Introductions Thread!
Welcome to the space on 7cups dedicated to help support individuals working in the emergency services or in a medical profession!
This includes (but is by no means limited to): Police, Fire and Rescue, Ambulance, Call Handlers, Dispatch, Search and Rescue, First Responders, Nurses, Doctors, Healthcare Support Workers, Air Ambulance, Porters, Carers, Coastguard, Humanitarian Workers…
Individuals in these professions deal with a unique mixture of stressors - including shift work, long hours, overtime, acutely stressful environments, danger, PTSD, negative public perception, witnessing death, verbal abuse, physical assaults, extreme societal expectations… the list goes on - fundamentally its hard to understand what it is like to work in these environments until you have experienced it first hand.
Please feel free to introduce yourself here! You can let us know a bit about yourself and what brings you to this part of the site. We want to get to know a bit about you so here is a place for you to get to share about you and to get to know others. If you are a bit stumped on what to write, here are some Icebreaker questions to help you get started!
How long have you been associated with an emergency or medical profession?
What is your favourite animal?
If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would you go?
Would you like to be added to a tag list for future posts?
Here are a few resources to have a look at if you are interested, add your own if you have any to share!
Mind Blue Light www.mind.org.uk/information-support/working-in-the-emergency-services/
The Ambulance Service Charity www.theasc.org.uk
The Fire Fighters Charity https://www.firefighterscharity.org.uk
ZDoggMD zdoggmd.com
Police Federation https://www.polfed.org/our-work/mental-health/
NAMI Law Enforcement https://www.nami.org/find-support/law-enforcement-officers
Police Charities UK https://policecharitiesuk.org
Hello,
I have been working as a nurse for one year. My favorite animal is a shark. I would like to visit Puerto Rico to see the wild horses on the beach. I am not really sure why I came here, maybe to get somethings off my shoulders I feel I can't really talk about with friends and family in my immediate circle. I love being a nurse, helping people is really all I want to do. I am introverted and I have noticed some of the nurses, especially the older ones are not very nice to me. I try to look past it but sometimes it makes me doubt myself. For the past year i have worked (starting a new job next week working in immediate care, at a good company) at a very hard rehab and ltc facility. There is a lot of bullying, no one really wants to help each other out, a lot of gossiping, and bringing people down between co workers. Trigger warning - a co worker took her life on the job related to bullying as well. I love taking care of people, I want to be a great nurse and help save lives. All of that though has me feeling like maybe I should reconsider being a nurse. There really isn't anything else I have wanted to do as much as this. I am hoping and thinking that this new place will have a better work environment between co workers. I suppose I am wondering if anyone else has dealt with things like that in the medical field and how to deal with bullying whether it's obvious bullying to your face or just small remarks people say to bring you down? Thaaaank you 🦈
@Sundara317 Hi, I experianced something similar.I had to switch to a unit where the people were nicer.Good luck in you new job. I hope that you ge a better group like I did.
@Sundara317
Dam it, maybe THEY should reconsider being nurses! Shouldn't it be all about helping people, not bringing them to the point of reconsider their life or even ending it?!
Welcome to 7cups @Sundara317 great to meet you!
Horses on the beach sounds awesome and I happen to quite like sharks myself... can't beat jaguars of course ;)
Nursing is a fantastic profession, though can be fraught with many challenges. Having a supportive network of collegues goes a long way towards helping deal with the work. To have not only unsupportive coworkers, but senior nurses bullying you and others must be so difficult! I hope your new job helps you find a more positive environment to work in and rekindle your passion for the job.
@Sundara317- As a retired "older" nurse it upsets me to hear ongoing issues of senior nurses "eating their young"- fortunately most of my career was with supportive staff and coworkers. Wouldn't have been able to stay if that hadnt been the case- the demands are too high otherwise. I hope you find your niche- the last place I worked we had nurses from other hospitals say they couldnt believe how friendly and supportive we were to each other. It should be that way EVERYWHERE.
@RicochetJaguar
How long have you been associated with an emergency or medical profession?
For me just under nine years.
What is your favourite animal?
