Thinking Back; a Paramedic

This #ParamedicServicesWeek I think back to an amazing 30 years of service in two provinces.

While the body and mind have suffered I wouldn’t change it for the world!

Paramedicine is a profession that did not evolve for centuries. From Napoleon’s first ambulance pulled by horses to the change to motorized ambulances the job was the same; pick up the sick and injured and rush them to a doctor. In the 60’s we saw the first Paramedics in parts of the US then in the 70’s in Canada. Since then, the level of prehospital care has gone straight up. The level of patient care being performed out of a hospital setting today is amazing. These skilled practitioners are carrying out patient care at the highest level. No longer first aid certified Ambulance Drivers, rather Paramedics with a plethora of medications and life-saving interventions.

It is a profession that is a rare one as well. Complete strangers invite you into their homes and lives and relinquish themselves fully to you in their worst of times. Other healthcare providers see patients in their places of work, controlled environments, on their terms and schedules. Paramedics will see people in their environments without planning and when they are the most vulnerable. Paramedics will go from a cut finger call to the worst of the worst calls of their lives; never knowing what call will come next.

They accept the inherent risks to help others. The scenarios range from homes, to motor vehicle crashes; from private encounters to very public interactions. The scenes can be violent and volatile. The simplest call can quickly turn into the most dangerous call leaving the Paramedics injured or worse.

While it may not always be an emergency in our eyes, it is in the patient's. Paramedicine is one of only a couple professions where you enter the sanctity of a person’s home and control the person and the situation.

Paramedics touch people and impact their lives; leaving them with an everlasting memory of that meeting. While we will forget most of our calls for service, they will always remember us and how we interacted with and ultimately impacted them.

Paramedics must never lose the awareness that they are making changes in lives. They must never forget that it is a privilege to be invited into someone's darkest moment and to share that time in their lives with them.

Many have gone before me; all too soon. Some in the line of duty, some at their own hands. Some with illness, that while hard to prove, can be attributed to the job and work environment. Regardless of the cause, I remember them all.

Thank you to all of the amazing men and women that have chosen this noble profession. Thank you for your dedication, service and your sacrifices.

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