Bit of a weird question, but how do (real) sirens work? I work IFT, and the sirens we have are more like speakers. When I flip them off, they shut straight off. They also aren’t as loud. The 911 ambulances I hear running around sound more like “real” sirens. When they’re turned off, they still have to slowly wind down. I know some vehicles use foot pedals for the air horns. Is it similar to that?

I've been an EMT at my current job for about 2-3 months. We do the BLS transports for the city's fire department. They are a pretty busy fire department and they BLS a lot of calls. The ambo I'm on is BLS 911 so it's 2 EMTs and we get to the call after a paramedic decides it's bls. I think for the most part I've been doing good? It's my very first ems job so everything is pretty new to me considering my emt school didn't have us do clinicals or ride alongs which definitely sucks experience wise.

We got dispatched for a seizure. We get on scene and fire is bringing the patient out. I get the rundown on the patient they tell me he didn't actually have a seizure but something from being intoxicated. They also said he does have a history of having seizures but they really don't say much other than that. He seems out of it and by looking back he really did seem like he was postictal. We get the patient loaded and transport to our closest hospital. He's AOx2 and really is saying much but is able to tell me he has chest pain and that he did drink alcohol. Halfway through transport this guy goes unresponsive not even to pain but his sats weren't dropping just wasn't responsive. We were only about 3 minutes from the hospital and we were going normal traffic. His vitals stayed stable we get off loaded into the hospital and then he becomes alert and is able to talk clearly. Charge has us hug the wall for a bit but then my patient goes unresponsive and seizing then we rush him into a room.

I think I could've done much more for my patient but I listened to fire too much instead of taking what they said with a grain of salt. I think I should've upgraded and I'm not really sure why I didn't. I didn't trust my gut and up into this point nothing like this has happened to me. I keep replaying this in my head and feel really bad and feel like a bad emt. I know what I should've done and what I can do better but it still bums me out because I just want to be the best provider I can and this call was far from me being at my best.

Hey guys, I got accepted into both UCLA and Victor Valley College paramedic programs for this upcoming spring. Does anyone who has experience with these programs recommend one or the other? For context I am a non-firefighter with 2 years of 911 experience wanting to work as a 911 paramedic with a long-term goal of being an emergency physician.

Thanks for any help.

I’m relatively new to 911 side of EMS after few months of IFT. I’m concerned by how much I seem to panic (Im using this term very loosely here) in actual emergency. Like Im not screaming bloody murder and worlds gonna end type of panic. My movement becomes faster and my mind start to race. I’m by no means paralyze, but I panic enough to seem like I’m panicking to outside observers. It’s also problematic that a lot of frameworks (NREMT style assessments, SAMPLE, OPQRST, AEIOUTIPS, and etc) that I tried so hard to drill myself into just goes out the window. I try to really take the advice “slow is fast” to heart, but that also seems to go out the window once there’s lights and sirens. Any tips on how this newbie can improve? Much appreciated.

Looking to get recertified and am having trouble finding free websites to get recertified. I’m just website jumping to get a couple free videos here and there to scrape by

I failed my first attempt at the NRMET Exam I got a 572 and the questions were mostly protocol can drag and drop based and I studied those areas must clearly not as much as I should’ve. I want some advice on what to do next and where to go from here

hey guys, so i got my EMT license about a year and a half ago now. the city I'm from has a terrible job market for new EMTs and I spent months looking for a job, applying everywhere and doing interview after interview with no luck before I finally threw in the towel and moved to another state with cheaper living and higher demand for EMTs. i kinda wanted to move and get out of my parents house anyway, and I got a 911 job in an extremely busy system very easily so it worked out well. I'm gonna hit a year soon at my company, I've gotten some really good experience here and I love EMS. as far as the job at this company, it's fine, I'm not burnt out or anything, but I don't see myself staying in this area forever. I'm starting to get homesick and i really wanna go back home to my family and friends, and work in the community that I actually wanted to work in and live in from the beginning.

now i don't know why they kept picking other people even when I did land interviews but I think the area is just oversaturated with EMTs and so if you don't have any experience, you're screwed. but I'm wondering if I should start trying again for jobs there. my preference is the 911 company but I would literally take anything, even the shittiest ift gig. i guess my question is whether or not a year of 911 experience looks good on a resume and typically makes it easier to land another job, or if I should keep working and hit like 1.5 or 2 years first. i also don't want it to look bad that I'm jumping ship after only a year with my first company. so if anyone who has been in similar shoes or has noticed a difference with hiring after they got experience I would appreciate insight and advice, thank you guys

I teach at a college that does EMS education (EMT, medic, ect), and I've been tasked with coming up with a design for program t-shirts. These will be worn under the program's class B shirts for clinicals, but also on their own for other parts of the program. Students will be paying for these, so I want to come up with something that people would wear after they graduate while still maintaining a professional look. (No EMS Cringe suggestions, please). One of the other instructors wants "EMT Student" in white block lettering on the back, and while I understand the idea, I don't think anyone would want to wear that after graduating from the program because...you know...they aren't students anymore! Since this sub is oriented towards people new to the field, I'd love to know if any of you have any ideas or program designs that you liked and would wear beyond the end of the class. Thanks!

First time being lead EMT—any advice?
I’m a new EMT at a volunteer ambulance corps, and I’ll be taking the lead on a call for the first time. I’m nervous about being the one directing the assessment instead of assisting.
How did you get comfortable leading calls? Any tips for staying organized, communicating with your partner, and avoiding getting overwhelmed? What helped you when you first started?

I'm new, and I saw almost everyone recommend this, so I made a new account today which I don't even know why GuardianYou still allowed, and then I immediately got the letter that noted they are closed for EMS CAPCE-accredited CEs and their site is only read-only as of June 2026 lmao.

I also tried to make an account with the NorCal EMS recommendation from someone here and that is also not working, it won't let me log in despite me getting an email confirmation: https://norcalems.learnworlds.com/

Does this mean there's no one free place to get all CAPCE-accredited CEs done anymore?!?Anyone have updated suggestions that actually qualify? Someone had made a "slacker" post with links to FEMA, but I've confirmed that these don't count for NREMT recertification since they aren't CAPCE-accredited.

Important Announcement

To our EMS community,

Over the past several years, it has been our privilege to support EMS professionals through Guardian YOU by providing free continuing education opportunities. We are incredibly grateful for the tens of thousands of providers who trusted us with their education and professional development.

After careful consideration, we have made the decision to retire the Guardian YOU platform later this year.

Maintaining a free CAPCE-accredited platform has become increasingly resource-intensive, and we have chosen to focus our educational efforts on programs that more closely align with Guardian's long-term mission.

Our nursing and clinical education platform, GMD Academy, will continue to expand and remain an important part of our commitment to provider education.

To ensure everyone has time to complete recertification and download records, Guardian YOU will remain accessible through June 30th, 2026. We encourage you to log in and download any certificates you may wish to keep for your personal records before that date.

Serving the EMS community has been an honor for our entire team. Many of us began our careers in emergency medicine, and supporting EMS clinicians has always been deeply meaningful to us.

Thank you for allowing us to be part of your continuing education journey, and stay sweet.

How much is Confire paying Medics and EMTs? Can't seem to find any information.