I Love My Job!

Like most people in the EMS field, I didn't get in to this for the money. Granted, I was 17 when I began my involvement with ambulances and the love affair has grown steadily since then. I'm 40 now and I can honestly say that I love my job, I love what I do.

A lot of us quickly realized that the money just isn't easy to find in EMS so we have second and / or third jobs to help make ends meet. A lot go on to other careers but stay in healthcare. Some go on to do something completely outside of our world. But the dedicated bunch of EMTs, Paramedics, and others that remain in the EMS world, destined to be wanting more money but loving their jobs so much that they dare not leave are still here.

EMS used to be my only job. It was my first career. I loved it then, I love it now. I'd say I'm a "seasoned veteran" who's seen a lot but not everything. I've done my fair share. I've worked all around the world. I've gotten to do things most would only dream about. Yet here I am, still part of a volunteer department and loving it.

When I moved out of state I left my first EMS position behind, the place that opened up so many future doors for me. I came back after a couple years because I felt I owed it pretty much everything. I don't do it for the money, I do it for dedication and pride. I'm proud of who I am and what I've become. No, not all of my decisions have been good ones but I've learned from my mistakes. Helping others is at the forefront of what I like doing. That has transcended from the EMS world in to whatever else I do as well.

My "other life," or my real job (the one that pays the bills) is as a safety consultant on construction sites. I walked in to doing safety when I was working offshore on oil and gas drilling rigs around the world. Safety and EMS out there pretty much go hand in hand; you do something unsafe and get hurt, you go see the medic. So I fit in perfectly doing both. It's worked well for me and here I am.

It seems as though the last couple sites I've been on have somehow been tied to healthcare. I've worked at a facility that makes medicines, some of which I've either taken as a patient or given to some of my patients. Then I began a project building a new hospital. Now I'm at a site where we're building a new tower for a children's hospital. It's always been frustrating because I've started a lot of projects but have never gotten to see the end. Safety is usually one of the first positions to be removed from a site due to budget constraints. So as my sites have been completed I've only gotten to see the finished product if I've gone back on my own.



 But with the hospital project it's a little different, a little unique, and it makes me smile. I spent two years on that site, seeing it go from a hole in the ground to a nearly finished facility, one that will specialize in cardiac care. I've gotten to know the hierarchy of the hospital very well. I know the building like the back of my hand. I hold a vested interest in it because I will be taking my cardiac patients there. It'll be a true definitive care facility for those patients I pick up.

What's special is that I will be working there as an employee in the ED. I even asked the manager if i could work the first shift that the facility is open. She told me that I've "earned it," and that it was mine. I beamed with excitement after hearing that. Finally I get to see a facility I worked on, helped build, and will be a future customer of. Now I get to be there and see how everything we all toiled on for so long will work.

As I wait for that one to open up and to begin working there I've been moved to another location. This time it's a more special place. One of those places that makes me tear up when I see certain reminders or hear certain catch phrases about the place. I'm at a children's hospital, building a new tower for kids who so desperately need to be here. This is one of those places that nobody wishes was needed but everyone is thankful that it is, just because of the special things that happen here,the miracles that happen daily, the lives that are saved because of the awesome people and care that the sick kids around here can receive. This is one of only 250 childrens' hospitals in the US. That's not too many if you stop and think about it. Only 250 facilities to take care of our sick and injured children, nieces, nephews, and grandkids.

I did an informal "Hank Poll" the other day and approached 42 people working here out of roughly 175. Every single one of them either knows or is related to someone who has had a child or relative treated here. I'm one of them. This facility is part of a large network and my youngest has been here a couple dozen times. Close friends of mine have had their kids here. People I work with have been here or had their kids here. And everyone has come out better and healthier.

I walk around here daily just smiling knowing that I'm part of building a new tower that will help children, help them heal and get better, be a comfortable inviting place for parents to bring their sick kids to be treated and hopefully back home very shortly after. I see the stuffed animals on the banister in the lobby and smile. I can remember #3 saying, "daddy, I want one of those!" and pointing to one of the big lions. I see kids being pulled around in red wooden wagons instead of wheelchairs. I see kids smiling in the family areas with IV poles next to them as they color in books with their parents. I see adults sharing french fries from McDonald's with their kids in the lounge areas outside the lobby by the cafeteria. I see and hear kids playing together upstairs in the patient rooms with their siblings.

I've called this building, "the best place in the world." I'm proud to be a part of it. I honestly hope I never have to bring one of my kids here ever again. I would like to see a place like this never be needed by anyone, but I'm damn happy that it is here in case it is needed by anyone, including me, to help sick and injured kids from not just here but anywhere in the world.

Places like this with me a small part of it, make me honestly say, "I love my job."