REFLECTION: To me a Paramedic is...

So I attended a Cardiac Arrest last night, not my first but it was the first where I was the first person on scene, working alone for some time and the only one with any sort of medical training.

To arrive at a scene of mayhem where emotions are running high, to enter a room when all eyes suddenly drop on you to have the cure for what is happening to this persons loved one, to teach someone with no experience how to carry out CPR when it is their loved one they're about to do it to, and to co-ordinate and motivate this group effort in the soul purpose of giving life back to the person laying before you.



All of this happens in mere moments, you don't need to give any reassuring words to those around you because, on the outside atleast, you're calm and clinical with your instructions and intervention which inspires confidence. You have to be a Clinician, a Teacher, and a Leader all at once, to me this is what a Paramedic is and what I aspire to be, last night I got a taste of what it takes to be the first person to walk onto that scene, I've thought alot about my performance and I'm happy that I did everything correctly and to the best of my ability before further help arrived and took over the management of the Patient - more than this I suprised myself at how calm (on the outside) I was and how quickly I took control of the situation.

I needed this really, it's another string to my bow of experience and makes me realise more than ever that this is the path I want to travel - I don't want bad things to happen to people, but if it happens I want to be there to try and give those people the best chance of living a longer life.