I have been thinking a lot about determination since my last post. Willpower, purpose, intention…grit. So I am wondering…what am I determined about?
I am determined to not give in to the feelings I have about this job. I have truly enjoyed being a paramedic these 25+ years. Yes, there have been ups and downs. There are certainly some things, okay a lot of things, I prefer to not remember. Do you hate the question, “What’s the worst thing you’ve ever seen?” as much as I do? Nowadays, I just refuse to answer, politely but firmly. I do not need to relive those experiences. Once was enough.
Along with the stress of the job, I have had my share of personal issues as well. I still do not know how I managed to work my shift at night while taking care of my Mom during the day for over six years. All with only about three hours of sleep on my work days. (Thank God for slow nights!) How I managed to not kill my patients is beyond me. Not to mention, I was getting my bachelor and master degrees during this time too. Through it all, I was determined to do what I needed to do.
Today, I am determined to finish my Ph.D. I have an idea to do research on what motivates paramedics to do this job. Any ideas? For research purposes, I will have to look at things I can measure like personality traits, dimensions of resilience, coping skills, and such. It is an interesting project with a lot of potential to help medics stay on the job without suffering the debilitating effects of stress. It really doesn’t have to be that way. We just never learned how to handle it before we ran into it.
I am determined to do something to help my peers in EMS and first responders in other agencies. We started this at my agency with a peer support program. It still needs a little work, but it is a start. We need to know more about mental health and the effects of stress on our bodies and minds. We need to be able to recognize when problems start instead of waiting until we are overwhelmed by them.
There is a lot of great work already being done on this front. Code Green Campaign (https://codegreencampaign.org/) is a great effort to help all first responders by raising awareness and providing education. Safe Call Now (https://www.safecallnow.org/) is another excellent resource. They have a 24-hour hotline you can call when in distress: 206-459-3020.
While all of these focus on recognizing stress and providing support, I want to look primarily at 
prevention. I believe focusing on resilience and the things that help us to be strong and bounce back from adversity is a good way to start. I may not have as many supporters for this as I hope, but I am determined to keep trying.
What do you believe is important in keeping our medics and other first responders safe and sane?
Please share your thoughts in the “Leave a comment” below. Happy Thanksgiving!
November 24, 2016 © 2016 Resilient Medic