altruism?

so this complex opinion is based on long conversation with a friend - i'll call him hosehumper.

are their truly altruistic people? or do people get drawn to what their interests are?

thus, if it is exciting and adrenaline pumping for me to respond and participate at a vehicle rescue, does the fact that someone got helped in the process matter? it makes me self-conscious and i know it makes others as well. i know that many of the people on my squad when thanked by someone - whether it be a patient, family member or bystander - immediately reply, its our job, but the ironic thing is that we are volunteers in our positions. in fact, i would argue that i get more out of my volunteering from the sheer excitement from the calls than another volunteer may get from tutoring kids for free. but then to complicate this opinion further, is part of the excitement the joy of helping people? the knowledge that i have assisted families in crisis situations or acted quickly to "save" someone's life is part of the adrenaline high that i appear to covet so much.

and are we adrenaline junkies the good people to do this job? i know i have fought disengagement from people especially after codes or DOAs. its too easy to remove the humanity from the patient. or talk about a good cut job despite the fact that someone was seriously injured as a result of the accident. and i recognize it is hard to do. it is hard to treat every patient with caring and compassion especially if they are frequent fliers of the system. another complication is how do you help or care for people with whom you have such a short interaction with. moreover, that interaction is defined and usually limited to one incident or a complaint.

i know this is a difficult question to consider but i would appreciate thoughts on the matter.