Personalities for Paramedics

There is no clear right or wrong personality for paramedics, but it is useful for people who want to become a paramedic to consider what the job entails and the type of personality that would work well in that environment.

Being a paramedic is not always exciting and about saving lives. A large part of our day is spent waiting as a paramedic and boredom can be tedious. Waiting for a job, waiting at a doctor’s appointment, nursing home, or hospital are all part of the job. When I first started as a paramedic, the job was described to me like this: 

“Being a paramedic is about being bored 99% the time and then terrified half to death while you use all of your training and experience to get you through some seriously tough time during that other 1%” -Australian Paramedic.

So, you need to consider whether you really want to be a paramedic, and if you have that sort of personality that makes you enjoy working as an Ambulance Officer. The right personality to become a paramedic doesn’t necessarily mean that you can handle blood, but, do you want to spend your day talking to old people, chronically ill people, and taking people to hospital who have been booked in for a week to have their routine urine catheter replaced… this is what we really do for a living… and every now and again, you get to have some excitement and treat someone who is critically sick or injured. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve been a Paramedic for about ten years, and I still love the job.