When Should I Start Building My Resume?

NOW!

    Each and everyone of us have undoubtedly come from differing backgrounds. Some are lucky enough to have come fresh out of a bachelor's program while some of us are fresh out of nothing! All kidding aside we all come from different walks of life which doesn't negate what our future employers will be looking for in our resume! We all hear different things. What are they actually looking for on a resume? I'm still wondering how my resume stands out from others, but it inevitably does!

    Patient Transfer. Wait, what? Do I really have to be a patient transfer attendant to be a paramedic one day? The easy answer is no, because I have seen people get hired straight out of college (with no work experience). That being said, those people are the lucky few! You want to put work and volunteer experience on your resume that makes you stand OUT! Patient transfer attendants need at least there EFR certificates to be hired or one semester complete of your paramedic program! You can start before you even go to school, if this is something you are considering! For me, the patient transfer job was really beneficial in a few different aspects.
     It introduced me to the different hospitals, ALL over! Yes, that's right. It doesn't matter if your company is based out of Kitchener, Niagara, London, or Owen Sound, you will be driving ALL over. You will be expected to communicate with many different people in various aspects of your job (e.g. nurses, doctors, receptionists, patients, co-workers, dispatchers, paramedics, police, and even people you'd never expect to have to communicate and reason with). One of my favourite stories that is all encompassing and reflects the many different elements of my job took place near the end of a very long shift. My partner and I were on our last call of the day (or so we were told). We arrived at the hospital and while I was finishing up some paperwork in the front of the truck my partner jumped out to get the stretcher ready. A few seconds later I was alerted to this man, who was a slightly bewildered, advising me that my partner needed me. "Of course he needs me", I'm thinking to myself, he can't get the stretcher out by himself! "Now!" the man yells at me! I jumped out the truck in time to see a man approximately 50ft. from the back of he truck collapsing in my partners arms. I rush over to both of them and total instinct hit me. There was blood every where, a security guard yelling at someone to move their vehicle, but somehow I was able to assess and find the problem quickly. Pinched the unfortunate mans brachial artery that was fully exposed and had significantly decreased in pulse output. I called out to the security to help my partner carry the man into the ER. Paramedics met us at the entrance as they were ready to go to the next call. ER nurses were all rushing around trying to get a bed. It was all a flurry of activity, but because of excellent communication between my partner and I, and everyone else we were able to get the man into a bed, where the ER team was able to take care of him, as quickly as possible.
   The patient transfer job also gives you the opportunity to learn the quickest routes between different nursing homes and hospitals, which is a huge benefit when starting your career as a paramedic. Yes, every truck is equipped with a GPS, but the familiarity you'll have with the area will put you and your partner at ease. It also provides you with the opportunity to handle some of the different equipment paramedics are required to use each and every day!

    Volunteer. Volunteering is something that I absolutely love doing and wish I had more time and resources to be involved in a lot more of the goings on in my community. Volunteering within your community shows prospective employers that you care about your community and this will go a long way! Volunteer whenever, however, in whatever capacity you are able to!
   Personally, I volunteered at every event possible with my school (ambassador, testing, events). I love every minute that I get to work with my school. I had such an amazing experience at OCHT and I want to pass on that positive experience to everyone! All of our instructors are active paramedics, so working with them all the time will only produce positive effects! I was also part of the Rotary Club (the one for college students :)) all throughout college. We put on different fundraising opportunities to raise money for the Ronald McDonald House (McMaster), had bottle drives, and brought awareness to our community. One of my favourite volunteer experiences was with Odyssey (which I am now an employee of). They are an event medical team of doctors, nurses, paramedics, and students of all the above fields. An incredible wealth of information and really cool people to work with! We provide support at concerts, races, sporting events, and functions.

Education. I took a few extra weekend courses to add to my resume. International Trauma Life Support (ITLS) is a weekend course offered in Toronto. It is an international standard that a lot of services hold to for trauma related calls. Some services require it, some will send you to the course after you're hired, and some will just add a few bonus marks to your score when they are deciding who to hire. CPI (Crisis Prevention Intervention) was another course I took. This was a course on intervention with physically aggressive patients. Again, some services require it, others will bring in any educator and do an in house training. There are a few other great courses to take, but anything to give you an added edge in comparison to your competition!

   
    Your experience will look a lot different than mine did! I wish I started building my resume earlier than I had, but can't go back and change the past, only can change my future and hopefully speak into a little of yours! Anything that shows you are a caring person and are interested in always learning will go a very long way when it comes down to it! Show you are a faithful, loyal, and committed person!

Looking forward to seeing each and everyone of you out there!

Which School is Right For You?

Finding the right college for you, as an individual, can be challenging, stressful, and rewarding all at the same time. There are a lot of factors that play into choosing YOUR college.

First, unless you're a super genius and/or have an incredible resume to begin with, you have a 0.05% chance of being accepted into the paramedic program at any community college (this is an estimate based on the 50 students that most colleges accept. This number is however variable due to the number of actual applicants!). Okay, take a deep breath! I am not saying this to try and deter you from applying or in any way attempting to squash your dreams. This is the hard reality of entering this competitive world. If becoming a paramedic is a passion and a dream, pursue it with everything you have! DO NOT let the statistics scare you away!

