It takes all types(Paragod)

The Paragod

Early in my career, I worked with a medic who taught me something I'll never forget—not because of what they did clinically, but because of how they treated people. 

This medic was smart. Really smart. They knew the protocols, the medicine, and how to run a call. If you had judged them strictly on their medical knowledge, you probably would have said they were an excellent paramedic.

The problem wasn't their knowledge. The problem was what they thought that knowledge made them. Somewhere along the way, confidence became arrogance. 

Their EMT partners were treated as though they didn't know anything. They weren't given opportunities to learn or grow because they were rarely allowed to do anything. If an EMT had an idea, it was often dismissed before it was even heard. Instead of teaching, they talked down to people. Instead of building confidence, they chipped away at it. 

Eventually, people stopped wanting to work with them. It wasn't because they weren't clinically capable. It was because no one wants to spend twelve hours feeling like they aren't good enough. That's a shame, because EMS is one of the few professions where learning never stops. Every call teaches you something. Every partner knows something you don't. Every EMT, paramedic, nurse, firefighter, and physician brings a different perspective to patient care. 

I've worked with EMTs who could calm a frightened patient better than any paramedic. I've worked with EMTs who caught things everyone else missed. I've worked with EMTs I'd gladly trust with my own family. 

A patch doesn't make someone important. A title doesn't make someone a leader. Leadership isn't about proving you're the smartest person on the truck. It's about making the people around you better. When your partner succeeds, the patient benefits. When your partner grows, the entire service gets stronger.

Medicine has a funny way of humbling all of us. Just when you think you've got it all figured out, a patient reminds you that you don't.

I've forgotten a lot of calls over the years. Still, I've never forgotten that medic, not because of their clinical skills, but because they unknowingly taught me the kind of paramedic I never wanted to become.

Your greatest legacy in EMS isn't the calls you ran. It's the people you helped become better.