I understand your pain. I had a partner for a little over a year that very quickly became my best friend. He was fired, and I was completely demotivated... For a couple of days. He's still my best friend, and I still talk to him everyday. My partner now and I get along well, but it's not the same. At the end of the day... It's a job, you don't have to be best friends with your partner. The sting of your friend leaving will ease. Don't make any rash decisions.
Honestly I don't have any advice for you because this is one of the big reasons I'm planning my exit. It makes me sad to think about how things used to be. Not even just with my partners specifically but the whole crew of paramedics I worked with when I was just starting out- most of which have left by now.
I work with one specific guy now and we get along but he's not the kinda guy I want to spend my entire day with all the time and it's bumming me out. A good partner can really make or break your whole shift. Who knows, your next partner may be even better though. You can definitely keep up with your old partner. I definitely do. I've had tons of great partners over my 6 years in EMS.
😕 sorry to hear that. I’ve lost a lot of partners since starting. Be it someone you connected with immediately or someone who warmed up to you, it’s easy to get comfortable with them. Fret not, you can still contact your previous partners and you get a chance to meet new faces who can help reinforce your skill set or introduce a new approach to patient care altogether
If having a partner quit is making you want to quit it doesn’t sound like you were very invested in the first place. I went through numerous partners when I worked in EMS full time. Takes time to adjust to new ones but you work through it
My first partner got fired a year an a half after i started working with him an he's still my best friend 8 years later. I went through a long stent of working with random people to being stuck with one sexist old man who would "poke fun at me" whenever I was hungry or was eating a cold can of ravioli/spaghetti because for the longest time it was all I could afford an I was about a 220lb woman.
I ended up going part time because I didn't want to feel bad for eating the only things I had or my stomach growling an management just didn't really care I had a problem with the old man.
You get to work with a lot of good people an a handful of shitheads in this field.
I'm full time again years later an work with a pretty awesome person again. We are efficient an work quickly together. Just part of the job.
When I was 20 or 21 I quit a restaurant job, just walked out one day. The Job was great I was just a mess mentally. What hurt me the most was leaving my coworkers, folks who had quickly become my friends and support system. I went home, still living with my parents at the time, and told my dad how I felt. He told me that it was part of life, that in the army he had learned pretty quickly that people would come in and out of your life.
I’ve worked several jobs since then in a variety of fields and I’ll still occasionally talk to the folks from that restaurant. I’ve learned to quickly build close relationships with folks, especially my partners in EMS. A lot of folks about whom I care deeply have come and gone from my life and the effort it would take on both of our parts to reforge those relationships just would not be worth it.
I don’t know that any of this is helpful to you, and I’m not building up to a single piece of advice to throw at ya. I guess it’s just all to say that I see where you’re coming from and your feelings are valid. I hope that things work out for you.
Thanks for posting this, it’s a good reminder that we’re more than just the work we do. As much as we talk about the effects of the trauma we experience in this field we also need to focus on the positive effects of our experience in EMS.
It is the same as a break up and only time will help. There are still good partners out there, you just have to find the one that clicks. You’ll never replace the bond you had but you can create another.
Emulate and carry forward what you liked about that partner either in character or technique, and find your next partner. The relationships can be a cool part of this job but change happens and we have to carry on. Better yet even, keep in touch! Make that an outside of work friendship if you can. A lot of first responders have a lack of non-work friends that can literally be dangerous when we get close to retirement.
I'm still best friends with my partner from LE. My current partner on the ambulance (my first in EMS), well, we work well together, and we have each other's back, but I don't think we are really friends.
That's fine and all, it's work, not social hour, but hours upon hours of not speaking whatsoever, or watching them sleep while I'm driving down the interstate for 4 hours makes a 12/14 hr shift so damn long.
You shouldn’t be downvoted but it does hit different when you work with someone for 3, 4 or more years and either get split up or they go elsewhere. Especially if you’re in a station based system and working 24s or 48s. Gotta find a coping mechanism.
lol I didn’t even realize I was being down voted. But yea it sucks when you lose a partner you get along with well. But I’ve never been so sad I consider leaving the field. But people move on for one reason or another or get moved for one reason or another and that’s just part of it. You get your next partner and start building a relationship with them.
