Dylan Sutherland was always interested in learning how things work at a macro level, which is why he made the move to working as a medical communications officer.

Sutherland, who has been a paramedic for nearly a year and a half, has spent the last five months working in the EHS Medical Communications Centre.

“I always knew I wanted to come up here,” he said. “I came over here in paramedic school for a kind of shadow shift for a while, and my teacher always talked about it. It was interesting to see how things work on this side of things.”

As a communications officer, Sutherland and his colleagues do more than answer 911 medical emergency calls – care begins the moment that they come on the line.

They provide instructions on how to perform CPR or use an automated external defibrillator, perform a stroke diagnostic tool, and tell people how to give naloxone.

“And also things like how to stop bleeding or how to position the patient’s airway,” he said. “We provide the appropriate medical care patients need in their time of need.”

He quickly found that he has many of the skills needed to be successful in this job, and is learning something new every day.

“You definitely have to be able to react quickly to changing situations, but you also have to be able to talk to people,” he said. “That’s the big key, is being able to talk to people to figure what is going on, and just be able to adapt to situations as they come.”

Not knowing what the outcomes are is probably one of the hardest parts of the job for him.

“It’d be nice to have that closure to see if what you did before the arrival of the paramedics was effective,” he said.

However, that does happen occasionally, one of the most rewarding aspects for Sutherland.

“If someone was having a heart attack or stroke or a cardiac arrest, and weeks later you get to see them transferred back home, it’s great to see that care coming to a close,” he said. “So you know that you were their first step and you were a part in that cycle.”

While the job can be mentally challenging, Sutherland likes to stay active outside of work as a way to keep his mental health in check, developing a passion for golfing, skiing, hiking, and going to the gym.

In addition to helping patients, Sutherland and his colleagues are always mindful of working to keep paramedics safe, something which has taken on new importance during the COVID-19 pandemic.

It’s why it’s important that callers be completely truthful when describing their situation.

“Just let us know exactly what happened – just be honest,” Sutherland said. “We’re sending medics on the front lines, we have to try and keep them safe so they can go home to their families.”