‘Pretty exhausting’: Student EMTs describe work during COVID-19 pandemic

Marideth Tokarsky saw dozens of patients coming into UPMC Presbyterian hospital’s emergency department while volunteering there during her first year at Pitt. But she wanted to do more than just volunteer at the hospital.

“I was sick of not doing anything,” Tokarsky, a junior emergency medicine major and emergency medical technician, said. “I really wanted to get involved in patient care.”

EMTs perform life-saving medical interventions like CPR, administration of medications and splinting. But the COVID-19 pandemic has added extra stress to the job, as shown by the significant increase in the burnout rate for EMS due to added risks, increased call volume and COVID-19 protocols.

For students that want to continue their careers in medicine, Tokarsky said EMS is a good introduction.

“Getting involved with patient care, I am learning how to interact with patients, learning how to use different treatments and medications and how to treat people,” Tokarsky, an EMT with STAT MedEvac, said.

She said her work as an EMT gives her a different perspective on life.

“As I go through, it is a little bit odd being a college student on a Friday night dealing with someone dying while my friends are at a bar,” Tokarsky said.

Ben Potts, a sophomore aspiring emergency medicine major, got involved because it was the gateway to his dream job of being an EMS physician. Currently an EMT with NorthWest EMS based in nearby McKees Rocks, he said he hopes to one day provide medical direction to EMTs and paramedics.

Pitt teaches its own EMT course each semester, and students can become certified with successful completion. The course includes both a lecture and lab component in order to complete the roughly 240 hours of required instruction. The certification is valid for three years in Pennsylvania and must be renewed to continue to practice.

To get his EMT certification, Potts took an intensive eight-week summer course.

“It was four days a week, for about eight hours. It was a mix between time in the classroom and time working with mannequins and other students,” Potts said.

Potts said he works night shifts every Thursday evening into the early hours of Friday morning. He said he has to plan his schedule accordingly in order to be able to work the “graveyard” shift.

“Friday mornings are typically pretty light for me. I don’t have my first class until 1 o’clock and I’m off at seven. So I get a couple hours in there to sleep and then that leads right into the weekend where I can catch up on my sleep,” Potts said.

Besides adjusting sleep schedules, Pitt students who are EMTs often need to have efficient time management for their studies. Jess Serviss, a sophomore aspiring emergency medicine major, said it has been a struggle for her personally to balance EMS and academics. Luckily, she said sometimes she is able to do homework when not on a call.

“Some days when the call volume is lighter you have the opportunity to do school work while you’re at the station. Some days it’s not like that, though. So just making sure that I am aware of what my exam schedule looks like is important,” Serviss, an EMT who works with Eastern Area EMS, based in nearby Turtle Creek, said.

While EMTs face low pay, long hours and high responsibilities, there are also some calls that stick with EMTs. They often see people on their worst days — gravely ill, injured, passing away or having already died.

Tokarsky, Potts and Serviss all have their own ways to de-stress and relax after a hard shift or call. Tokarsky said she relies on those around her and exercises for support.

“Usually I turn to my friends. I have five roommates so it’s nice to come home to sit with them and talk about anything not-EMS for a little while. I also like to go exercise and ‘run it off’ I guess,” Tokarsky said.

Similar to Tokarsky, Serviss enjoys talking to friends and family after a hard call. She said it helps her most to vent and talk with someone.

Potts tries to relax and do things he enjoys like listening to music or watching YouTube. He also added how, weather permitting, driving home from his shift early in the morning with the windows down while listening to music is his favorite way to de-stress.

Tokarsky said she has seen how COVID-19 has affected her fellow EMTs’ mindsets about the job.

“[COVID] has made a lot of people bitter, and a lot of people [are] more burnt out than usual. Many people are sick of wearing masks all the time, transporting COVID patients, having to dress up into all the gear when you have to transport a respiratory patient can be pretty exhausting both mentally and physically,” Tokarsky said. 

Potts agreed, and said EMTs and other medical workers are tired.

“It’s pushing us to the breaking point, to be completely honest. We have all of these regular emergencies that people are having, and then on top of that we have almost an equal number of people that have COVID and need to go to the hospital. We are limited on the number of people that we have, and the calls keep coming in regardless,” Potts said.