A major componenst of most jobs is the giving of various rewards and awards to employees. Not only does this make the receiving employee feel appreciated, needed, and acknowledged, but it fosters a friendly competition among the rest of the employees. Quarterly awards provide a some of encouraging aspect to the workforce that pushes workers to work harder, smarter, and more efficiently. The mentality of awarding EMTs based on effort, efficiency, patient interaction, respect for patients, etc. is very similar to the mentality of students. If there is a grade to be given at the end of a term, the student will work harder and study in smarter ways in order to achieve the highest grade. Similarly, if teachers grade on a curve, there is an increased states of competition among the students in order to set the curve higher. If students did not receive grades or any sort of tangible reward for their educational efforts, most would drop out of school without receiving any type of degree. This same pattern is sadly being seen in the EMS world. EMTs often go into the medical field or volunteer because of an interest in medicine; however, if there is no tangible reward for them to perform to the best of their ability, they will quit, finding other jobs that pay much better.

EMTs have described their experiences with patients and patients' families to be the hardest yet the best part of their job. They often speak of the lasting impacts that interacting with families have on them, whether these interactions are positive or negative, happy or sad. After speaking with families, especially after experiencing death, it is nearly impossible to explain to anyone outside the EMS world what it felt like to tell someone that their family member or friend had died. The only people who truly understand the pain and courage that is needed to tell someone that news are fellow EMTs, doctors, nurses, and anyone who deals directly with patients. In order to secure the pyschological sanity and emotional stability of their workers, EMTs feel the need to be recognized within their workforce. However, for whatever reason, this necessary recognition and support is usually left out. Without it, many EMTs simply cannot handle the amount of emotional pain that is, to them, not worth the insignificant amount of pay.