Ambulance Technician Interview

Front 1

How do you think you can help us achieve our 2020 vision with you in the position of Ambulance Technician?

Back 1

I spend a lot of my personal time volunteering for search and rescue organisations. I work with the coastguard and SARDA and hope if I get a position in this location I would be able to join the Mountain Rescue. Due to already working with these teams I would be interested in helping to create a stronger partnership between them. I have done several multi agency exercise with I think are good experiences for all involved and would look to help organise something like that here with the ambulance service if it is already in place.

Front 2

What do you see yourself doing in 5 years?

Back 2

I hope to be working with the ambulance service. However, failing that I plan to be continuing working with the mountain rescue and SARDA. Probably in this area because I have family here. I would continue my first aid training on my own and try to work with rescue medics, west coast EMS or the red cross.

Front 3

What would you do if a patient complained?

Back 3

If it was about me I would fine out what the issue is, try to be understanding of it and see if there is a way for it calmly to be solved. If it was someone else I would let them know about it and see if they need any help solving the issue.

Front 4

Give an example of where you have worked in a team to achieve a goal or objective?

Back 4

When I was training with the Coastguard we had a training exercise with involved 2 casualties in a garage. When we arrived on scene we split into two teams. Our casualty was uner the truck so we got them out and they had a major bleed and were not breathing. An ambulance was on the way so we stopped the bleed and started CPR. Once we were told the ambulance had arrived we were also told the garage door was not working to the only way out was up a few stairs and through 4 doors, 2 of which had tight corners and a long corridor to get the guy to the ambulance. We were still having to perform CPR and had to work as a team to make sure we had everything we needed on the stretcher and would be able to continue CPR along the way. I was on the head so was making the calls. We did it in 10 second steps. So like open a door through and down to continue CPR before moving on to the next step. It went smoothly and worked well as a team as we listen to who was calling the shots instead of talking over each other. We got the casualty on the ambulance and then got to continue CPR on there to see it on the machines.

Front 5

What are you career goals?/What motivates you?

Back 5

I find I am often motivated by self development. In enjoy going to training sessions and having a variety in my life which is why I enjoy volunteering for different services. I would like to continue developing my own skills so if I get ambulance technician I guess then next step is working towards being a paramedic.

Front 6

How do you manage your time and priorities.

Back 6

I am very good at filling my so are time up and for that to be successful I need to be able to manage my time. In my personal life I have a calender with everything in it on my phone and I always input my work Rota when it comes out so I can work around it. I prioritise in work and hobbies by know what is important and being adaptable to change. Say i was doing a kayaking expedition the priorities are to get from A to B keeping everyone safe. If someone was getting tired or something went wrong the priority changes to, find a safe place to stop. I feel I am able to manages these changes because I have already thoughts about them so it is not unexpected and I have another plan in my head.

Front 7

How do you deal with conflict?

Back 7

I listen carefully then respond calmly and try to be understanding of the situation. If there is something I can do to help calm down the situation by solving a problem I try to do that. I don't make any promises to the people and only tell them what I know or what will help. Often I find remaining calm and explaining clear can defuse the situation a bit.

Front 8

How has your work experience prepared you to work with a diverse population?

Back 8

When I worked at the outdoor centre Blackland farms we would always try to give everyone an equal opportunity. We had a real mix of people from school groups, corporate team building, birthday parties and disability groups. I was often chosen to run sessions with the local disability home that came by as I found out I was very good at being patient and adapting my sessions to suit them. I think diversitybus about giving people equal opportunities but not treating them equally. Often it was me who needed to change to suit the situation than just the action of offering the opportunity. With kids you often quickly had to learn their personality, which ones needed coaxing and who needed to be pushed further. It was simular with the people with disabilities, I had low functioning autistic adults who needed a more personal experience and you needed to work out what they did and didn't like. Some autistic people hate being touched and if you upset someone the reaction could be more servere because of their autism. I think a lot of people I worked withnhadnt had much personal experience with this and struggled with knowing how to act or react. 2 of my siblings have autism and another has borderline personality disorder so I think I had a bit of experience just from being brought up around it. My mum actually started a support group a for parents with kids with disabilities to a was brought up around going to this group on the weekend's to do crafts and oucnics andbthinfs so for me being in this sort of environment was completely normal. Which is why I think I find it easy to adapt because often with my brother I was subconsciously doing it all my life.