For me, returning to school for paramedicine was a crazy hard challenge, but SO worth it. As my previous post stated, becoming a paramedic was everything I ever wanted to do, but it was a journey. I have a lot of passions and I knew that I needed to explore different avenues before beginning my career. I will save the details of that chapter of my life for another post, IF YOU WANT TO READ IT (comment below)! After being away from the whole Biology and Chemistry world for over seven years, I knew that to get the grades I wanted I would need to take a refresher course. I looked into different options and found the Pre-Health option at Conestoga seemed to be the best option for me. My reasoning for this was if I were to take this certificate program through Conestoga, my chances of being accepted into their paramedic program would increase exponentially, which is true. What I was NOT told during all my questioning and research was that they would not take my grades from the Pre-health course as I would not be able to have my midterm marks submitted by February 1st. This was frustrating for me as I did not find this out until a week before the deadline for every community college in Ontario! Let's just say the week of midterms suddenly became a whole lot more stressful as I was calling around to different colleges and applying like crazy! When you're 25 and returning to school, TIME matters! My cousin (who is a supervisor with Niagara Emergency Services) recommended a private college. I was super hesitant at first, as I knew the reputation of a lot of the private college paramedic programs within hiring services is super low. However, upon further research and talking with different people I knew, within the paramedic services, I felt confident in sending my application into Ontario College of Health and Technology.

The month of March was crazy busy! It consisted of driving around to different colleges, taking their entrance exams, and getting all my paperwork together. I knew deep down that everything would work out, but leaving my full time job to come back to school was a huge deal and I needed to make sure I was doing everything right. Making hasty decisions just because you want something SO BAD, is never the right choice! Always make decisions your future self will thank!

I will never forget the day I drove down to Stoney Creek to meet with the dean of OCHT for my interview. I was so nervous! The interview went really well and I knew walking out of the school that day that I would 100% be coming back, KNOWING that I would have the support I needed to start this program! ALSO, I would be able to complete one semester early if chose OCHT over a community college. The cost and time commitment would prove to be the hardest challenge, but I wouldn't trade my education experience for anything!

I was approximately half way through my first semester at OCHT when the invites for all the other schools started to come in. However, I knew I had made the best choice for me! I am in no way trying to knock other schools, they might be right for you! For me, the small classroom environment was exactly what I needed. The instructors were always ready and willing to sit down with me and answer any questions or go over any theories I wanted to discuss/debate.

The paramedic program is intense. You need to find the school that is right for you, that will be able to give you the support that YOU need! You are allowed to be selective, this is the REST of your life you are planning! I guarantee you will have hard days, stressful weeks, months you will go without much social interaction, but believe me, your FUTURE self will thank you! #noregrets

Why Paramedicine?

Why start this blog? Honestly, for two reasons.

1.To answer the question everyone has been asking me "Why Paramedicine"
2. To help others in their own journey. As they strive to reach their own personal and career goals

As of now, I have just completed the provincial exam (A-EMCA) and anxiously awaiting the results! If any of you have written and are waiting, the days pass so slowly, but trust me once it's written there is no use in worrying about it, you just have to WAIT, PATIENTLY! Celebrate your accomplishments if you have made it this far and reward yourself! You have already made it so far!

Okay, lets back up a few years. At a very early age I remember sitting at the family table where my grandfather explained to us that he had just been diagnosed with lung cancer. I remember specifically the him telling us the doctors had no idea how long he had left with us, but thought he would have at least two years left. I remember leaving the table feeling helpless, but wanted to do everything I could to help my grandpa live longer. I wanted him around as I went through life. I spent a lot of time with my grandpa, trying to help out wherever I could. Six months later the granny suite my parents were adding to our house was completed and both my grandma and grandpa moved in. This was really exciting for me as I knew that I would be able to spend a lot more time with my grandpa. I went with him to almost all of his appointments and regular visits to the hospital to get the fluid drained from his lungs. Many, many memories were made with my grandpa in his very short six month stay with us. I remember coming home from my friends house one day and the fire truck was parked outside their door. I rushed over just in time as the Paramedics walked in. I don't remember their names, I don't remember what they looked like, but what they brought to the room I will never forget. They brought such a tranquility to the room and everyone turned to them for answers. The paramedics were even able to calm my anxious grandmother down! This was huge! The last thing I remember about my grandpa was the paramedics taking him out of the house and putting him in the back of the ambulance as he died three very short days later. However, the impact of this interaction with the paramedics would be life lasting!

It was then, at nine years of age, that I decided that one day I would be a paramedic. My journey was a long one back to my child-hood dream, but let me tell you, it was the RIGHT time! My dream to become a paramedic stems from my desire to help people, to be the best part of someones worst day, to be trained and equipped to bring relief when writhing in pain, or simply hold someones hand through their panic attack. This is what we as paramedics are trained to do. However, being a paramedic is not JUST a career, it is a CALLING. Some people become a paramedic for the benefits or the money, but it is so much more than that! I hope that as you read the next, MANY posts you will see my love for people, my love for medicine, and my love for finding the best care for every patient will be evident.

So, DEEP BREATH. Keep reading, If I've made it to this point in my journey SO CAN YOU! Don't give up! Keep studying, keeping pushing, keep on putting your best foot forward! You too will make it!