The Never Ending Search for Resilience.

 

Introduction

Resilience is a complex concept. It's the ability to bounce back from hardship and stress, and it's what helps us survive difficult situations. But how do you achieve resilience? How do you know if you're already a resilient person? And how can you become more resilient in your life? These questions are at the heart of me, so I'll share with you what I've learned over the years about resilience — hopefully this will help give you some insight into how to build your own personal resilience skills!

How did you become a resilient person? What is resilience?

Resilience is the ability to bounce back from adversity, adapt to change and recover from setbacks. It allows us to withstand stress, maintain a positive attitude and thrive in the face of adversity. The term resilience is often used interchangeably with the words perseverance, tenacity or strength but it actually means something different than those terms do. According to Dictionary.com resilience means “the power or tendency of something (as a material) that has been stretched or compressed to return toward its original size and shape after being compressed; elasticity".

In short: Resilience is what allows you to keep going when things get tough!

What is a resilient person?

A resilient person is someone who has the ability to bounce back from difficulties and setbacks. Resilience is a quality that helps you overcome adversity, adapt to change, recover from trauma and loss, recover from grief or trauma.

Resilience is not something you are born with but it can be developed over time through resilience training.

Why are you resilient?

Resilience is not a fixed state, but rather a process of continued growth. This means that all of us have the capacity to be resilient, even if we have previously experienced trauma or challenge. The key is to identify and develop our personal strengths as well as our strategies for coping with adversity.

Resilience is rooted in our sense of self or identity—the idea that we are unique individuals with goals and values that guide us through life’s journey. Our sense of self allows us to realize when things are out of alignment with who we truly are and gives us the power to take action on behalf of ourselves by making changes in our lives that align more closely with who we want to be.

Our ability to cope with stressors depends upon how much support we receive from others (friends/family) during difficult times; however, it also requires an individualized approach based on what works best for each person due to their unique physical, psychological and/or social needs at any given time in order for optimal health outcomes over time

How did you survive the hard times in your life?

What is resilience?

Resilience is the ability to bounce back from hardship. It’s the skill of keeping your head up when life gets rough and finding a way through the tough times. And while it can be hard to define, we all have it in some form—maybe it’s an ability to meet challenges with optimism, or maybe it’s simply knowing that you always have something positive to say about yourself and your life. Whatever your resilience looks like, it's likely something that's helped you achieve great things over time.

What advice can you give other people who want to become more resilient?

Resilience requires self-compassion. If you are feeling like your life is falling apart, give yourself permission to feel that way. After all, it's human! Take time to listen to your body and slow down so that you can breathe deeply and make decisions with more clarity. This will help you feel more grounded as well as others around you.

Be kinder than usual to others during this time as they may also be going through something similar. And finally, if possible: be kinder than usual to the earth! The planet is our home base—we all live here together—and we need her now more than ever before in order for humanity's future generations' resilience potentials (that's a fancy word for "potential") not only survive but thrive too.*

Find the message of hope and healing within.

Acknowledge your feelings, but don't dwell on them.

Don't let negative thoughts take over and define you. Remember—you are stronger than you think, and with practice, you'll get better at dealing with your emotions. But in the meantime there are things you can do right now to help yourself feel more positive and resilient:

• Focus on the positive aspects of life: There is always something good going on in any situation, so try to identify what that is for you right now (for example, maybe someone called to check up on you or took time out of their day to talk).

• Use your strengths as resources: Identify the things in life that give meaning to who you are (for example, being a good listener) and use these qualities when faced with difficult situations or negative emotions like stress or anxiety.* Be grateful for what's important: What makes each day worthwhile? Think about how lucky we are as human beings because we have basic needs met such as food/water etc., which others all over the world do not.* Do something fun! Activities that require physical activity such as sports teams/clubs/recreation classes will give us energy levels back up again after hard days at work since we're using different muscles than sitting behind desks typing away all day long!

Conclusion

I hope my story has given you some insight into what it means to be a resilient person. I also hope that it has shown that there is no one-size-fits all approach to resilience, because each of us has our own unique challenges and experiences that shape who we are today. But most importantly, I want everyone who reads this article to know that no matter what happens in life—no matter how hard things get—there is always hope for tomorrow. There’s always someone out there who will listen when you need them most; the trick is just finding them!

It's On Fire, We Are On Fire, Everything Is On Fire....

Image by F. Muhammad  from Pixabay

 Well, things have not improved! In fact, I would say they continue to get worse. I have heard tell that we are still running super short staffed, and it directly affected me on my last night! 

I won't go into too much detail as the call is still very fresh, both in terms of what happened, when it happened, and how it's sitting with me. Since this pandemic began and responses became longer and longer, and more staff have had to go off due to the stress induced by this nightmare I have had one fear. 

That fear is that I will be alone, on a call, that is critical and back up will be a long way off. Well the other night this fear became a reality. The good news, I got through it! The Bad News, A patient waited for almost 35 minutes for a transport capable ambulance to transport them to the hospital. The result, the patient was far worse off than they should have been on arrival to the Emergency Department. I did all I could for this patient, and managed to keep them alive, and then when my transport arrived we were able to quickly move them to the ambulance and to the hospital. At the hospital the treatments started on scene and enroute were beginning to work, however, the patient still has a lot to go through to get better. 

This type of call should NEVER be waiting that long for a transport capable ambulance. As a Paramedic Response Unit Operator I am tasked with being on scene first to higher acuity calls, however the job of Paramedics remains the same! We arrive on scene, stabilize critical life threats, extricate and transport to the hospital. THAT IS THE FUNDAMENTAL ROLE OF A PARAMEDIC. And let me tell you, NO ONE does it better than we do with the wheels moving! 

Did you catch them last three words?........ THE WHEELS MOVING.... When we are stuck on scene due to ambulance and staff shortages, the wheels aren't moving! Many of our calls are time sensitive, even if the patient is stable! 

It's not just that they have to wait, it's the follow up costs that become associated with their recovery that no one is talking about. The longer a patient is delayed from treatment, in some cases, the longer their recovery becomes. Once they have a longer recovery, they are in hospital, or using health care resources for a longer period of time. We are blessed that we have a health care system that will do this, but it's so stretched right now. There are delays in surgeries, which are causing people to rely on health care dollars to help them be at home while waiting. There are back ups in the ED meaning people that are critically ill are being delayed to triage, which is having negative outcomes. This is NOT the fault of our front line staff. The system is decimated, from top to bottom! 

So what's the fix? I don't have a concrete answer. What I do know is that we need to watch out for each other, Paramedics, Police, Firefighters, Nurses, emergency Doctors, Emergency support staff, and so many others. We are all out here, showing up, doing the best we can, and we have to support each other. Stay strong my brothers and sisters and everyone! 

If you like what you are reading, please Click Here to have my blog sent straight to your email when new posts are published, and let's build a real community of heroes! That's what you are as a first responder or supporter of first responders and public health care. 

Pandemic, Short Staffing, Record Call Volume, Oh MY!

 

It's really like every day is a full moon lately isn't it? The Call Volume has been incredible, we and our colleagues are burnt out, book offs are at an all time high, and the level of staff off on physical or mental health injury is higher than it's ever been. I want you to know that I see you! 