Horse ooops Jaguar 
or does my butterfly count? 
If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would you go?
I would like to fly over the Grand Canyon in a hang glider
Would you like to be added to a tag list for future posts?
Yes please!
Listening .... One Step At A Time
@MistyMagic
Jaguar print butterflies come to mind... I wonder if they are a thing 
Nine years is a while! Have you always been in the same field?
I have been a part of the Emergency Community for 17+ years directly (grew up in an emergency family with my Father being a Fire Police and Fire Investigator when I was young, back before it was child abuse I spent a lot of hours in the vehicle parked out at fire and crash scenes in my dad's truck). I started as a volunteer firefighter and simultaneously went to work as a Tech in the Hospital. It didn't take long to realize that I would be staying a part of these communities and I just passed my 12 year mark as an EMT. I currently only work part time in EMS and full time for a Veteran organization known as the Vet Center. We offer readjustment counseling services for combat Veterans as well as Veterans of MST and their family members. I work 7 days a week which can sometimes get old but for the most part isn't bad because I love my jobs.
My favorite animal right now is by far my dog Ruger who keeps my life interesting and is always waiting at the door for me to come home.
Not really sure where I would go if I could go anywhere. Somewhere warm as I don't like the cold weather.
I think the hardest part of my work is going back and forth on hours. I primarily work nights on the weekends and days during the week so it makes having a normal sleep pattern really difficult.
@EMSFireChic1985 clarification because I realize at 0430 I wrote that a bit confusing. I have been a part of Emergency services in some capacity just over 17 years. The time with my father traveling riding along because we were in the vehicle was way before that dating back to when I was probably around 8-13. We had a game that has served me well over the year. My sister and I used to collect make, model, color and license plate numbers of vehicles that passed while we were sitting waiting for Dad and then whoever could quote the most back when Dad got back to the truck won.
@EMSFireChic1985 Welcome to our spot on 7cups!
It's so awesome you have had so much of your life with the Emergency Services in a few different capacities! Our shifts are generally hard work, but 7 days a week is a lot, especially switching between nights and days like that. The family spirit in the emergency services community has certainly drawn me in so I can understand how you are so caught by it!
Ruger sounds like such a great way to be welcomed home at the end of a long day 
@RicochetJaguar please add me to the list for future posts.
@RicochetJaguar
How long have you been associated with an emergency or medical profession?... I have been a Charge Nurse for 15 years this month~ I've worked in many areas and have seen many things~ I've worked in everything from Pediatrics to Geriactrics... My latest stint was working with a Quadriplegic for 4 years until they graduated school, and then I moved into Clinic work~
What is your favorite animal?.... Well... "MY DOG" of course! 
If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would you go?... ANYWHERE thats "TROPICAL"!~ (Water, Blue Skies, and Palm Trees all the way! 
Would you like to be added to a tag list for future posts? Yes please!
@PoliteOcean Welcome! Sounds like you have a lot of awesome experience, super glad to have you with us!
@RicochetJaguar
Hi Jaguar!
How long have you been associated with an emergency or medical profession?
Uh I started training when I was 14, but my 15th birthday happened before I was certified so I guess we'll go with almost 3 years as an EMT.
What is your favourite animal?
I really like dolphins which is weird because I'm an indecisive person so I usually don't have an answer for questions about favourites.
If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would you go?
I want to go to Australia.
Would you like to be added to a tag list for future posts?
Yes please!
@ilikecake22
Welcome! So great to see you here!
Thats a really young age to start being an EMT, is it something you do part time with school? Do you feel like its something you are going to want to keep doing into the future?
I would love to go to Australia it's the other side of the world to me! Sounds like it would be an amazing place to visit one day!
@RicochetJaguar
My hometown has a special program for younger kids to get training and be kind of like half a member of a crew (we can't go on specific calls) until they turn 16 then they become a full member. I don't know if I want to continue to do it, I'm still figuring out what I want to do. Australia is far from me too, but it could be worth it
@ilikecake22
That sounds so cool! Having introductory training programs like that must go a long way into letting you have a feel for the job before diving in full time. You must get to meet so many helpful people doing it! I have found EMS is a small world, and a little networking can go a long way.
