Connecting in a fog of anonymity

Do you ever feel like some members of the public don't see past your ambulance or your uniform? Like they can't see the person that you are, just working hard to do your job and live your life? When I hear stories of rude notes being left on ambulances or of people working in emergency services being mistreated, my initial reaction is to feel appalled that they don't appreciate the work you're doing to save lives in every community despite what a tough job you have. Then I get to thinking how ridulous people can be, and whether they have managed to somehow disconnect from the fact that you are actual people behind those uniforms and in the ambulances flying by us with sirens blaring.

I too have been on the receiving end of such a feeling recently, noting the ease with which some people criticise the journal, the work we are doing, and my own efforts to do the best job I can here. We can appear to readers and social media followers to be a large faceless machine, without actual people behind it, and when I send personal messages responding genuinely to people's concerns, this is often met with surprise and sometimes a bashful apology for their harsh initial tone.