I see everyone of you. I see you SHOWING UP wherever you are, including if you are off! This last two years has stolen so much from all of YOU! I see you! At work, you are tired, you are angry, you are hurting. I. SEE. YOU. 

The point of this post is that the only thing we have left to rely on is one another! Management has failed us, the government is determined to destroy us, our biggest fans have turned against us and the only people who appreciate anything we do, are our patients in the moment they need us. I want us to change our thinking! We have to be fully aware of each other. 

You are way too important to be left out here on your own. You have worked your ass off during this pandemic and you deserve to be recognized, however don't hold your breath. It seems that there are people that would like that work to be unrecognized. But I recognize you! You have pushed yourself beyond the limits of your believed end and found new strength and resilience. I am so proud of every one of you, as you continued to show up day after day, and continued to bust your ass. You still generate high positive patient satisfaction. I have not forgotten those of you that were injured, and had to take a rest. You pushed yourself further than the rest of us, and your health and healing is the ONLY thing you should focus on! DO NOT push yourself back to work, HEAL FULLY PLEASE! 

There is no more message to this post other than, I SEE YOU! I see our newest staff, coming in, and immediately being thrown into the fire! I see you excelling despite the lack of support that is there. I see you excelling through equipment failures, truck failures, shift disruptions, partner book offs and more! I want everyone to know that I am here for you! If you need to talk, or at least know you are supported in some way, I am here! Keep being the amazing paramedics and health care staff that you already are. YOU have NOTHING TO PROVE! If you are hurting and have had too much and need to take time for you and your family and time for healing, TAKE IT!!! 

Thank you for continuing to follow me and read what I write, this article was a long wait, and I will always continue to try to be more consistent. If you got some value or you want people to know they are seen, please like, comment and share this post with everyone! 

The Holidays, Grief and Loss.

 

This Christmas season has seen a lot of loss for many in our community. These losses are felt to our soul and shake us to our core. They test our resilience, and they put our mortality in plain site. We lost an amazing person in our local and provincial EMS system and I know he touched the hearts and lives of people outside of Alberta as well. 

I want to speak to all of you that are suffering in this loss, take the time you need to grieve your own way. Don't let duty, or obligation cloud the grieving process. It is ok to feel anger, and sadness, and it is ok to have disbelief. I worry for so many of you that have been worked to death through this pandemic and are now facing grief and loss during the holiday season. Be gentle with yourself and let your feelings happen. Reach out to close friends, and mutual friends so that you can share in his memories and the joy he brought to us all. Check in with each other, not everyone grieves out loud and some people may be really struggling and it is important that they know they are not alone. As the Christmas season ends and we head toward the new year, let's make a pledge to one another to always be kind to each other. The system is and has been broken for a long time. We can only control what we can control and at the moment that is our behaviors towards each other. 

Those of you that I work with, if you need anything in this time, please reach out and we can talk or chill or what ever you might need. Those of you that maybe suffering other losses, even though we may be strangers, reach out if you need an ear. This is a short post today, but needed to address the loss we are all feeling this season. I have not mentioned names on purpose as I know all of you know who I am speaking of and his families privacy is important to me. 

Take care of yourselves and check in with each other, I will see you all again after the New Year with more musings. 

Journey To Resilience (part 2)

                                                                                                                                                                           

Beware the path to darkness

    I will preface this with a warning. I am going to try to stay vague, however there is a trigger risk for some that may still be struggling. I also believe that the parts of my story that I am going to share here may provide guidance and a safe place for someone in a similar place to reach out to. This story is my story and how I wound up in a place I never thought I would end up. It also shows how I, with help from a professional and some special people, got my self back. Ok, let's dive in shall we? 

    The story begins after I had been a medic for a fairly long time, and that is not to say that these things can't happen early in the career. I will also say there was more at work in my situation than just work. A lot of people talk about slippery slopes, sudden changes, and red flags. Those are all great tools for hind sight. The truth of the matter is that the path to darkness is a well lit, beautiful place with friends and family who are unaware (more on this later). It is fun, scenic and you have no idea what's happening, until it happens. 

How does it happen?

    We are all taught very little about resilience and self care in school and it is brushed over in a lot of training. The reason that is, is that resilience, PTSD, moral injury and occupational stress injuries are dynamic, and every single person experiences them differently. This makes training others into how to prevent these types of injuries costly, dynamic and many systems don't take that time or expense to explore it. There is a lot of work being done in prevention, but as long as there are careers that involve dealing with the tragedy of others, there will be these types of injuries and our best hope is to become resilient, as well as learn how to recover from them when they happen. 

    Under a continuing pandemic, and opiate crisis, coupled with short staffing and the inability to get time off for regular rest and relaxation we are seeing an increase in these psychological injuries at a rate I have never seen before. This is how it happens. When people in these careers, who care about people, see the system in crisis, we tend to double down and work harder. The system stays afloat because of us on the front line. It is in our nature to care this much, as much as we deny that. Even when we take some time for ourselves, there is a twang of guilt that hits each of us, thinking that someone else is going to have to pick up the slack. That mind set is what sets us on the path to darkness. This mindset is normal for us, and is one of the root causes of psychological injury. There are many others, but I am not qualified to speak about the complexities of PTSD and all of it's causes. This is how it happened to me, and I believe I am not alone in this path to psychological injury. 

My story:

    As I mentioned earlier, my story involved more than just work. I had been carrying a lot of debt throughout my life, like many people do. This debt had accumulated after a divorce, and a couple of breakups. Carrying the debt was not much of a struggle and I had a lot of plans for when the debt was paid off. Buying a home, travelling more, spending more time with friends, and investing and supplemental retirement savings. Unfortunately that is not what ended up happening, and the reality is a reminder that bad things can happen to anyone. 

    It was about six years ago now I had gone through a pretty nasty break up, but due to my debts, I had to live with my ex for a period of time. Innocently enough I tried to stay away from home as much as I could and spent time hanging out in a local pub. This is where things began to go down hill, although I did not notice it at first. I had a nice group of social people at the pub and spent my time drinking beers, and tossing money into VLT's. Things were ok as far as I could tell. I was giving the ex space and I was keeping my mind busy and it didn't seem like I was spending or losing that much money at the time. It was also during this time that I purchased my condo. I was super proud of myself for that as I had purchased it without a down payment and it would be my space. My ex could have her space, and we could both get on with our lives. 

    As time went on I moved out of the ex's into the condo, and found a new pub to hang out in. Again, I was just getting to know the area, meeting some new people, drinking beer and tossing money into VLT's. I still had no idea there was a problem. As time went on, I started losing a lot more than I was winning, as the old saying goes, "the house always wins". I was sitting at these machines, night after night, beer in hand, saying things like, "it's just one spin away!". The debts and bills started to pile up. I was still showing up for work every day, keeping up appearances. I was losing entire pay checks in a single night, and then having to get pay day loans to get food in the house. Those pay day loans I would get a few groceries and then head to the casino to "win it all back". As the problem got worse I would find myself arguing with myself that this was a bad idea, and I needed to stop. At this point, I realized I was addicted to gambling, but still continued on the path. 

