Thinking

Well, I've been doing a lot of thinking lately. It's something I quite enjoy doing, and has driven me to where I am today. That and a good deal of coffee.

Why do I want to become a Paramedic? Why do I feel the urge to go through Paramedic blogs, read books on the subject (biographies, stories and textbooks) - why is it when I got a PDA the first thing I do is load eMedic? More to the point, what's made me decide to leave science and medical research to follow this dream?

I've always had a fascination with medicine. From an early age I wanted to be a forensic scientist, it was only after discovering how boring a job that can be that I decided to go into medical research. Working with St John changed a lot in my life - for the first time I was working with live patients, the effects of my work became clear almost instantly and, I hope, I am not too shabby at it. While many would argue (and probably correctly) that medical research is indeed a far more valuable thing to persue, I can't help but be attracted to the more instant, single (hopefully, although triage can be rewarding too) patient treatments that I perform myself...

It's not a question of which do I enjoy more, because each career has its ups and downs - it's a question of which do I, personally, feel more rewarded by performing. Greedy, perhaps, but it's a hands down win to Paramedics.