As I sit here in my Expedition typing away on my Netbook, I am reminded by the night’s weather of how much I love the City during the summer.13 years ago when I leftNew Jerseyas a naive 19 year old EMT, I figured I was on a “four and out” plan.I would get my EMS Management Degree, get my Paramedic Certification, and bail on out of here and back to my comfort zone: theJerseyShore.
Once I graduated College in 2001, I had about 8 months experience as a Paramedic here in the city, and it had gotten its claws into me.At that point in my career, I saw no other option for me than to be an Urban Paramedic, running all of the 911’s I could.In a week at work here, I was personally doing as many 911 responses as my Volunteer Service that I got my start with back in 1993 would do in a month, and I was loving every minute of it.
UrbanEMSis definitely unique.Your transport times are commonly shorter, and while per capita, your high acuity patients might be a fewer in number than suburban and rural systems, you still see your share of critically sick and injured people.I’m not just talking about the shootings and stabbings, trust me they’re there, but I’m also talking about the STEMIs, strokes, and generalized respiratory and cardiac patients.
Commonly in this busy system, except for a few patient complaints that would also trigger the request for fire to respond, you were on your own with just your partner.On my shift though, we all looked out for each other. We were definitely one big family.If you were going into a bad neighborhood, chances are, someone else would “float” your way for no other reason than to just watch your back.They’d set up your gear, help you stairchair a patient, or just simply make sure that people respect your personal space.
This October will mark my 10th anniversary as a Paramedic.Its funny, but I can still remember heading in for my first shift after getting cleared and sitting in the parking lot of my college dorm dry heaving because I was so nervous.(I swear it had nothing to do with the beers I’d drank the night before.)There was nothing really unique about that shift, but to this day, I can recall every call that I did just like it was yesterday.
Now, almost 10 years later, I am still just as excited to head out on the streets as I was on my first day.I haven’t seen it all, and my responsibilities have changed both on and off the street, but above all else, I love this job just as much as I did the first time I stepped on a truck.You have to!This isn’t the kind of job that you can just fake.You need to love it, because if you don’t, all of those stubbed toes, and flu-like symptom calls or the jobs with the rude family members that we’ve all encountered will get to you rather quickly.When I have those tough calls, I just have to think about the lives I’ve helped save, and the babies I’ve helped deliver, and just the people that have said “thank you” to me over the years.When I keep those positive moments in mind, everything else seems to be okay.
Nights like this just seem to be perfect.The windows are rolled down, there’s a nice breeze rolling through the trees, and when you roll it all up, it reminds me how great my career as a Paramedic has been over the last 10 years.Well, the pace on the radio is starting to pick up, and throughout the city, ambulances are starting to “light it up” and head off to their next emergency.I wonder what this beautiful summer night will hold for me. . .
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As an addendum to this post, I thought I would share what the night had in store for me.At around 2am, a young mother delivered her child at home.15 minutes later, she was in the back seat of her mom’s car, baby in her lap and on the side of the road calling 911, because they decided that it’d be better to have an ambulance to take Mom and newborn to the hospital, instead of trying to drive there on their own.It turns out that when this all went down, I was right around the corner putting the finishing touches on this Blog Post.As a result, I was lucky enough to get to help care for a beautiful, healthy 15 minute old baby girl.
Moments like this remind me that I love being a Paramedic.