    Things at work were also beginning to get worse as I was stressed about money, and angry about operational issues, long responses, no trucks, forced overtime and being unable to take much needed time off. When the bank foreclosed on my condo, and I was eating sandwiches from the hospital on a pretty regular basis, and I snapped on a patient, is when the light shone down that I was a mess. In all that time, almost no one knew what had been happening, because I hid it. This is a normal reaction to these sorts of things, shame, and hiding what's happening. When a paramedic friend of mine approached me and told me they were worried about me, I shared what had been going on. I was in shock as to where I had ended up, I knew better than this, and it just didn't seem possible that I was here. But here I was, and it was time to make a change. Again, I don't blame my story entirely on work, I had a habit of dealing with many stressors in a poor way. These bad decisions led me down this path and it was a fun path, until it wasn't. That is how the trap works. 

    Watch out for one another, and keep an eye on yourself as well. If you are doing anything excessively it might be time to take note and do some self reflection. We are in a place where it is ok to talk out loud about struggles, and it was something I should have done more often, and to more people. My recovery has been a journey of growth and self awareness that we all need to learn to ensure we stay healthy, both physically and mentally. I encourage you to share this story with others, in hopes that if they are at any point in this journey they will have the courage to reach out and turn themselves around. 

My recovery

    After  my friend had noticed I was in a bad way and I shared some of my story with them, they recommended a psychologist who specialized in occupational stress injuries. I also got myself an accountability partner who had access to my location at all times through my Google Maps. These seem like a couple of small things, but they were instrumental in my recovery. During that time my psychologist used a technique called cognitive behavioral therapy, which is subtle, but very effective. The change was amazing. As he, in a sense, rewired my brain, I found the urges to gamble and drink falling away. I learned how to take care of myself, and prioritize my feelings. I learned how to set boundaries with people and maintain them. 

    Since my recovery I would be lying if I said I haven't had the odd temptation to gamble, however, when I speak to that urge, it does go away. Through this process I have learned resiliency on a level that I didn't know was possible. Though I still get bothered by operational issues at work, I am far faster at catching them, and letting them go. My biggest lesson I learned was that things out of my control, are just that. Out of my control. If I can't effect meaningful change on something, it gets filed into the not my problem category and soon sinks away. Things that are in my control, I tackle those, I ensure I provide excellent patient care, I try and take care of my coworkers, and I make sure our workspace is always ready to go. 

    This is a condensed version of my story, but I hope it will help someone going through a shit time to reach out and get help before things get out of control for them. In conclusion, I am now virtually debt free, living on an acreage with my soul mate and life has never been sweeter, and I am looking forward to many future adventures. I am also happy at work again, (most of the time), and love my career still. Please take the time to read, share and comment below your thoughts or your stories! If you ever need an ear, reach out, I am here to talk as well. 

My Journey to Resilience (Part 1)

 

I know I left you hanging.

I have struggled with what I am going to share with you all as not very many people know my whole story and that has very much been intentional. I am not looking for sympathy or validation of any sort, however I am hoping that the details I share here will allow someone else who may be where I was to reach out and know that they are not alone. As the title suggests this is part one. I want to demonstrate how the road to darkness is not a slippery slope, it is a long winding beautiful path full of good intentions, machismo and a desire to never become a burden. 

How it all began. 

I have been in the emergency services for 23, no wait, almost 24 years. Starting as a volunteer fire fighter in 1997 after taking my EMR program I saw disturbing things from the very start. The training we had then definitely did some to desensitize us to what we would see, but critical incident stress and CISM debriefings were still new at the time. I never truly felt bothered by the calls I did at that time and thought I must be special, "built for this industry" as it were. I found that I seemed to be quite good at compartmentalizing things, or so I thought. 

As time went on, it was many years of seeing a lot of people die and a lot of disturbing scenes that no person should ever have to see before I had a call that "stuck". Due to the triggering nature of the call I won't share details beyond witnessing someone die and being absolutely helpless to prevent it, despite my training and experience. This call gave me some bad dreams, and I have vivid memories of it to this day. This was my introduction to an occupational stress injury that I could identify, though at the time it did not register. 

After that call there were several more that struck close to home, and also caused some changes in my behavior, that I didn't pick up on until later. 

Was I lucky, resilient, or both? 

That is the million dollar question isn't it? Many of you, new and old to the game, and some of you that have not worked in this industry have your own experiences, and this one is mine. One advantage that I had is that I had a strong network of friends and loved ones who would listen to me tell my stories, share my experiences and just let me get shit out. This is an important step in building resilience. You CANNOT keep that SHIT INSIDE! You need to vent, you need to regurgitate it as much as you can to get it away from your soul. I know that sounds different as many self help books and self help gurus tell you to not relive the past. They are right in their way, but when it is fresh you must expel it. It is not unlike when someone has taken a handful of pills, you have a limited amount of time to remove the source of the poison from the system before it takes hold, and you have to treat the symptoms instead. 

Trauma in my opinion is similar. Once it gets in, you have a limited amount of time to expel it from your system before it takes a hold of your soul and causes a larger scar. Let me be abundantly clear, every event causes a scar, resilience helps us reduce the size and longevity of that scar. Mental scars can be healed, and life can be enjoyed as long as you take steps to protect your mental health early, diligently and continuously. Resilience is an ongoing process. So to answer the question above, I was fortunate to have places to vent, and I had learned resiliency from other facets of my life. 

What actions can you take now?

As a practitioner it is important, no, it is your duty to protect yourself mentally from the stress of this job. Once you have broken mentally, it is far more difficult to be effective in your role as a medical professional. So to conclude part one, the lesson is learning to expel your experience. This is what a debriefing is for, however due to increased call volume and lack of resources I fear that they may not be able to happen as quickly as is needed. Find those people that you can talk to, not to judge the call, or judge the outcome, but to just get the details out of your system. 

As professionals we do our very best on every call and learning from each experience is vital to improving as a paramedic, but that is a different process than learning to go on after a bad call. You are beautiful souls that make the decision to do this as a career and your health matters. If you have no one to reach out to in your own practice, reach out to me, I will be your outlet. In the meantime, please like and share what you have read here, and take care of yourself and each other. 

Resiliency, What Is It? How Do We Get It?

 With the global pandemic slowing for a moment or two I wanted to get back into writing. I want to talk to you about resilience. Resilience is the ability to withstand the pressures of life and keep your head up. I used the GIF to show a samurai sword being made. This is one of the strongest weapons ever created by hand. 

    I want to spend the next few weeks talking about resilience, and how it applied to my life. Today I want to talk about what resilience is, and a very broad look at how it is developed in each of us. This does not just apply to first responders, but to all people that are making their way in this thing we call life.

    The bad news, resilience can only be built through challenges. Just like the samurai sword pictured above it is heated, folded, hammered, cooled, heated, folded, hammered and cooled over and over again. To my knowledge this occurs over two hundred times to forge the weapon. Once that weapon is forged, it is almost impossible to make it lose it's edge, and it will cut into concrete. This forging process is what makes it so strong and gives it the resiliency to last virtually forever. This is the type of resilience that we should strive for. 

