Stephen, you are definitely not alone.  Burn out is really tough to 
describe, its different for all of us.  I went through it.
    I worked in Ohio, in a small town outside of Cincinnati for 12 years, as 
a firefighter / paramedic.  In those 12 years, I tried every angle I could 
think of to find fulfillment in the job.  I liked to stay busy, and as time 
went on, things just began to slow down.  Fire responses are down, and I made 
EMS the focus of my career.  Then, the company I worked for began to put on 
more ambulances, because it was needed, and activity went down again.  I felt 
like my skills were getting rusty, because I wasn't able to use them, and 
went to another community and ran volly to keep busy.  That company closed up 
and re started as a paid department.
    Then, I tried to get on with the EMS in New York City.  That would have 
kept me busy enough.  I didn't pass the MAC exam, mostly because I went to 
school in Ohio, and NY programs are a bit different.  I decided that I need 
to increase my education, and hopefully make it lead to something moe than 
paramedic.  I'm looking into PA, or nursing.  I still think I'd like to do 
EMS in a big metro area, and have re-located to Cincinnati, Ohio, soon to 
start with a private service here in the city, and go back to school.
    Could be burn out, or something else, but I feel that I had a lot more to 
offer the job that I couldn't give it.  I still want to be active, do the 
calls as best as possible, and leave all the political stuff aside.  Which, I 
know is a dream.
    Write back, this sounds like a lively topic.  Talk to you soon.
                                                 Dave Hall
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