Are paramedics cliquey like nurses?

[u/EarRepresentative444]

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?

[u/gemogo97]

You’ll find bigger stations yes they will be especially if they all work on the same rota pattern. That’s only because they see each other all the time so naturally they’re more comfortable around each other. But the smaller ones can be more of a family feel but honestly once you’re on a shift pattern you melt right in.

[u/Sup_gurl → u/gemogo97]

I’ve worked for both and I can’t quite say I agree. Small agencies/stations come with the family dynamic, but that also comes with all the personal dysfunction of a family. Factions, beefs, disagreements, grudges, entanglements, gossip, power dynamics, you name it. Even people arguing heatedly and getting upset during the “family dinners” because they’re comfortable enough to do so. Large agencies on the other hand are more of a revolving door of people coming, going, and filling in, people are coworker-level friendly but more impersonal, there tends to be less personal relationship dynamics, and more of a professional workplace dynamic. The traditional “family” thing has its benefits but it can also get weirdly creepy and personal in a negative way. I much rather prefer a professional workplace where I’m not forced to be personally intertwined with my coworkers and can just run my calls and do my job, form relationships with who I want to, eat what I want to when I want to, and not participate in obligatory family dynamics. I get that some people use this as their sense of belonging and purpose, but to me I’m just at work, don’t obligate me into relationship dynamics with my coworkers.

[u/gemogo97 → u/Sup_gurl]

I agree with the family dynamic I’ve done overtime on some of those stations and can be a strange vibe when you walk into the mess room for break. I work at a bigger station and agree the small interactions with many can be nice or the 12 hours with someone you haven’t met. But I have noticed my station in particular the cliques can be strong but that’s only an issue if you want to develop those relationships and start getting invites to coworker nights out or events.

[u/Sup_gurl → u/gemogo97]

Eh, I feel like if there’s a “family” and you don’t want to be part of it, you lose even the generic professional courtesy of coworkers. Rather you just get treated as an outsider like you don’t belong. And that dynamic is super creepy, walking into a station and having no one look at you or say hi, simply because you’re not part of the social group. A major agency station with no family atmosphere is euphoric in comparison to me! Yes it takes the “family belonging” out of the job, but if you have standards for the relationships you form it is such a breath of fresh air because you can constantly meet new people and choose who is worthy of forming bonds, rather than just getting trapped in a group of mediocre or bad people and having to either join them or be ostracized because they suck.