    Now I am not saying you need to go out and get yourself a bunch of trauma so you can be forged and become hard as steel. In reality we have all faced challenges throughout our lives and have the recipe inside us. The goal is to take that recipe and increase our personal resilience. There is some work that you have to do to be able to face situations from a place of stength which we will go over bit by bit over the next couple of blogs. 

    Today I just wanted to give you the beginning of the formula that will help you build resilience in your own life. Quick disclaimer, I am not a doctor or a licensed expert in this field. I am someone that has built myself back up from a deeply broken place and have become resilient. Using my personal experiences and things that I did I will show you the path that I took. So without further adieu let me tell you the beginning of the formula for building your strength and improving your confidence and resilience. 

    True resilience comes from HEALING yourself from past trauma, current trauma and accepting yourself for who you are right now! Many people have heard the parable about the person who was stuck in a hole. As he sat there a person came by and he asked, "can you please help me?" The first person replied, "I have no rope or no ladder, but I will pray for you that you find a way out." With that they said a short prayer and continued on their way. A second person came by and said the same thing, but also added, "I will set a plate to get some money to buy a rope". A third person saw this person in the hole and without a thought they jumped in. The stuck person looked in shock, "what are you doing, now you are stuck here too?". The person replied, "I have been stuck here before and I know the way out, follow me!"

    I am the person, and I have jumped in the hole. With the pandemic, and increasing call volumes, isolation, long responses, job losses and terrible economic factors many of you are stuck in this place. I ask that you follow, share, like, and comment below and lets work together to get as many of you out of this place as we can! 

When That Call Happens

No one ever knows when it will happen. We can usually recognize that we are starting to have a problem, but we never know what will be the trigger that draws us into the darkness. Every one of us has a call that has stuck with us, most of us have several. Occupational stress injuries and PTSD have come to the forefront in Front Line Emergency Services over the past several years and I for one am truly glad that it did.

For years there was a mind set that we were required to be tougher than the average human. There was an expectation that regardless of what call was done, a Front Line Emergency Services person would "suck it up" and get back to work. There were calls to be done and there was no time to sit around and process the situation we were just in. When a Front Line practitioner does not get this opportunity the emotions that are felt on that call are pushed inside. They are buried with the thought, "I will deal with that later." This becomes problematic, because as the shift continues on, calls keep happening, there is paperwork to do, there are meetings to have, and there is education to be done. What did we do then, we continued to push it down and said to ourselves, "I will deal with this when I get home."

At the end of the shift, we head home, we are tired, we are carrying our day or night, and as we walk through that door we are greeted by those people or animals we love the most. We push those feelings deeper and concentrate on that time with our loved ones, before we go to bed. Once that day is finished and that call is buried deep inside we get up and we go to work the next day and as usual we are busy. So we sort of forget about it and think it is dealt with. This could not be further from the truth.

As this process repeats itself over and over again, the hole we push these feelings into fills up. For some it fills quickly, for some it takes many events, and many years to manifest. When it manifests though, it shows up slowly at first. Irritable behavior, maybe showing up late for work once in a while. Often people start to indulge a little too much, booze, smoking, gambling, yes even promiscuous behavior. These are warning signs that you need to pay attention to. These signs are almost like an early warning system to say, "hey friend, you need some help.."

If these signs are ignored, and the attitude of, "I'm fine, I don't need help." takes over, these signs become worse. The Front Line Emergency Services person starts to get more complaints, misses whole tours completely, lashes out at friends, and co-workers, lashes out at family members. These signs are a clear indication it's time to get help. This is the way it used to work which left so many people with deep scars that were never properly dealt with. I can assure you this had devastating results for some people, their families and their Emergency Services families.

Our new method of thinking, and practice, though slow in it's growing, is a vast improvement. Normally now Front Line Practitioners are given that time to decompress, even if it is busy. They are offered peer support from Critical Incident Stress Management teams, there are employee resources within every facet of Front Line Emergency response. This is to ensure people have access to better help and treatment after critical events. What does this do? It allows the practitioners to decompress, deal with their personal feelings, deal with each other's feelings and hopefully process the situation and allow the stress of the event to be greatly reduced. These resources will also  help to recognize early symptoms and allow the practitioner to get into the treatment they need.

If you are reading this and you are a Front Line Emergency Services Practitioner, Police, Fire or EMS, and you recognize any of these signs or symptoms please reach out. Reach out to a peer, a friend, a supervisor, reach out to me through my blog. The results of untreated Occupational stress injuries, or PTSD can be devastating. All of you are heroes, and you are all amazing, selfless and the world is a better place because of you. You are not indestructible though so please don't suffer in silence, you are NOT alone, we all have demons. Take the first step, and reach out for help. If you notice a colleague that is acting different, don't be afraid to approach them and just ask. Someone did that for me once, and it may have saved my life. Let's be safe out there, and watch out for one another. Please like and share this post if you found value!

What Is The Why?

What an incredibly long hiatus this has been. Feel like I haven't written in forever, and when a couple of people questioned why, it got me to thinking. The word why is a powerful word, and most of us take it for granted. This is the word that drives everything we do, and who we become.

Take a minute to let that sink in. The Why is what drives us forward. Without it we would literally sit still. Every day has a reason that we get out of bed, every shift has a reason we put on the uniform and every hobby has a reason we love it. It became very apparent to me in some recent training I attended that taught about de-escalating situations and disengaging dangerous situations.

While I sat through this training, I came to a realization, and it brought me back to why I put this uniform on in the first place almost 20 years ago. I was raised by wonderful parents who encouraged me to be the best me I could be(as corny as it sounds It is the truth). They also taught me to lend a hand to friends and strangers alike. They instilled a set of values in me that included helping others. Armed with this value system I heard a speaker in my young adult life who was greatly inspiring and also a former Paramedic in Ontario. This speaker spoke a lot about the impact Paramedics can have on a family. From that moment on the spark was lit and the rest is proverbial history.

Over the last several years the system under which we work has changed. Budget constraints, staffing shortages, long hours, long hospital waits, psychological ramifications of continually meeting people on the worst day of their lives just to name a few. The Why started to get lost and the focus changed, the focus became survival.

Just get through the shift, pray we don't get a late call, look out for ourselves, and when is pay day?

This isn't an exclusive problem to our service, it's an international pandemic that is causing paramedics to leave the industry at alarming rates. It is also causing severe psychological trauma and in several cases has caused self inflicted tragedy.

When I think about this it breaks my heart to see what I value as an incredibly noble career being ravaged by such problems. I do not claim to have answers but instead I thought I could bring people back. Try to shut out all of the noise, remember the camaraderie, remember the impact we have, remember the why that drove you.

The problems we face in EMS are not going away anytime soon. Bit by bit progress will be made, but it will take time. Only now have employers and the governments started to realize the toll this career has on us as individuals. If you or anyone you know is struggling, reach out to your friends, your loved ones, reach out to me if you need to. I will be there for any of you, as each of you is a brother or a sister to me and YOU are a part of my why.  For me, my why is the helping of others, families, patients, coworkers, strangers, anyone that I can help.

