NORTH BATTLEFORD — A day in the life of a North Battleford paramedic has its challenges, but it's all worth it to help people.
That's what WPD Ambulance paramedic Noel Stone says.
Originally from Mosquito Grizzly Bear's Head Lean Man First Nation, he has been working as a paramedic for a total of about 12 years.
"When you get in to become a paramedic, you're in it to help people," Stone said. "That's your whole goal. That's why you want to help and treat people. Whether it's their first day, their worst day, or their last day, you always have the intent to go and help."
Stone works a 12-hour shift, starting his day at 7 a.m. and finishing at 7 p.m. Then, another shift of workers comes in at 7 p.m. and works until 7 a.m.
"In that 12-hour shift, you do a unit check, where you check all your equipment, check all your medication, if everything is stocked up, make sure that everything is copacetic, ready to operate," he said. "Then you start doing your calls as they come in."
Stone said he might get a call for someone to be picked up in an ambulance.
"You do anywhere from chest pain calls to patients that are generally not feeling well," he said. "You'll also do calls from nursing homes to the hospital."
Some patients also need to be transported from Battlefords Union Hospital to Royal University Hospital in Saskatoon, for example.
In recent years, Stone has noticed an increase in population and more higher-acuity calls, adding to the challenges.
"The calls I did back in the '90s are not so much the calls we do now because there is more medication out there and there's more drugs out there that are recreational drugs that weren't used back then," he said. "Back when I first started, cocaine wasn't really a thing you heard of. It's cocaine now, and then you've got crystal meth and different routes, whether they smoke it, inject it. Those were the kind of things you didn't really see back when I started."
Stone said there are also challenges for paramedics dealing with the stresses of the day.
While some paramedics are more prone to get post-traumatic stress disorder from their work, Stone said people need to have outlets to try to get rid of their stress at the end of the day. He said a lot of a person's response is based on what they see that day.
"If you do a bad call, we have a team, members that will help, like critical incidents, stress debriefing, that will talk you down from a call, to talk to you about what you just did," Stone said. "If it was a traumatic call, we have teams on board we can talk to. There's avenues where you can go and speak with somebody to deal with the calls you deal with."
Stone said he still gets excited about coming to work every day. He loves his job.
"I find myself vibrant, getting excited to go to work every morning, excited when I leave work, excited to come back to work," he said. "I guess you've got to have a lot of spontaneity to work in this field. It keeps you young by all means. You're lifting stretchers, you're moving patients. It's not physically demanding but if you're in shape, it's a good job."
