Also, their job is so dangerous sometimes that because of the things they see and the experiences they must go through to save people in need, in many cases it causes more than just temporary danger, but can affect paramedics in the long run. Very frequently EMT-paramedics develop PTSD, which stands for post-traumatic stress disorder, and it is due to negative events that lead to awful memories. A case study that examined the correlation between EMT-paramedics and PTSD states, “Emergency medical technicians and paramedics are subject to critical incidents, defined as stressful workplace incidents that evoke acute distress and which may impair functioning in the short- or long-term” (Halpern). These terrifying events that often paramedics are …show more content…
When someone hears the term PTSD most will think of veterans or people who are actively serving in the military, and maybe some might think of law enforcement jobs such as police officers. However, the vast majority does not think of the ones who respond first to a traumatic scene, the people who should be expected to have some of the most severe cases of PTSD. An article by Admin says it best, “Emergency responders are often forced to take hard looks at the suffering this world inflicts. And not only do they have to look at trauma, they have to work a full day in its light, and they’re expected to go home at the end of the day as if nothing happened.” (Admin) After reading that, how can it be okay that these hard working EMT’s, that respond to tragic events, only make thirty grand a year? It is not okay. Most act as if nothing bad ever happens to an EMT during the average work day, but it does, and it is more of a problem then recognized. The fact that thousands of EMT-paramedics develop post-traumatic stress disorder reinforces the proposal to increase their pay