We are so much more than people realize, and that is something to be immensely proud of. Take the time to refocus on your why, look out for each other, and despite the system falling down around us, let's stick shoulder to shoulder and hold each other up. Please like and share this post with your friends and families!! 

EMS Culture, What Changes Us And Why?

As we move into 2017 I think about the way EMS was, and how it is today. I find myself wondering what has changed and why? Our culture has evolved. In some ways good and in some ways not so good. This career takes it's toll on all of us. It is an inevitable fact that the things we see have an impact on us, both physically and emotionally. I was recently in a training course that has been established to help front line first responders recognize and respond to psychological injuries within ourselves and our peers. This training is a valuable addition to our arsenal in self care.

My question, and this question was imposed to me recently,  is why is it inevitable? Why are we changed by this career? I only had the old school answer of well this is just how it is. When I began my career in EMS there was very little talk of psychological injury or mental health in first responders at all. Many first responders suffered silently, and alone for many years. Some of those people moved on into other fields, and some continued in EMS, untreated, and this untreated psychological injury has manifested in some to make them bitter practitioners that as a defense don't let people close or treat new staff and students disrespectfully. This was not their fault, and when we think about or meet these "grumpy ass medics" we should ask ourselves why are they this way. Is this a years long coping mechanism to protect them from some of the horrifying things they have seen? On the flip side of that some people had many great supports and took care of themselves when no one else would and are still happy and love doing what they do. Does that mean the person who is "grumpy" or suffering silently did something wrong or deserves to be treated differently? Absolutely not. The driving factor behind change is recognizing the way something was done is not necessarily the right way and that evolution is necessary.

When you continue to do things the way you always have, you will continue to get things you have always gotten. It is time for change in 2017, and it is time to understand that those people suffering from psychological injury are just that. They are injured, no different than a physical injury it's just that you can't see it. I have been more cognitive of this as of late and realized that it is important for us to acknowledge mental health awareness and not let the way we did things ruin it.

I was excited for this training that we had and I look forward to having more training down the road as the drive to end the stigma of mental illness in first responders continues to evolve. To all of those people involved in bringing forward these initiatives I want to salute you and thank you for your hard work. Change is slow, and is often resisted, but keep up the effort. If our methods don't change our profession won't evolve. This evolution in our profession is a giant step forward to creating longevity for all of the talented professionals who put their psychological and physical health on the line every day to protect the public at large.

Thank you for reading, hope you will like and share this article with your family and friends if you enjoyed it.

The Inspiration Of True Compassion

Yesterday I was inspired. I got to work with someone that I knew by name and reputation only. I listened intently as he spoke with one of the many vulnerable people within our city. There was something in his voice that went beyond the words that were being spoken. They came from a place that on occasion, we as Paramedics and EMT's forget about. I was in awe as he spoke quite directly, and plainly with our patient about their situation. This place that we sometimes close up and protect, so that we can protect ourselves, is called compassion, real, genuine compassion.

It goes beyond empathy, it goes deeper than just helping. Compassion is and was the driving factor that brought most of us into this business. Many of us, myself included, let that compassion slip away and it takes something special to remind us that helping people and compassion are the fundamental values of medicine. It is true that because of problems within the system and the tragedy we see we allow ourselves to become hard. We often let the people that abuse the system cause bitterness and then our compassion gets left out when we go to people that just need our help. This career changes us, and not always for the better.

I felt privileged to work with Dan yesterday and as I got to know him I learned another fact that increased my respect for him even greater. Many of you know this, but I had not put it together at this point. Dan is one of the founding members of The Sheepdog Lodge. The Sheepdog lodge is a not for profit organization that allows military veterans, as well as emergency first responders to come and stay there for free with their families. They offer a peer supported weekend away from everything that allows these people, suffering from PTSD, or other Occupational Stress Injuries, to focus on themselves, their family, and their recovery. This has been a tremendous undertaking. Dan and the other members of their steering committee have a true passion to help veterans and first responders recover from occupational stress and PTSD, and their role is an important one. A place that is safe, disconnected from the world. The lodge is heated by wood burning stove, there is no wifi, no television, and is your home for the 3 days you are there. Visit the website to learn more, and to offer help if you are able, http://www.sheepdoglodge.com.

Military veterans and emergency first responders choose to protect the public by offering their services, and in doing so are forced to see things that no person was ever meant to see. These events build up and take a toll on people mentally and physically. The Sheepdog Lodge is completely volunteer based, and the people are paired with a volunteer of the same discipline, someone that speaks the same language and can offer real support and understands their situation. Dan shared with me that The Lodge could use many more volunteers, his colleagues and himself offer up a short training program to help volunteers host families in the cabin for a weekend. The host is there to help, listen, cook and clean, while the person that is there focuses on why they are there. If you have a desire to help you can contact them through their website and they can help you from there.

The Sheepdog Lodge envisions a time when there is a nationwide community of veterans and first responders that are available to mentor and support other veterans and first responders. This statement copied directly from their website states it quite plainly. The vision for The Sheepdog Lodge is simple. Help each other to remain strong, healthy, compassionate and recover from the stresses that we face every day in our careers helping others. We help others because it is what we were built to do. The Sheepdog Lodge is finally a place that we can go when we are the ones that need help.

I would personally like to thank all of the staff and volunteers at the Sheepdog Lodge for their strong dedication to helping others. Please visit their site at The Sheepdog Lodge, read more about what they do there, and watch their story that appeared on CTV news  earlier this year. Please share this post with your friends and families to spread the word about the Lodge.

I Always Have Your Back, Except When.....

I know it's been a long time since I have written, so without adieu, here is today's post. An anecdote if you will. It was a warm shift that day, and my partner and I had been having a fun shift. No different than any other day. We had been doing some calls, and had had some down time. The day was a fairly typical shift and we didn't expect anything out of the ordinary.

The tones go off for a call to an older home in an older neighborhood for a lady in distress. The details were non specific and as we responded to the call it seemed like a normal type of call with no unusual expectations. As we arrived on scene the house was quite dark, and there was no light on on the outside. We approached the home and knocked on the door, a faint voice inside said to come in. As we opened the door we were greeted with no one. No one was in the foyer, but there was some piles of papers, and random junk. The house itself was not unkempt, just the entry way.

We called into the home to see where our patient was, and she stated she was upstairs, so I had asked if we needed to come up there or if she would come down to us. Immediately we got an uneasy feeling in the home when she insisted we stay down stairs. As we looked around the home was definitely older and had some unusual statues in it. There was nothing specifically odd about the home, but we had that uneasy feeling. As we patiently waited for our patient, she appeared after some time, crawling from one room across the floor towards another room... Now if you have ever seen the movie The Ring and remember the way the girl crawls out of the well...... Well that's what the patient looked like, crawling across the floor in a choppy almost animated state. The uneasy feeling intensified at this point, but we continued to wait at her request.

When she did finally allow us to come upstairs, we learned that she had an ankle injury and this is why she had been crawling. So we assisted her down the stairs and onto our stretcher, and made our way out to the ambulance. This is where things got weird. As we are assessing the patient and determining her history she looks me dead in the eye, and with the most serious voice I have heard, she says to me, "My sister is a satanist and I think she is trying to kill me!" To which my partner responded by slamming shut our tough book, and literally bolting straight out of the side of the ambulance, leaving me alone with this patient in the back. Now the humor to this story is of course my partners reaction to the patient's words. There was of course nothing to fear, it was just something that the patient needed help with.