Front 9

What is your most significant achievement?

Back 9

I don't know that this is a typical achievement but once when I was out kayaking the weather turned bad and one of the girls was really struggling to turn her kayak back into the wind to come home. I went to help her and then the guide came and we thought it was probably best to tow her so Claire tired her and I wasn't to far away. Usually if your on a tow you will still paddle to keep upright but she was a bit scared and tired as the weatgervhad turned pretty quickly andbtakennitbout of her. Anyway she stopped paddling, got caught by a wave and capsized while still being towed. She was panicking so couldn't get her spray deck off, you usually just pull a tab and swim out. Anyway I had been paying attention because of her mood and shouted Claire to stop towing and then I did a hand of God rescue which is pulling the whole kayak and person the right way up. Which luckily she was a skinny we thing but it's was still difficult because ofbtge waves. Anyway after that I ranted next to her and Claire tiwed us both so she was more stable and I could calm her down by chatting to her. But I was pretty proud of myself for being around and paying attention and following all the typical steps well so the situation didn't get any worse.

Front 10

Give an example of when you have gone the extra mile for someone?

Back 10

A recent example was a few weeks ago a woman came into my work to tell me dhevwould be leaving her car in the carpark as it wouldn't start so her daughter was goingnto give her a lift home and come to get it another time. I offered to come out to jump start it for her. It ended up being one of those jobs that went on longer than necessary as we had to try move the car's close enough, then my jump leads were to short so I went to get the ones out the yard shed and finally got it started and I know it was only a small thing for me to do but saved her a lot of hassle. As she would have had to get someone to bring her back down and she would have needed a lot of help as she didn't even know how to open her bonnet. Anyway it made me feel like my good deed of the day was done. She actually sent me a wee card a couple of week later which was very unnecessary but sweet.

Front 11

Tell me about yourself.

Back 11

I grew up on the Isle of Arran with my 5 siblings. It was a great place to grow up and started my interest in being outdoors and in sailing and hiking. When i was 11 my parent took my family out of school for a year to go sailing across the Atlantic and round the Caribbean. This further developed my love for adventure, seeing other cultures and not being stuck working in an office. I left school in 5th year to go to college which gave me some needed independence and change that Arran wasn't offering. I did a year of a business HNC, which gave me some useful knowledge but wasn't something I was interested in pursuing. While in Edinburgh I did a few sailing courses and one mention a marine and coastal tourism degree in Fort William which sounded interesting. I work in an outdoor centre over the summer before starting uni.

I spent four years in Fort William, at uni studying, my course was very varied, I had business classes, environmental and conservation classes and got to participate in lots of outdoor activities and gain coaching qualifications. I work most of the time while studying, mainly bar work but I also worked on a wildlife tour boat and did some work experience as a kayak guide.

I join the coastguard up there, coached in pool sessions and travelled with friends to Canada, Madeira, Germany and Ireland.

I left Fort William in January as I had been interested in becoming an ambulance technician and thought I would have more opportunity to do courses that would help towards this goal being more central. Things didn't go quite to plan and I ended up at home with my parents but worked a couple of jobs, volunteered with the Coastguard and coached for the Arran Kayak club until I had the opportunity and means to leave again.

I moved to Troon to work in a Mariana for the summer as I have just been waiting for applications to come up for this position. In the mean time I started a human biology course, an advanced driving course and started towards getting my C1. I planned to transfer to the Coastguard, I continued with them for a while but Troon is between the Ardrossan and Aye teams and it was a bit far for the amount of training and call outs. I knew it was only for summer and hoped to get a job where I can be part of the mountain rescue next. And here I am.

Front 12

Why do you want to work as an ambulance technician?

