{
  "id": 11782174,
  "title": "Reasons I didn't become an EMT, ranked",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/03/reasons-i-didnt-become-an-emt-ranked",
  "topic": "health",
  "section": "Health & Medicine",
  "published": "2026-10-03T20:49:15.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Hacker News",
    "slug": "hacker-news",
    "url": "https://ben.stolovitz.com/posts/reasons-not-emt-ranked/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "I took a month off in 2024 to become an EMT through the NOLS Wilderness EMT accelerated class, which required 28 consecutive days of training. The main reason I delayed getting my license was due to a negative experience I had with some first responders years after college. The EMT job seemed inaccessible due to long hours, hereditary communities and fratty environments within EMS, and the belief that EMT students were mostly 18-year-old adventure junkies or jocks. However, my Wilderness EMT course was full of enthusiastic 18-year-old pre-meds and people my age who wanted to learn medicine for similar reasons. Once I got my certificate, balancing work and EMS was straightforward. I never dreamed of riding on an ambulance, as it's not my vocation. Knowing CPR really well is a cool skill to have, and while EMTs are not just \"driving an ambulance,\" it's similar in terms of the core skill set. Volunteer positions in EMS are more accessible than one might think, even in big cities, and the certificate can remain valid if used outside of ambulance work. I also explored search and rescue (SAR), which proved to be an exciting alternative. Although my initial intent was to avoid ambulances, meeting a like-minded crew in SAR made me realize that I might not be an effective EMT without experience on a truck. Ultimately, learning something for its own sake was worth it, and I'll always remain a software engineer.",
  "summary": null,
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}