How little I've learned...

The thing I have to keep telling myself lately is that I don't even know if I'm in the traineeship yet. For all the posts, the experiences, the aspirations and hopes - I have to remind myself that I'm still in my infancy. That I'll end up getting into Paramedics somehow is obvious to me - I'm too damn stubborn. The question is how long will it take me?

So there's a few things I want to say to various people, those things you'll find below.

To NSW Ambulance Service;
I am what you're looking for. I am hard working, good with people, a quick learner and have a passion for doing more of what I've experienced so far in First Aid. I have a medical background, holding BBioMedSc(Hons) with experience in cancer and viral medical research. I am self-reliant but still love working in teams, efficient and (with what I've experienced so far) able to keep a cool head in potentially bad situations. Give me a chance, and I will not let you (or those who trust in me) down.

But I am young, and while I think I have experienced some things, I know they are nothing to what a Paramedic can experience on a daily basis. I am willing to learn, and for that I need you to teach. More than anything else, I need to remember that no matter how qualified I am (with my current degree, while I'm in training and long after I finish) I will always need to keep learning. I have long loved to learn, having spent most of my life in educational institutions, but the real learning starts when you let me into your vehicles.

To any crew I (hopefully) will work with;
Be patient, for although I may be eager I know I am only human and will make mistakes. Let me know when I'm doing things wrong, but more importantly don't be afraid to also let me know when I'm doing things right. Guide me until you think I'm ready.

I will try to keep my patients happy and safe, I will introduce myself to them by name and make sure I listen to what they have to say. I will treat everyone with respect, even though I may not always be treated the same. That is life, and a lesson I've learned somewhat already but will continue to learn. I will treat them as best I can, explaining everything I do and why. No matter how much smarter, better trained or higher in the social hierarchy I think I may be compared to those I assist , at the end of the day we are public servants, and they are the public - my humility can help my patient just as much as gauze and saline (but that doesn't mean I have to respect every drunk ;P).

I will do what I can, but I know I can't save everybody. I will accept that when it happens, and although it's easy to write now I'll need your help when it happens (even though I may be too proud to ask). Make me good at what I do, but always remind me to become better.



Making the decision to follow this path was one of the hardest decisions I've ever had to make - but since making it I haven't had a second thought. Where I was afraid of beginning my education again, I have found a fascination for reading EMS text books, reports, stories and blogs. Where I was scared of changing the direction of my life, I've found an inner peace and sense of 'rightness' I haven't felt in years.

The more I've learned in life, the more I realise how little I've learned and how much more there is out there to know. An old friend of mine once told me that was the first step to wisdom, but that the path was long and easily lost. While he left us several years back, I'm sure that if I could ask him today what he though, he'd tell me to follow my heart.

I only ask the Ambulance Service of New South Wales to give me a shot and see what I am capable of. Teach me, train me - and no matter how good I may become, always remind me just how little I've learned.