Back 12

I have been working with the Coastguard and SARDA for a couple of years now and really enjoy being part of that. During my training I enjoyed the casualty care side of things a believe I have the right skill set to be good at the job. I enjoy the problem solving, adaptability and quick thinking involved on the job which I have developed through the Coastguard. I have seen paramedics at work and worked along side them both in real life and training. I like the idea that your often the first on scene of an emergency when someone is scared and hurt and that I could be the one to make a difference to the outcome, through medical treatment or just through talking to the patient and how the situation is handled. I have had friends and family injured and dying and I want to help people in those situations. Using my skills to make a terrible situation for them a little more bearable.

Front 13

Tell me about your ability to work under pressure?

Back 13

I work both with the Coastguard which can out a lot of pressure on you and do outdoor sports that can often mean you end up in situations where there can be stress and pressure. I will use an example of when I was training for the Coastguard and had to work as a team under a time limit to get a casualty out of a garage into an ambulance while performing CPR. I had started on the head but when put on a stretcher positions had moved around. However when moving the casualty the guy now at the head didn't step up so I just continued calling the shots to get him on the stretcher and out. The garage door was said to be broken so we had to mannouver along a narrow cortidorband 4 doors 2 with tight turns while giving effective CPR. everything was done to my count of continuing CPR while people moved to open the door or move obstacle then 10 second move before back down on the ground to do CPR and so on. It made a difference having one person to be listened to so that everyone had a job and we got on with it and worked very effectively.

Front 14

How do you feel about Death?

Back 14

I believe it happens to everyone and my job in Coastguard or Ambulance tech or mountain rescue, whatever team I am working with is to slow the process, help where I can and when I can. And if there isn't much I can do is to help make it as comfortable and dignignified as possible.

Front 15

How do you feel about seeing someone in pain?

Back 15

I want to help. Anytime something has happened around me like a woman collapsing from low blood sugar, coming across a woman with a broken arm while cycling, a woman having an epileptic fit, a drunk man falling and hitting his head, a drunk man sitting with no clothes on shivering and puking, friend passing out from being to drunk. I try not to judge and just help them, whether is it something I can do like letting the eplpiletic woman lie down and getting her a taxi or just calling the police or Ambulance and waiting with that person. I don't walk by someone just because they are drunk and maybe got themselves into the situation. I still try to help.

Front 16

How would you handle a situation where someone made racist, sexist, homophobic or otherwise discriminating comment?

Back 16

Call them out on it. Defend the person being discriminated and tell my employer if it is serious and happens repeatedly.

Front 17

Tell me about a time when you had to handle a difficult situation with a co/worker or between 2 members of a team?

Back 17

When I was working at the outdoor centre there was a girl who had been out the night before work and came back early in the morning just before work and was obviously still drunk and high. She just continued getting ready for work. Myself and some other suggested maybe she should just call in sick but she was worried about doing it again from going out. She had an an sailing session she was meant to be running but I was comfortable which her doing it and had given her the opportunity to tell someone so I went and spoke to one of the manager's about it to make them aware of the situation. Turns out I wasn't the only person to let them know that morning anyway. She ended up being suspended pending investigation and was fired in the end. But I don't regret telling on her because at the end of the day she had multiple children's lives onnthe end of a rope and she was in no state to have that responsibility.

Front 18

Tell me about a time when you have challenged someone's behaviour who was inappropriate?

Back 18

Becca-trying to work drunk

Ollie-making discriminatory comments

Stevie-turning up incredibly stoned

My boss at Four Season-leaving me on breakfast for 50 alone

Front 19

Why do you think it is important to address diversity and equality issues in this job and what are some of the ways you might do this?

Back 19

I guess by learning about different cultures, religions and ways of life can help to give you a better understanding and through that address diversity. It is about understanding people difference to know what to do in a situation. I feel this can be even more important in this position as you are entering people's homes. This can be quite a space invading experience and if on top of that they don't respect or understand your differences it can probably make the patient and family quite uncomfortable.

Front 20

What does it mean to have commitment to diversity? How have you demonstrated that and how would you see yourself demonstrating it here?

Back 20

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Front 21

How would you describe your current thinking about diversity and how do you're thinking has changed?

Back 21

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Front 22

In what way do you think diversity is important in the role of ambulance technician?

Back 22

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