Good morning Aysha
I just wanted to say how much I enjoyed your editorial this month titled ‘Like it or not you‘re a superhero’, and how it has helped me to process a very similar question that had been going round my mind for a number of weeks… Thank you very much.
I work as a paramedic for the North West Ambulance Service. The area I work in, East Cheshire, have recently started a staff newsletter where we are encouraged to contribute ideas, thoughts, suggestions etc. After reading your article, I have written my own views down for our newsletter. I have indeed been pondering a very similar question to yours since attending a major trauma incident a few months back.
My article was included in the June edition of our newsletter ‘All Together Great’ and I just wanted to share mine with you, as it was your brilliant article that prompted it
I have added it below and love to know what you think?
Thanks again for your hard work—it's much appreciated.
Deborah Beards
Paramedic, North West Ambulance Service, East Cheshire.
Are YOU a HERO? Published in the June edition of All Together Great Staff Newsletter, NWAS By Deborah Beards
Do you think you're a HERO for the job you do?
That was the question posed by the editor, Aysha Mendes, of the Journal of Paramedic Practice this month, and the one question I've been pondering too. The article puts us into three camps. Those of us who feel we are simply doing our job, those who appreciate being celebrated for their service and those who can't stand being called a hero. My initial response put me firmly in the first camp but honestly I would be just as happy in the third. Aysha's closing comment was ‘like it or not, you are superhero’. I didn't like it and that got me thinking as to why I struggle with this concept for our job and profession.
Maybe part of the problem I have with being seen as a superhero is the idea that putting on my green uniform and coming into work somehow turns me into an idealistic comic type character with special super saving powers!
I believe, if not careful, we can use the word all too lightly. The word hero may be small in itself but unpacked in its entirety has massive significance and rightly so. The dictionary definition of a hero is:
‘A person who is admired for their courage, outstanding achievements or noble qualities “war hero”.’ For me this definition doesn't do the word ‘hero’ justice, especially when used to describe someone as honourable as a ‘war hero’.
For me a hero is someone who is prepared to risk their own life for someone else (whether they lose their life or not), to which there have been many recent examples in the news. Obviously my definition of a hero does, like the dictionary definition, require courage. So what does courage mean, could this help me find a middle ground between the two words and maybe understand those of you in the second camp? The dictionary defines courage as: the ability to do something that frightens you: ‘bravery’.
Now this makes more sense to me!
Sitting in my ‘just doing my job’ camp and having worked for the ambulance service for 10 years, I absolutely can testify that certain jobs have put me right at the edge of my comfort zone and challenged me to feel fear but at the same time care for my patient regardless. I have had the absolute privilege of working alongside other colleagues who have shown courage and bravery in their work all to give the best care they can, often to a total stranger. When I think back to some of the major trauma jobs over the past 10 years that as a service we have dealt with, none more recent than the Manchester Arena bombing, and the courage and bravery shown by staff, I can't help but salute my fellow colleagues for their tireless devotion to helping others.
Those of you who read last month's All Together Great newsletter may remember the new Consultant Paramedic Commendation being mentioned. I was part of that team given the inaugural award. I admit it was a surprise but sat in my ‘just doing my job’ camp, I felt that anyone of you attending this job would have done the same as me.
A wise lady challenged my thinking when she said ‘but you don't know that?’ I believed I did.
However it was reading this in Aysha's editorial, that changed my viewpoint:
‘It is true that you are paid to do your job but only you can decide how well you‘re going to do that job, and how much heart you are willing or able to put into caring for your patients.’
Is this what sets us apart, is this what makes us superheroes, not the uniform, not the job itself, but the heart and soul we invest in our patients and in the care we give to them? Aysha carries on to say:
‘I'm of the belief that a certain amount of heart in your work will result in better care for your patients but also have tougher effects on you.’
As our roles become increasingly more demanding and the pressure on us to deliver the right care, at the right time, in the right place every time heightens, maybe now more than ever, those of us sat in the ‘just doing our job’ and ‘can't stand being called a hero’ camps need to learn to embrace our achievements and celebrate with our patients and fellow colleagues.
I can't say I can embrace the idea of being a superhero and would personally prefer to reserve the word hero for those who are prepared to lay down their own life for someone else (whether they lose their life or not). But could I spend some time in the ‘appreciate being celebrated for my service’ camp? Could I learn to accept and indeed celebrate those times when I/we are called upon to be courageous and brave… Absolutely.
What camp are you in? I would love to hear your thoughts.
Deborah Beards (deborah.beards@nwas.nhs.uk)