Describe your role in a few sentences.

We answer emergency calls and coordinate ambulances for one-third of Saskatchewan. We give instructions to help the patient until the ambulance arrives. It's all about finding the calm in the chaos.

What is the hardest part of your job?

Each shift, day, month might not seem that busy or that stressful but the toll it takes on your mental health and your body can be overwhelming after a while. It's important to be aware of that and take whatever steps and precautions you can to prevent becoming burnt out.

What is the most rewarding part of your job?

Knowing that you made a difference to someone today.

How do you keep your mental health in check?

I take mental health breaks often. Whether this means throughout my shifts, when call volume allows, or on my own time. I go floating every month or two and spend time with my family. My mental health dictates my regular health and my ability to function overall. I'm such an advocate for people to be open about their mental health and seek out what works for them.

Tell us something interesting about you.

I play the violin (just learning this year) and the trumpet.

What qualities does it take to succeed in your role?

Confidence, time management and critical thinking skills.

How do you see your role evolving in the future? What would you like to see happen?

With more technology there will be new features to our systems, ways to track callers, ways to contact callers and units. Our CAD and programs are ever evolving. It’s an exciting time to be in emergency services.

Pandemic Experience

How has the pandemic affected you professionally and personally?

Personally, a complete change in my usual routine ― from where and how I shop to where and how I socialize.

Professionally, the attention to detail and the changing protocols. Each day is a new day with different questions to ask and different procedures to follow. We have to be very attentive to detail.

What has been the biggest challenge it has caused you?

The isolation from family and friends.

What is one positive thing that has happened for you during the pandemic?

Reconnected with myself. I've also started learning violin.

What’s the biggest lesson you’ve learned through the pandemic?

Patience. We really do have time.

What changes have you seen in your role as the result of the pandemic?

During the pandemic our role as telecommunicators has shifted to the coordination side of things. Not all we do is reactive to an emergency. We also do a lot of planning and coordination of ambulances to cover service areas and transport patients throughout the province.

What has the pandemic taught you about yourself?

That I am more resilient than I thought. I'm also a lot more extroverted than I thought.