The reality of working as a paramedic in Canberra

Other workplaces like to joke that they’re “not saving lives” on a daily basis.

But for Debbie and Xain, that’s exactly what they do. As paramedics for the ACT Ambulance Service, no two days are ever the same for the pair, whose shifts can encompass incidents ranging from life-threatening injuries to mental health crises, and elderly folk who have had a fall and can’t get up.

For Xain, a previous career in the Australian military informed his move into paramedicine.

“I was looking for a career with purpose, direction and community service,” he explains. “I love the team environment—I love that every day you’re working with either a small team or in a big team across ambulance, police, fire, SES and community mental health—and the fact that every day is different.”

Debbie says she’d always dreamed of working in her current career.

“I suppose it’s the sort of job where everything is different every day. I think people are drawn to the career because they want to help people.”

“Like every job there are good days and bad days, but I really enjoy my job. I like the team aspect—that you’re always around different people—and I like that you have to be on your game the whole time. You just don’t know what’s next.”

Naturally, however, a ‘bad day’ for a paramedic is worse than most.

Earlier this year, Debbie and Xain attended an early morning callout for a patient in distress. After transferring the patient to the stretcher, Debbie went to secure the guard rails to safely transport the patient to the ambulance. In response, the patient punched her in the side of the head.

Having been a paramedic for seven years, Debbie says she has developed a “pretty good sixth sense” about patients and how they will react to the arrival of paramedics, however in this incident, she was caught completely off guard.

“It was so unexpected and that’s the part that’s shaken me the most. Our situational awareness is so high, and I just didn’t pick this. Sometimes a patient is resisting, and you get accidentally kicked or punched but…this felt very intentional.”

Debbie’s voice breaks as she recounts the incident. It’s still a raw memory for her.

“Sometimes you think ‘Is this just part of the job’?’ but it shouldn’t be.”

After the assault, processes kicked in immediately to make sure Debbie was supported in her physical and mental recovery. She says she felt bolstered and well-supported by her team, but says the assault had other impacts too.

By the time Debbie and Xain finished the job, had Debbie checked out at the hospital and completed the necessary reporting, it was the end of their shift.

“That’s another side of it—the fact that this happened meant it stopped us from being able to respond to someone else.”

Xain says he too didn’t expect the assault from this particular patient, and says he feels “overwhelming guilt and frustration” about the incident.

“To be caught off guard and as a result your partner getting assaulted, I was gutted.”

“It’s pretty foul. You walk away from shifts like that with this pit in your stomach thinking ‘Is this a normal day of work for me? Really?’.”

“People have an expectation of us that is not always realistic,” explains Debbie. “When it comes to occupational violence, people think that as an industry, we should ‘take’ a certain level of verbal abuse…but we shouldn’t have to tolerate any of that.”

“You get torn between trying to help people who have requested your services and protecting your colleagues.”

“We’re just normal people and these things affect us just like they would with anyone else. I know we sign up for a job and can see some terrible things, but that’s different to being treated that way.”

For Xain, it’s as simple as flipping the situation to realise how absurd these kinds of expectations are.

“Should we accept the expectation that assault is just partand parcel of the job? Imagine turning up to your quintessential public service job at the Tax Office and being like ‘Oh well, I might get punched in the head today but that’s part of work’.”

As for how the public can support paramedics to do their job, Xain says it’s about being aware of the situation.

“Just give us some space,” he says. “It’s hard for us to work when people are closing in on us, yelling at us or even trying to talk at us while we’re trying to assess and ask the patient questions. It makes everything so much more difficult to manage both bystanders and patient. A bit of space is all we need to get anything done.”

Luckily, Debbie says there are more positive interactions than negative in the job and that the core principle of helping people that got her interested in the role still rings true.

“There are awesome patients who are so lovely and genuinely grateful for your help. That makes you feel great about your job—it’s the reason we’re doing this job. People don’t have to sing our praises, but they’re the people we do the job for.”

When asked what advice they’d give to someone considering a job as a paramedic, Debbie and Xain don’t hesitate. “Do it,” they both say, without skipping a beat.

“I couldn’t recommend it enough,” says Debbie. “Every job has its ups and downs, and this is no different, but it’s a great job.”

“It’s like any job,” adds Xain. “Sometimes you’ll leave feeling frustrated, but many jobs you’ll leave feeling like ‘Wow, I have made a tangible difference in that person’s day.”

“It’s not always a ‘lifesaving’ thing either. Sometimes it’s just pointing someone in the right direction or getting Nanna up off the floor and making her a cup of tea. There are some jobs that make you push aside the frustration and say, ‘That’s definitely worth it’.”

Find out more about how you can help make Canberra’s workplaces free from aggression and violence.

ACT Government employees featured in these articles have volunteered their stories to raise awareness around occupational violence and the impact this has on them and the Canberra workforce.