Remember Why You Got into This

When I first started my emergency services career, I didn’t know it was going to be a career.  I was 15 years old and didn’t have a clue what I wanted to be when I grew up.  Six years later, I was studying to be a paramedic, and working as an EMT running wheelchair transport calls for Buck Ambulance.  And now, 30 years later, I’m a paramedic field supervisor – doing what I love.

My first ambulance gig was a volunteer position.  We ran calls simply because they let us.  A couple of years later, I was a professional – being paid $4.10 and hour and working my tail off running about 30 calls in a 48 hour shift.  I wasn’t getting rich, but I loved what I did.

I admit that it was the adrenalin rush that drew me in.  The prestige of the uniform, and the ability to help people – all of that was fairly superficial, but what young punk isn’t drawn in my the superficial.  Over time, however, I developed a more acute sense of what a paramedic does.  Believe me when I say, it isn’t all lights, sirens, blood, and guts.  In fact, being a paramedic is largely a crisis intervention position.

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