Culmination of Determination, Perspiration and Dedication

On Monday, a culmination of determination, perspiration, and dedication came together for me as I graduated from the Paramedic Program at the University of Cincinnati. I began my career in EMS in 2000 as an EMT-basic. I liked it so much that I decided to continue my education and become an EMT-intermediate. EMS became much more than a career choice for me; it became my passion. I worked as an intermediate, took and passed the didactic portion of the paramedic program in Illinois at the EMS Training & Research Development Institute prior to our relocation to the greater Cincinnati area in 2004. I was unable to complete my internship due to relocation and a series of medical procedures on my right leg.

I decided to apply to the University of Cincinnati at the beginning of 2006 and much to my delight, was accepted into the program. You may or may not know that Cincinnati is the birth place of EMS in America. Napoleon was the first to use a triage and EMS system in recorded world history. But I digress…to say the least, this paramedic program is among the best in the nation. I was, and am, honored to have been fortunate enough to receive my education there.

Graduating from the university's paramedic program only gained me a diploma for the program. It did not allow me to seek out and obtain the state license necessary to practice medicine. For that, I had to take the NREMT-Paramedic practical and written examinations. If you know anything at all about these tests, you know that they are extremely difficult. My friend in Illinois, who has been an instructor for two decades, had to take his test three times prior to passing. The questions are not based on finding one right answer. Instead three of your four choices may be good answers, but your task is to select the one that is the BEST answer. These questions are largely scenario based, and while the education system attempts to standardize to the best of their ability the approach to certain scenarios, the way you approach a scenario may not be exactly the way I do. Nevertheless, much to my wonderment, I did pass both the practical and the written.

My lead instructor, Anthony Kramer, is a very gifted instructor. He made the educational experience, as labor intensive as it was, interesting and fun. The practical experience he brought to the classroom was extraordinary. The man has been teaching in this program for over twenty years, is a practicing paramedic with a local agency and is also an RN.

During our graduation ceremony, Mr. Kramer decided to say a few words about each of us in our class. He described me as the IT person of the class. Moreover, he described me as obsessive. Imagine that! Me obsessive? I’ve been obsessing about his comments ever since he made them.

The basis for his comments revolved around what I considered to be ambition and a drive for excellence. When an assignment was due, I tried to do it better than the norm. The norm for our patient summary reports were to be handwritten. However, I thought it would be easier for him to read and grade them if I reproduced the form and was able to type each one out. I generally tried to arrive early to class, help set up and then stay late to help tear down. I wasn't content with just settling and so I would try to communicate with my instructors and try to be as professional as possible. Anyway, to make it short, my intention wasn’t to be annoying, it was to display my commitment to succeed and to demonstrate my desire to do it to the best of my ability. It’s not the first time I have been described as obsessive and I am sure it will not be the last, but it does bother me that it came across as annoying, because I really wanted it to be a reflection of my work ethic.

What’s next? Well I plan to apply to Western Carolina University for a Bachelor’s of Science degree in Emergency Medical Care program. I can do most all of it by distance learning and it’s a program recommended by a former Executive Director I worked for and respect. I am about the least academic person you’ll ever meet so I may be sixty by the time I graduate, but it’s for what I aspire.