r/Paramedics • u/EarRepresentative444 • 5d ago

UK Are paramedics cliquey like nurses?

I'm interested in becoming a paramedic. I have loved the years I've spent as a HCA and I have tried going into nursing in the past however I have noticed that if the team you are working under don't like you, they will look for reasons to fail you if not making your placement as difficult as they can.

I love helping people and making a difference. I am able to remain calm and navigate difficult situations. I fear that I will expereicne a near identical work culture if I go into paramedic science. Is this something other students have experienced and how did you deal with it?

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u/ImJustRoscoe 5d ago

It all depends. Ive struggled with my autistic traits making it difficult to find my nitch often, and get a fair FULL chance at some places. So long as you're neurotypical, not creepy/pervy pushing up on coworkers, and know your shit to do a good job.... you will be fine.

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u/Dangerous_Strength77 5d ago

This is very accurate. To be fair it's always harder for us. But, EMS seems to make it more so.

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u/Mah_Buddy_Keith 5d ago

Liar. Every emergency medical worker I met is autistic, ADHD, bipolar, dyslexic, or some combination of them.

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u/EarRepresentative444 5d ago

I'm only just recently realising that I'm autistic, I'm still awaiting an assessment but I think that, because I didn't know I was autistic when I was doing my nurse training I think it meant that a lot of people thought I was uninterested in what they were saying or not interested in my work because I struggled with things like eye contact, not interrupting people in conversation, the tone and intonation of my voice. But, being aware of these traits now has given me more autonomy in the way others perceive me and the way that I express myself. Thank you for your help

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u/ImJustRoscoe 5d ago

I was formally diagnosed at 47.... it explained soooooooo much

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u/EarRepresentative444 5d ago

I'm 27 and it does make a lot of sense within my circumstance. However, I wasn't disruptive as a kid I was more just weird so I never got diagnosed and like sure I got passing comments or it was at least implied but it was more within a derogatory sense than an attempt at trying to help me. It wasn't until my partner compared certain behaviours with autistic traits and compared to how her family saw that I realised.

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u/_Moderatelyhuman EMT-P 5d ago

In my area it’s exactly the opposite. I firmly believe that the vast majority of us are ADHD and several of us are autistic in some way or other. Agree with the creep part though. We do our best to get rid of those as quick as possible. But nah, we’re all weird.