My Mission? To Be There...

By Tammy Engel
NREMT-B, EMT Instructor
Chatfield, Minn., Ambulance Service

I was first exposed to the EMT way of life at the age of 13, when I helped both of my parents study to become EMTs for our local volunteer ambulance service. Now, here I am, 25 years later, having 14 years on the crew and over six years of teaching under my belt.

Recently, our service formed a group committed to inspiring and recruiting new volunteers. We came up with a wonderful promotion called “Be there…" The premise of the campaign is that if you’ve ever been in a situation, or seen an emergency, and wanted to help, you can join our service, get your training paid for, and become a volunteer.

It all sounds so simple, but we know it’s not. I know all about the time and energy that it takes to become an EMT. It’s not an easy job and we don’t often get shown any appreciation. You spend hours on end away from your family and friends, you lose sleep, you have to discipline yourself to study and get comfortable with new equipment and procedures — and that’s only to complete your training! You doubt your abilities and question your sanity each time you go to class.

And then you get handed a pager. The first time those tones go off, your heart races and panic truly sets in! Eventually, you reach the point that each of us has — that magic number of calls that you’ve responded to, when you suddenly realize that you are doing what needs to be done without question, without thinking, without doubt.

I have to say, that after that magical call where I became an active part of helping the patient, it made it all worth while. Yes, you still occasionally have your moments of “what in the world am I doing here?” but they are forgotten the moment you get your next page.

Your mind automatically kicks into gear — will my scene be safe, will I need additional help, what could be wrong with my patient, and what equipment will I need? Your training takes over and you are an EMT.

I am humbled by how many lives I am privileged enough to have touched, both directly and indirectly. I long ago lost count of the number of calls I’ve been on, the number of people I’ve helped whether on call or not — because you still find yourself helping even when not in uniform, and the number of students who have had to sit through my lectures and still gone on to become EMTs.

Each time I hear my scanner tone out a service with EMTs that I trained, it overwhelms me to realize that I have had a small part in helping so many more people than I’ll ever even know about. It makes me proud of what I do and who I am. It makes me eager to get to that next class, to take that next call, and to continue to volunteer.

It makes me thankful that I am able to do what I do. Rest assured, my mission is not yet complete; when you need help, I will be there.