Profile
Heather S
Curriculum Vitae
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Education:
left high school at 16, went to uni as a mature student at 26 and discovered that actually I wasn’t as thick as I thought.
I spent my first few years thinking I would be ‘found out’ as people like me didn’t go to Uni, but I ended up enjoying my studies so much I went on to do a Phd
I have since done further medical qualifications so I can work on the ambulances
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Qualifications:
BA Politics, PhD Political Science
for the ambulance service:
FREC 3, 4, and L3CERAD (blue lights driving); Mental Health; and currently doing an MSc Paramedic Science at NTU
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Work History:
I have had lots of different jobs, I worked in River Island, a pub, for the council. I was then a university lecturer for a few years. I left that job during the pandemic and am now veyr happily living my best life
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Current Job:
Emergency Care Assistant/Student paramedic
Heather S is a member of:
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About Me:
I live with my partner and son, I really really want a dog. I send pics to my partner of dogs that I meet at patients houses in the hope that one day he will believe I have actually bought one of them 🙂
I love Iron Maiden, Rammstein and Parkway Drive. I have a my chemical romance tattoo (among other things) and I got married by Elvis in Vegas a couple of years ago (on a big birthday, where we had gone mainly to see Iron Maiden)
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My Work:
I get to drive fast and be nice to people all day! and I get paid for it 🙂
[I am an emergency care assistant in the ambulance service and a student paramedic]
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My Typical Day:
haha, there is not a ‘typical’ day on shift, but the things that do regularly happen are:
I get up 2 hours before the start of shift; leave home for an hour drive in and to arrive half an hour early
lunchbreak is half way through the 12 hour shift (ish)
and 12 hour shifts always over run – with an hours drive home, I am often out of the house 16/17 hours a day for one shift
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my main aim in my working day is to make patients feel comfortable whatever is wrong with them, and however serious it is. I always want them to feel like they have been treated by a professional, but also, where I can, I try and ease the stress of having an ambulance out by making them laugh. I have the worst jokes of anyone I know 🙂
If I am on a 7-1900 shift, I get up at 5. I leave home at 530am and drive for about an hour to the ambulance base. At 630 we do our vehicle checks and leave base by 7am. Our first job will come through probably not long after we have signed on.
The thing that I also like is that you never know what kind of job you are going to get next. And despite all that we might see on the telly it isn’t lots of trauma jobs, but actually we do a lot of picking up elderly people – and that can be quite serious for them.
Depending on how many people that we take to hospital, and how long we have to queue to get in, we can do anything between 3 and 8 jobs in one day.
we have a half hour break for lunch – I always take lots of pop and food with me as you never know where you will be for lunch. but some of my crew mates eat sweets all day and Macdonalds for lunch ….(which i am not so keen on).
shifts NEVER finish on time, so the earliest I might finish on this shift would be 1930/2000. we have to then tidy the vehicle and submit paperwork for the day, so I would probably leave about 2015/2030. It takes me about an hour to get home, so home by 2130….shower, cuppa then bed 🙂
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Quick Fire Questions
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How would you describe yourself in 3 words?
metal loving para
Who is your favourite singer or band?
Rammstein, Iron Maiden, Parkway Drive, Green Day, MCR
What's your favourite food?
crisps.
What did you want to be after you left school?
i left school at 16 and just wanted to get a job and go to work. From the ages of about 8-24 I wanted to be in Iron Maiden. At 24 I got pregnant, so that was kind of off the table then. (Also, I couldn’t actually play an instrument!)
Were you ever in trouble at school?
always.
What's the best thing you've done in your career?
not for writing on here!
What or who inspired you to do your job?
my son’s ex girlfriend who is in the RAF, and the most amazing incredible person
If you weren't in healthcare, what job would you do?
work in a bookshop
Tell us a joke.
I would tell you one about chemistry, but it wouldn’t get a reaction
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