I am sure there will be some teens visiting this forum space who would be really interested into looking into similar opportunities in their areas. I know in the UK teens and adults can join volunteer organisations like St John Ambulance or the Red Cross for first aid experience, though they tend to primarily do event cover.
@RicochetJaguar
How long have you been associated with an emergency or medical profession?
I have qualified as a doctor in 2010 and rotated, as is the usual practice in UK through various specialities including emergency medicine, ITU, anaesthetics, palliative care and paediatrics. I started my training in psychiatry in 2012 and finished in 2015 with a CCT in Child and Adolescent psychiatry. I now work across a variety of settings including forensics and outpatients.
What is your favourite animal?
I like bats. But the title of favourite will have to go to my border collie Shadow.
If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would you go?
Antarctica.
@Belis
Wow, your career path sounds really cool! I would love to work in all those different specialities, there is so much to learn from each of them! Psychiatry can be a really difficult field to work in in the UK from my experience, purely because of the lack of resources supporting the practice. Applying your skills to forensics sounds fascinating though!
I love border collies, you will have to give shadow an extra head pat from me
Welcome to our forum spot!
@Belis
I know this is late, but thank you for sharing ! :)
@RicochetJaguar
Former Physician/General Surgeon for 23 years.Paramedic for 9 years. Part time Paramedic. Fell in Feb of 2019 grabbing a patient out of an ambulance and slipped on ice, breaking my clavicle, dislocating my shoulder. Out for 11 months, last fri went back to emerg for a shift and realized I could not be a surgeon any longer and only a family medicine, decided to be a full time Paramedic. Only on part time at the moment though. working up to full
@Lexipedia2019 Hey Lexi, great to have you interested in our little community here! I can tell you are a wonderful listener with a lot of experience behind you. I am looking forward to seeing more of you in the chatrooms and hearing more of your stories!
@RicochetJaguar
Hey I'm Mherapai. Have been a paramedic for 10 years next month. I am from NB, Have many stories and experience to share, can't wait til we get this going. Nice to have our team. <3
@Mherapai1967 Welcome to our little community here! Its great having another listener with us, especially one with 10 years experience behind her! Looking forward to us working together to help support those who visit us here! 
@RicochetJaguar Thanks so much my dear! Glad to be here to share some experience!
@RicochetJaguar
Hi! I'm 17, almost 18, and have been participating as a volunteer first responder since I was 14 or 15 years old with local departments in my area. I plan on working in Search and Rescue as a K9 handler once I'm old enough (I'm already working on the process of being paired with a dog and assigned on a team). I have been heavily exposed to emergency services my whole life with a close teacher, my uncle, older cousins, my boyfriend and his parents all working in it.
Despite being so young, I've seen and done a lot, I'm often dismissed as inexperienced because of my age by others. Perhaps I haven't seen as much yet, but I know what I signed up for, I know the mental tolls and traumas that come with it. I've gone through all the trainings I can for now. I tend to work overnight shifts on my weekends and help out any other time I can to gain more experience. I'm mostly sent out on welfare calls, structure fires, and traffic accidents as of now.
My favorite animal is a red tailed hawk or perhaps a black wolf.
I'd love to visit the Grand Canyon and do some hiking.
Yes, please add me to the tag list. Thanks.
@AstronomySkies Awesome to see you here! I have always wanted to be a K9 handler! My SAR team doesn't have any dogs at the moment, but its something I have always been enthralled by! I understand it can be frustrating to be dismissed for being young, some of the best medics I know are also some of the youngest, experience and disposition go such long way regardless of age. It sounds like you are rapidly developing loads of very useful skills, thanks for joining us, I have added you to the taglist
@RicochetJaguar
Thanks so much! :) I'm happy to join this community.
@AstronomySkies Heyo!
I was a former CRO with my local Sheriff's Office and worked with DRT. We had some awesome MWDs and K9s that made our job way easier.
If you need any advice with the pipeline and selection/qualification phase please reach out!
Don't give up on your journey. You got this.