When we got to the hospital and had dropped off our patient I had asked my partner, "what was with that reaction?" I was laughing when I asked him, and we both had a good laugh over his reaction. I know some people might read this, and not see the humor the same way I did,  but in our career it's little things like this that keep us going. The patient was cared for appropriately and brought to the hospital for the help she needed. I just had to laugh at my partners reaction to her words, and to this day it sticks in my mind as one of the more memorable calls in my career as a Paramedic.

EMS Credibility A Fragile Commodity

When paramedics arrive at the hospital with their patients and report to triage it's important to have our ducks lined up. The credibility of a paramedic is fragile when dealing with triage nurses and physicians in hospital. They often don't understand the conditions in which we work so it is vital that we are ready to give a solid triage report. When things go wrong on a call that's OK, that happens. This can sometimes look bad when we roll into the ED, which is why our credibility and out report is so important.

If things go wrong on a call, it's not a time to panic, it's just important to be organized in your report to triage. If we are running bush league and don't have that solid report, then we are presumed to be bush league. Don't forget our world is usually quick and dirty, they call us ditch doctors for a reason. To our nursing colleagues, it is important to remember that as practitioners we do our utmost best for our patients, just as you do. When you aren't there it is important to hear the story before you pass judgment.

In someone's home, or the back of an ambulance we potentially deal with poor lighting conditions, cramped spaces, and  limited help. These are not excuses, because this is also where we are specialists.  I once heard it said, 

"There will always be someone better at intubation than you, there always be someone better at IV's than you, there will always be some one better at assessments and differentials than you, BUT nobody can do it like you can with the wheels moving." 

This quote had always stuck with me, because it's true. We specialize in these environments and that is what sets our world apart from the world of the ER. To that end though, not every call goes perfectly. That in and of itself is not the end of the world. To maintain our credibility it is important to be honest when things go wrong, not make excuses, just be honest. Communication of what has went well and what has not gone well will go a long way to maintain the respect of your colleagues. Some might say our colleagues shouldn't judge our performance, and for the most part they don't. They do, however, know when we aren't honest with them. 

At the end of the day as paramedics and EMT's you work very hard for your patients, and the vast majority of the time you provide excellent care. That is why when a call goes sideways and your bringing them into the ER it's OK to tell them that call went poorly, these things happen  for various reasons. Your credibility will remain much higher with your colleagues if your straight up about what happened, and then as a larger team of professionals everything still gets taken care of! 

Let's continue to progress the profession and build relationships within our professional medical community. Doctors, Nurses, paramedics, RT'S, and the list goes on, all work hard to provide excellent care for our patients. Remember we are all a team and cohesiveness translates into effectiveness. 

Please like and share this post with your friends and loved ones!! Join the discussion and leave your comments below!! 

Through My Eyes

When I began my journey to become a paramedic in 1998 and stepped into a world much larger than myself, I had some misguided conceptions of what this job would be. As time has gone on I have seen the world through different eyes. When we come into this career we are all fresh and eager and feel like we are bullet proof ready to take on the world, save lives and run on water! The reality of this job hits pretty hard, and pretty fast. Not to say that the career is not worth it, because it is. There are just things that no amount of training can prepare you for.

When I was in school they told me I would see things. They told me I would see things that would stick with me, forever. During training they prepare you for the dead, they try to desensitize you to the ugly things you might see. The smells you might face. The horrible things that people will do to themselves or to others. They try to get us ready to handle the things that no one else should see. Through my eyes though, I was never prepared for the hurt, the pain, the turmoil or the agony I would see in the faces of families and loved ones of the people we were trying to help.






Those are the images that have stuck with me, and have burned themselves into my soul. Arriving at a home for a person who has just gone into cardiac arrest. The only words I hear as I approach the daughter doing CPR are the words of his wife, "He can't die, He is my life!" Uttered with such desperation that a lump forms in my throat as I kneel beside him to start treatment. The questions from a gentleman in a car accident asking about his young daughter whom I know is passed away, but now is not the time to tell him. The friends of a young girl asking about her condition. She was the one doing things right, wearing her seat belt, had a designated driver. Her life lost as a drunk driver smashed into their vehicle right where she was sitting. Their faces burned into my memory with the tears, and the pain they feel. The agonizing cry of a father who has just witnessed his daughter go into cardiac arrest. The sound rings in my ear even now as I write this. The training we receive is exceptional, the care we provide is second to none, and the people we help are truly the reward that make this career worth getting in the truck every day. These memories are the thing that I was unprepared for and I believe that sentiment is shared with many of my colleagues.

I don't tell you these things to discourage your career path, or even to invoke sympathy. I tell you these things so that you can prepare. Psychological safety and well being is a big deal in emergency services, and if you are not prepared for the things you will see, or the families of the people you are helping, it can take a toll on you. This glimpse into the world through my eyes is my way of trying to help you understand what we go through and also to prepare you as you enter this field. This is the most rewarding career I could have ever found for myself, and I truly love what I do. I encourage others that feel drawn to this career to pursue it. This career takes a little extra something as does any emergency service. Those people that find a passion for this career will be the people that continue to move it forward in a positive direction. They will continue to make pre hospital care a dynamic and ever evolving industry.

When you are doing your schooling take time to learn about work life balance. Find things to do that you love outside of this career. If this career becomes your whole focus you will lose appreciation for the beautiful things that are out there. My career went full circle and I am hoping that these anecdotes and stories can help prepare you for your journey. I hope you enjoyed the read, and encourage you to share it and like it so others can see it too.

Lights And Sirens. Riding The Line Between Safety And Patient Care.

What is the priority for Emergency Medical Services? Is it patient care, or is it rapid transport? This has become a hot button topic of late, and I want to try to address it, carefully. For many years Paramedics and EMT's have driven as they drive, with the only generalized label put on it was to be safe, and to drive as you feel comfortable. This was always considered to be quite vague. According to the highway traffic act an ambulance can contravene the act in a safe manner not exceeding 25 percent of the posted speed limit. No specific policies had been in place with many agencies, and unfortunately due to some unsafe driving practices, limited training and also due to other people not yielding to emergency vehicles, collisions happened, and people got hurt.






That last line is what is important.. People. GOT. HURT! This, in my opinion, is unacceptable. THIS flies directly in the face of what we do as a profession. I am not laying blame, that is not what this is about. This is about what exactly it is that we do. We are health care professionals. We conduct health care in a moving box, usually on bad roads, with unpredictable situations, and drivers. These are all things that need to be considered before we start to wonder how fast we can drive. It's not a matter of how fast CAN we drive, it boils down to how fast SHOULD we drive.