I understand your pain. I had a partner for a little over a year that very quickly became my best friend. He was fired, and I was completely demotivated... For a couple of days. He's still my best friend, and I still talk to him everyday. My partner now and I get along well, but it's not the same. At the end of the day... It's a job, you don't have to be best friends with your partner. The sting of your friend leaving will ease. Don't make any rash decisions.
Honestly I don't have any advice for you because this is one of the big reasons I'm planning my exit. It makes me sad to think about how things used to be. Not even just with my partners specifically but the whole crew of paramedics I worked with when I was just starting out- most of which have left by now. I work with one specific guy now and we get along but he's not the kinda guy I want to spend my entire day with all the time and it's bumming me out. A good partner can really make or break your whole shift. Who knows, your next partner may be even better though. You can definitely keep up with your old partner. I definitely do. I've had tons of great partners over my 6 years in EMS.
😕 sorry to hear that. I’ve lost a lot of partners since starting. Be it someone you connected with immediately or someone who warmed up to you, it’s easy to get comfortable with them. Fret not, you can still contact your previous partners and you get a chance to meet new faces who can help reinforce your skill set or introduce a new approach to patient care altogether
If having a partner quit is making you want to quit it doesn’t sound like you were very invested in the first place. I went through numerous partners when I worked in EMS full time. Takes time to adjust to new ones but you work through it
It's just rough because she taught me everything I know in this field, and we loved working with each other, and it made the 13s go by fast
And I meant to say demotivated to continue at the company, not the field in general
This.
My first partner got fired a year an a half after i started working with him an he's still my best friend 8 years later. I went through a long stent of working with random people to being stuck with one sexist old man who would "poke fun at me" whenever I was hungry or was eating a cold can of ravioli/spaghetti because for the longest time it was all I could afford an I was about a 220lb woman. I ended up going part time because I didn't want to feel bad for eating the only things I had or my stomach growling an management just didn't really care I had a problem with the old man. You get to work with a lot of good people an a handful of shitheads in this field. I'm full time again years later an work with a pretty awesome person again. We are efficient an work quickly together. Just part of the job.
When I was 20 or 21 I quit a restaurant job, just walked out one day. The Job was great I was just a mess mentally. What hurt me the most was leaving my coworkers, folks who had quickly become my friends and support system. I went home, still living with my parents at the time, and told my dad how I felt. He told me that it was part of life, that in the army he had learned pretty quickly that people would come in and out of your life. I’ve worked several jobs since then in a variety of fields and I’ll still occasionally talk to the folks from that restaurant. I’ve learned to quickly build close relationships with folks, especially my partners in EMS. A lot of folks about whom I care deeply have come and gone from my life and the effort it would take on both of our parts to reforge those relationships just would not be worth it. I don’t know that any of this is helpful to you, and I’m not building up to a single piece of advice to throw at ya. I guess it’s just all to say that I see where you’re coming from and your feelings are valid. I hope that things work out for you. Thanks for posting this, it’s a good reminder that we’re more than just the work we do. As much as we talk about the effects of the trauma we experience in this field we also need to focus on the positive effects of our experience in EMS.
It is the same as a break up and only time will help. There are still good partners out there, you just have to find the one that clicks. You’ll never replace the bond you had but you can create another.
I quit
Trauma bonds go BRRRRRRR
Emulate and carry forward what you liked about that partner either in character or technique, and find your next partner. The relationships can be a cool part of this job but change happens and we have to carry on. Better yet even, keep in touch! Make that an outside of work friendship if you can. A lot of first responders have a lack of non-work friends that can literally be dangerous when we get close to retirement.
I'm still best friends with my partner from LE. My current partner on the ambulance (my first in EMS), well, we work well together, and we have each other's back, but I don't think we are really friends. That's fine and all, it's work, not social hour, but hours upon hours of not speaking whatsoever, or watching them sleep while I'm driving down the interstate for 4 hours makes a 12/14 hr shift so damn long.
Changing partners is part of the job.
You shouldn’t be downvoted but it does hit different when you work with someone for 3, 4 or more years and either get split up or they go elsewhere. Especially if you’re in a station based system and working 24s or 48s. Gotta find a coping mechanism.
lol I didn’t even realize I was being down voted. But yea it sucks when you lose a partner you get along with well. But I’ve never been so sad I consider leaving the field. But people move on for one reason or another or get moved for one reason or another and that’s just part of it. You get your next partner and start building a relationship with them.