About Chiron

A friend of mine who reads this blog recently emailed me asking what the whole 'Chiron' business was, so I thought this might be a good time to explain.

Chiron was (in Greek mythology) a healer, teacher and oracle - which, when I decided to take the path of paramedics were what I felt the three main aspect of the role were about. The wikipedia article regarding him will give you a much better background than I can in this blog (there's a few points I'd put differently but it is a good summary - go on, give it a read!), but suffice to say that in my journey from a medical researcher to paramedic I felt I was following the ideals and philosophy of Chiron.

I have a sweet spot for mythology... But back to the three foci - Healer, Teacher and Oracle.

Paramedics are, first and foremost, healers. They travel to those who are in need or pain to heal. By no means are they doctors or nurses, also healers, but they do play a vital role in the health services - one which I've felt long before I wished to become a paramedic was a vastly overlooked and under appreciated role.

But paramedics have one major advantage over their doctor/nurse brethren - they're constantly out in the community. Unlike the hospital or clinic bound others, a paramedic is free to roam the vast plains of... well, the roads... and actually interact with society in a way that only a paramedic can. 'But with great power comes great responsibility' - damn you Uncle Ben... Given this role, the paramedic is also a teacher. When examining patients in a public area, when out and about, when visiting a school or when providing (or even teaching) first aid, the paramedic will be asked questions on health care that they are in a much greater position to answer than a doctor or nurse simply because they usually have the time and audience to make answering the questions worthwhile. Really, paramedics should have 'the golden title'... But that's a rant for another day ;)

Finally, a paramedic has to be - in a sense - an oracle. Sounds a bit silly, I know - but given the nature of the role a paramedic must always be trying to stay the step ahead of what could go wrong - because as Murphy taught us, whatever can go wrong, will go wrong.

It's this strange combination of the three attributes that has brought me to the field (coupled with a strong sense of spontaneity, the constant mental/physical challenge and the fact that you never quite know where you'll end up or who you'll be treating). I was asked during my interview (and by family and friends) why I wasn't going to study medicine (to become a doctor) given I had an highly academic background and they were shocked that I couldn't have thought of anything worse.

Sure, there was a higher likelihood of being sued in medicine, the extra time, debt and financial hardship associated with another 6-10 years at university, but more than anything else it was the fact that I didn't feel medicine would provide for me that sense of 'teacher' and 'oracle' that I felt paramedicine would. I wanted to connect with my patients (which as I'm sure I'll get emailed about - isn't always a good thing) and to do something a little more 'free' from the confines of hospitals and business suits.

But back to Chiron - when I decided to chronicle this journey I went through several possible names for the blog, but none of them felt right. I tried to have a slightly comical sound to the title (I'm a big fan of 'Blood, Sweat and Tea', for instance) but felt it somehow that it lost a part of the seriousness or determination I held for obtaining the qualification.

So I went back to my roots, thought about how I truly felt about the role and there it came - Chiron. I was in pursuit of his teachings and philosophies.

I was Following Chiron.