I'm not going to put numbers on things, we are professionals and at the end of the day we should make professional decisions. The reality is that there are now policies in place. Whether we agree or not is kind of irrelevant. I don't say that to be harsh, it is just the reality. As health care professionals it is important to refocus on what it is we do. We take care of the sick and injured, and we transport them to health care facilities. In these facilities there are many people who can start IV's better than you, many people who can read 12 leads better than you, and a few people who can intubate better than you, BUT NO ONE can do it like you can with the wheels moving. None of those skills,however, can be performed in the back of an over sized, over weight box at mach 1 on bad roads.

There needs to be a change in our mind set. We used to, many years ago, show up, throw people on a stretcher, and drive like hell to the hospital. That is not how we do things anymore. With the advancements of treatments that can be conducted in the field we have the opportunity to initiate many therapies and effect positive change in our patients prior to arriving at the ER. Does this mean that it's OK to drive slow? Of course not! We should still be diligent and ensure that scene times are minimized while treatments are maximized. When we are responding to a scene, it is important that we arrive as quickly and as safely as possible. Bare in mind that our role as Paramedics and EMT's is constantly evolving, and we need to evolve with that role. At the end of the day focus on what is important. What is it that's important? Your patient, and YOUR safety.

Reflections. How Leadership Affects The Streets

Poor morale and the degradation of paramedical services are a double edged sword that every individual should pay special attention to. It is a fact that paramedics and EMT's are good at adapting and overcoming a lot of adversity to ensure that patients receive excellent care. There comes, in time though, a negative feedback loop if the leadership of an industry becomes complacent and appears unsupportive of its staff. This is true in any industry but today we will focus on paramedicine. When leaders become disconnected from the street they can sometimes start to make decisions that in their eyes appear beneficial. This is not always the case, and if there is poor communication from the leadership it leaves the people on the street confused, and angry. This then causes a decrease in the general morale of the people on the floor. The people on the floor are the reason an EMS system works and degrading morale can directly affect their ability to do their job. It's the street staff that are going into people's homes to help them. The leadership team has a part to play in taking care of the business side of things, but if there is no back and forth communication and no acceptance of input from the people on the street the problems become worse.


The problem though is that the leadership are not the only people at fault. Sometimes street level staff are not the best at finding ways to communicate ideas to the upper management teams. I spoke the other day about how it is important to let ideas surface and find practical ways to implement them. That being said, it is evident sometimes that there is a complete disconnect from upper leadership and the street. When a leadership team has issues with implementing good ideas, and spend a lot of time arguing about things, and on occasion fail to get along themselves it will reflect directly to the street. The street level is a direct reflection of their leadership. We have all heard the phrase lead by example, and if the example being portrayed is disconnected, confrontational, and apathetic these attributes will show up at the street level as well. This is a known and studied fact. There is good news though!

There is room for improvement and fortunately it only takes one or two good leaders to at least affect positive change for morale. When a leader steps up and listens to the street level staff there can be a drastic increase in morale. When that happens there is a good chance that the staff will be able to let their good ideas surface. The people at the street level are the people that are going to give you the best ideas for improvement. Necessity is the mother of invention, and when someone sees something that can improve patient outcomes, or safety or any number of other things that person should be able to send that idea up the chain of command. When leadership teams can't even accept ideas from one another though, the staff becomes complacent, and reflects the actions of their leaders.

This double edged sword can freeze an industry in apathy, and complacency. When this happens, morale crumbles, leadership fails, and the industry can fall apart. Good communication is one of the biggest factors that can drive change within an industry. It is known that not all ideas can be implemented, but if ideas are at least heard, and discussed openly, that alone can boost morale. It can show that ideas are being considered. This will make a huge impact at the street level. Leadership is important, there is a vast difference between running an organization and leading one. At the street level it is important to remain positive and let good ideas surface and find the right channels of communication to implement or at least have good ideas looked at!

Positivism, Professionalism, Pride, Progress

How do we make change? The world of EMS can be a fast and progressive system as is being demonstrated in countries like Australia, and the UK. These advancements have provided for fewer ER visits, as well as progressive and improved patient care at home. Patient's are given different options, and care plans are made that can improve patient quality of life as well.

These advancements don't just happen. They happen because someone or a group of someones made a choice to advocate for patient's and advocate for improvements in the system. I'm not saying that a revolution is needed, but a resolution does need to be sought. The health care system needs help. We have overloaded ER's, full patient units, increasing EMS call volumes, and no money to increase resources at any level. So how do we make change?

The first thing that needs to change is our attitude. That's a hard thing to hear, but being negative about everything is not the way to change anything. A positive attitude goes a long way to at least improve your day to day mental health, and helps to keep your mind open to seeing ideas for improvement. When you start to see the ideas that could improve patient experience, or lower hospital overload it's important to write them down. New ideas don't get implemented if they never get suggested. That being said you can't just throw ideas at people and see change. Proper presentation is also vital. So how do we make change? In the picture above it's said in fairly plain English. A long time ago I recall hearing a phrase that said, be the change you want to see in others.

Taking pride in our profession and being positive at work and letting the ideas that could make real change come to the surface is a good first step. The next step is to find ways to show that these ideas will work. One of the best ways I have found to do that is to use On Line Medical Control. When you want to step out of the box, involving a doctor is a great way to do it. They will usually agree with a good idea and help you make it happen. These ideas are then documented, recorded and can be studied to ensure the outcomes are positive and beneficial, both to the patient, and to the system.

It is a fact that our system is going to continue to get busier, it is also a fact that we are not going to get a bigger budget. The other fact that some people might not agree with is that we don't need a bigger budget. What we need is YOU, your ideas, your thoughts, presented in a positive fashion. Thinking outside the box is OK, it just has to be done in the right way. We are the front line, we are the ones that have the opportunity to see potential changes that could be positive and beneficial. Let's think outside the box and involve our OLMC doctors and direct supervisors. Be diligent, be professional, and let's work together to bring progress to the paramedic profession.

The Importance Of Putting Ego Aside

It was a shift like any other shift. We were steady, calls were kind of run of the mill, the hospitals were backed up, and healthcare plodded on in it's broken state. I had brought a patient into the ED who was moderately injured and would need some diagnostic imaging to confirm or deny a possible head injury and other injuries. The patient was uncooperative and didn't want anything to do with EMS but agreed to accept a ride. The details are of less importance than what transpired in the emergency department. Upon giving my bed side report I was ostracized because I hadn't started an IV. This is something that occurs in our world far too often.

The constant ego battle between paramedics and nurses has been an ongoing concern and problem for years. It is something that has baffled me, and angered me for just as long as I have been in this industry. I have the utmost respect for every one of my healthcare colleagues and when I am ostracized for not getting one thing done, or criticized for varying reasons it affects me deeply. I know by far that I am not perfect at this career, as none of us are, but that is why we have a health care system that PRACTICES medicine. Medicine has never been perfect and we learn new things every day, and make advancements and change things based on evidence and common practice. This battle of ego's between nurses and medics is something that is archaic, out dated, and the evidence shows that it only causes tension, complaints and general bad feelings between the two groups. This is a detriment to patient care.

