06/06/2026
Lessons from a former Paramedic that you can apply to your everyday life.
I was a Paramedic for 14 years and I believe that some of the lessons I learned can be passed on to others and applied to problem solving in every day life.
When people have to deal with something big and urgent our instinct is to attack the problem and "get it sorted", it's a hard urge to fight but responding quickly and instinctively often leads to poor outcomes and even making things worse. The reason for this is that we get tunnel vision to fix "the screamer" - the glaring, most visible problem often at the expense of the most critical problem which may not be immediately visible if you're not actively looking for it.
Paramedics are often tasked to jobs based on information provided by people who are extremely stressed/emotional, unqualified and inexperienced in dealing with emergencies - taking advice from such people (whether it be an emergency or opportunity) should always be treated with caution.
- for instance, if you're on social media and people are excitedly telling you about some investment opportunity or that some amazing deal on an amazing product is available for a short time only, it's worth considering whether the fans/experts know what they are talking about or is it their emotional response? In any case, if you get caught up in the hype, the chances are high that you may not see dangers, red flags or hidden problems and you ending up wearing the consequences.
We're used to seeing ambulances being driven at speed, on the wrong side of the road, through red lights etc but when the paramedics arrive on scene they walk! It seems counterintuitive and frankly disconcerting to most people because they feel that lives are hanging by a thread and precious time is being wasted. Paramedics are in fact responding as quickly as possible, the untrained eye just can't see it.
- When paramedics walk calm and look calm it is deliberate, they are steadying their minds, drawing on years of experience and clinical skills, working through a matrix of complex protocols and procedures, manifesting the "slow is smooth, smooth is fast" approach. This approach is the life saving version of "dotting the I's and crossing the T's".
The paramedics approach -
a) check your own pulse, take a breath, take your time - slow is smooth, smooth is fast,
b) treat the opinions of others with a degree of skepticism,
c) assess the entire situation for yourself - every trip hazard, every warning sign, look for danger everywhere,
d) don't always go straight to the screaming problem, make sure there isn't a quiet but even more critical problem that isn't immediately obvious that needs to be dealt with first.
e) give strong regard to any vague, nagging feelings that you should be doing a certain thing, this sensation often comes about from knowledge or previous experiences. Your “gut instinct” is often a vague prompt that arrives before your exact memory kicks in.
f) constantly re-evaluate the situation and get help when needed - dont be proud, work towards the best outcome and if you need more hands, more knowledge, more experience - make the call early, dont wait until things have gotten out of control.
g) the only job that requires a 100% pass mark is bomb disposal, do your best IN THE CIRCUMSTANCES, AT THE TIME, don't beat yourself up through hindsight - give yourself credit for everything you did correctly and be gentle on yourself about the things that you think you could have done better retrospectively given the benefit of time.
h) be wary of advice/feedback/criticism from people who weren't there. Opinions based on incomplete and second hand information should be written on toilet paper and used thusly.
If you think this advice is useful, feel free to share!
