for those working in this profession. Some of the biggest health problems and issues associated with working as in EMT jobs that are embedded in the public consciousness include elevated blood pressure and cardiovascular related injuries and deaths. There are other major health risks associated with working as an EMT that must be examined.

One of the major health risks those working in EMT jobs face, as a result of their lifestyle, stems from unhealthy diet and sleep patterns. EMT personnel must cope with extremely long shifts every week, which can understandably disrupt eating and sleeping habits. Many EMT personnel work second jobs which can further intensify the disruption caused to their eating and sleeping habits. Another major health risk associated with working as an EMT stems from extreme noise exposure. The dBa range of noise exposure that EMT personnel encounter far exceeds federally acceptable levels. EMT personnel are also exposed to psychological trauma, which can lead to PTSD. EMT personnel are constantly exposed to traumatic scenes and images, which can absolutely impact their psychological state after some time.

EMT personnel must cope with high job demand and low discretionary abilities, which can also elevate stress and cause health problems. Heart rate and systolic blood pressure tends to be much higher for those working under the conditions of high job demand and low discretionary abilities. Finally, one health risk that may come as a surprise stems from the fact that a good portion of EMT personnel happen to be obese. This is not a thought that would initially cross your mind when thinking about EMT personnel. Obesity contributes to hypertension among EMT personnel and makes it difficult for personnel to execute the strenuous demands of the job.

There are some very serious and severe health risks associated with working as an EMT. These risks include or stem from the following: Elevated blood pressure, cardiovascular related injuries and deaths, unhealthy diet and sleep patterns, elevated noise exposure, psychological trauma, high job demand and low discretionary abilities and obesity.

Have you recently decided to pursue a career as an emergency medical technician (EMT)? An EMT is an integral component of emergency services, as people’s lives depend on the swift reaction and care provided by EMTs and paramedics. Being an EMT is an incredibly rewarding experience because it provides with frequent opportunities to save and sustain lives. However, it is important that you aware of the fact that EMTs work highly irregular and unstructured hours. Shifts can be very long lasting 12 or more hours. It can be difficult to balance your family and personal life with working as an EMT. There are several considerable benefits you can receive as part of being an EMT. In this article, we will take a look at some of these benefits.

The most important benefit that you receive from being EMT is the rewarding and fulfilling experience of saving and sustaining lives on a regular basis. You will be well-respected and admired for the work that you do for the community. There are also several fringe benefits that you can receive by working as an EMT: Paid vacation, sick leave, medical, dental and vision insurance and retirement benefits and plans. EMTs may also be covered by a solid pension plan. Additionally, it is becoming common practice for employers to pay for life insurance for EMTs. Some employers now even provide on-site child care, which can be a major benefit to EMTs who may be single. These benefits can really help balance the irregular working hours that EMTs must cope with. It is very standard for EMTs to be required to be on call for a period of 48 hours, which is then followed by several days off.

If you have decided to pursue a career as an EMT, you must be aware that you have to adjust to long, unstructured working hours. If you are interested in a Monday-Friday 9-5 job, pursuing a career as an EMT is not suitable for you. Despite its irregular hours, working as an EMT has several key benefits. In addition to providing a rewarding experience, working as an EMT has several fringe benefits, including paid vacation, sick leave, medical, dental and vision insurance and retirement benefits and plans.

If you are seriously considering undergoing EMT training and beginning a career in emergency medical services, then it’s very likely that you’re curious about the outlook for EMT jobs and employment prospects for the upcoming years. In this article, we’ll take a brief look at what the future trends will look like for jobs and employment numbers.

Overall Growth in Jobs

According to the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average growth in EMT jobs is expected to be around 9% through the year 2018. Currently, this is about the same as average job growth in most other sectors of the economy, but there are a few factors that may lead to additional growth in jobs which are not reflected in the current data.

Elderly Population Increase

One of the largest factors that could lead to a significant amount of growth in jobs is the aging of the “baby boomer” population. As you’re likely aware, this large segment of the population is beginning to reach post-retirement age and in the coming years, emergency calls are very likely to increase as this population requires emergency medical care. We also expect to see the same types of increase demand for employees throughout most segments of the health care industry.

Hospital and Emergency Facility Overcrowding

As the costs of health care and treatment increase, medical facilities such as hospitals are beginning to make an effort to treat more and more patients within a centralized facility and budget cuts have often led to closures of satellite facilities within certain hospital and emergency care provider systems. Due to this trend, many facilities have started getting to the point that they reach maximum capacities and are beginning to divert emergency service providers to alternate facilities as they are en route to a patient care facility. This leads to EMTs spending an increased amount of time on each call and as such, has started to increased the number of jobs and responders required to staff a given shift.

Retirement Factors

As with most career paths within the health care industry, a significant number of employees are reaching retirement age currently or over the next 5 to 10 years. Due to this trend, a large number of jobs may be left vacant as older employees depart either for retirement or to obtain positions in other areas of the health care industry based on their years of practical experience.

Lower Number of Volunteers

Due to the recent recession, we have seen a lower number of unpaid volunteers in positions within the emergency response fields. As employees are laid off or experience the elimination of paid jobs, they generally will either cut back or completely eliminate the amount of time that they spend in a volunteer position. These positions, such as volunteer firefighter and jobs, will have to be replaced with full-time paid employees.

All of these factors lead to a very positive outlook for EMT jobs and employment opportunities over the next decade. If you’re considering enrolling for EMT training to get started in this career, the time has never been better.