If we look at both professions and match up our similarities and our differences, together we are a mighty awesome team that can provide excellent care to any patient. Don't misread what I am saying, this is a small problem and definitely not the majority of the time. Although it happens enough to my self and many colleagues, both nurses and medics, as medics are guilty of doing it to nurses as well, that I felt it was something worth mentioning. Health care has to be a team approach, utilizing the skills of every person involved from the nursing aid to the neurosurgeon. Nurses, ED physicians, respiratory techs, Paramedics, lab techs, cardio techs, and every other discipline that works together to provide every patient with excellent care. Imagine if you will an ideal world where the medics have done everything they can in the short time, limited space and chaotic conditions. They arrive at the emergency department, and hand off care to the ED team and instead of focusing on the one or two things the medics didn't get a chance to finish before they got there the team acknowledges the work they completed, and continues the care from that point, all the way to the end of the patient's time in the hospital. This is how health care should be. Patient focused, let me say that again, patient focused.... Your ego is irrelevant, your skills, and your knowledge and your patient advocacy are vital, and are important. Communication about what is done and what isn't done is vital, and transferring care calmly, and efficiently is what is important.

Egos are dangerous friends, and it's time that nurses, and medics recognize that when we argue, or focus on the little imperfections of each other and act better than the other we are only hurting ourselves. As a team we are amazing together, we are a force to be reckoned with that make a huge impact on any situation. How do I know this? I know this because I have seen it, and the evidence shows that when we focus on the patient, the out come is always better.

As I said earlier, this is not the norm, but I believe that relationships between medics and nurses can and should be improved. Gentle ribbing of course is acceptable, but at the end of the day we have to recognize that our strength lies in the fact that our similarities give us synergy to enhance patient care, and our differences broaden the scope of care that we can provide. How is this ever a bad thing? It looks like a win win to me. The next time you are faced with a medic or a nurse that hasn't done everything that YOU deem is necessary think of this. You weren't with that patient five minutes ago, and their condition could be changing, also you have no idea what the situation was like before you arrived or before they arrived. Sometimes if things aren't done there is a reason, it may not seem like a good reason to you at the time, but instead of ostracizing them, focus on the patient and work together to enhance the patient's care. Put your ego aside, it only gets in the way. Ego gets in the way of intelligence and professionalism, and those are the two things the patient needs from you, be a team, work together, be part of the solution.

Public Relations, The Importance Of Shameless Self Promotion

Today I had the privilege of being involved in a public relations event for the Police department and for EMS. This was such an amazing event and every time I get to do one of these I remember the importance of shameless self promotion. When it comes to emergency services many people do not understand who we are or what we do. This is OK for the most part, but if we don't promote who we are, no one else will. We as Paramedics, and EMT's need to plug in to public relation events. I find these events also remind me why I got into this career in the first place.

Today I got to partner up with our City Police department as well as with the city public library. My self and one of my best friends and co workers went to a school today to meet with several grade 3 classes. This is not a new program and has been going on for several years. I have only participated a couple of times now, but it is becoming a regular thing when our schedules allow. Kids truly are our future. If we don't demonstrate and talk about what we do we won't have as many people in the future wanting to pursue this career. This would be tragic because, to me, this is one of the best careers that a person can do. Especially a person that has a burning desire to help people. Yes, as I have said in past posts, this job can take a toll on you emotionally and even physically, but it is still a noble and important profession. Public relation events are actually very good for the emotional aspect of what we do. I never laugh more than when I am with a group of kids, answering their questions, and hearing their stories of when they have had dealings with Paramedics and Police.

OK, so a little more about what we did today, because the day was a great time. We were involved in a program today called "It's A Crime, Not To Read." This program promotes reading, and at the same time promotes emergency services. It originally started with Police only but over the last several years EMS has been getting more involved. The fun starts the moment we arrive! The kids are always so excited to meet us, and talk to us, and ask us questions. We are in a stream of endless high fives, fist bumps, and smiling faces.

As we took our seats, and the Public Library representative introduced us the kids sat and were attentive and welcomed us to their classroom. We then listened as the two police officers read a story to the kids. The story was hilarious, and brought to life by these two amazing officers who had a great time reading it. Once their story was done, it was our turn. We were a little nervous following up such a great performance, but we gave it our all. The story we had was also very funny, and the kids received our antics just as warmly as they had received the police officers. Once everything was all said and done the kids were encouraged to ask us a few questions, and then they were allowed to come and speak to us. We spent several minutes at the end of it all signing autographs for the kids, and more high fives, fist bumps and genuine thank yous for coming to read to them! We laughed a lot with the kids, and had an overall amazing day! I encourage my fellow emergency services workers to embrace a few public relation events a year. They are usually easy to find, and help to rekindle that excitement that brought you into this industry in the first place. Who knows, one day, you might be the inspiration for someone to join us in this awesome career!

Unplugging In Our Digital Age, A Necessary Break

Unplugging  can be hard in this world where everything seems to be connected to everything else. I see a lot of posts on line that ask about unplugging. The only problem is that to be unplugged means you are disconnected from everything. Wait though, isn't that the point? In emergency services we are surrounded by media, radios, MDT's, cell phones and we are constantly being bombarded. We spend four days glued to these devices and then when we are on days off we are surrounded by tablets, TV's, super phones, GPS and more! This is not healthy. Unplugging is one of the most freeing and necessary things you should do. Unplugging is easy, though many people are too afraid to try it.

I think that some people in emergency services have recently started to learn that getting away from everything is healthy. It is exciting to be in this time in EMS, although there is a lot of darkness and storms still to weather. As the story goes though it is always darkest before the dawn. The media attention and public admissions of people under duress in our industry is ushering in changes that have been necessary for decades. This change will still take a long time as old ways of thinking take a long time to die, but the most unwise thoughts we can have is "we have always done it this way." In the meantime I encourage people every where to unplug.

Before my last post, I needed some time to reflect on my problem, and on the solution. The steps I will take to ensure I break this habit. The two days before I wrote my last post I decided it was time to unplug. I literally shut my phone off, and took time for me. I spent time with a good friend and went on a long hike. I also spent some time cooking and avoided television, especially the news. This time was for me and was important. It is also something I plan to embrace often. When we are surrounded by digital media and constantly bombarded our psyche takes a beating. We may not notice it as it is now just what we are used to. We are surrounded by it in every aspect of our lives.

I encourage you to take the time to shut off your computer, shut off your phone, and even shut off your television. Take time to be outside, enjoy nature, look at wildlife. It is one of the most therapeutic things you can do for yourself. When your mind is full of stressful situations, and some of the awful things we see in our career, clean air, blue skies, trees and nature are an almost certified treatment. Of course it is not always just that easy, but when things are getting you down it is a good stop gap that can cleanse your mind and help you regain perspective.

Perspective of our place in the world is vital to ensuring we continue to provide our best work in our career. We are not machines, and we are far from perfect. We strive to be, but at times we are not going to get there. It's important to take that pride in what we do, as our career can literally be life and death, but we can not let it define us. Those decisions that we make, right or wrong, will carry with us always. It's how it works. Gaining perspective will help us to realize that we don't have to be perfect. We strive to always be as perfect as we can, but dwelling on things that may or may not have made a difference will take a much deeper toll on your psyche than you think. It is time to unplug, and refocus your perspective on things. This allows for recovery, and for healing, which in turn makes us better practitioners.