Hey, y’all! I interviewed CS Olivarez with the Austin Travis County EMS in today’s episode. We talked about her experiences and opinions on EMS. I hope you enjoy it!

Meet Paramedic Olivarez – Emergency Medicine Memoirs

This episode with CS Olivarez jumps into the importance of mental health while working a career in emergency medical services and how Austin provides excellent resources for their medics. She also talks about the positives of her job, such as the remarkable ability to transcend barriers like race, religion, and ethnicity when providing healthcare services.

First, CS Olivarez mentions that mental health is a huge factor in someone’s life when working in healthcare. Yet, it’s hard to talk to family members about gruesome calls if they don’t work in the medical field. So, many people tend to bottle it up and, in turn, experience mental disorders such as PTSD. But, Austin has resources and clinics specifically for emergency medicine professionals where they can talk to licensed therapists and individuals to help work out their feelings and emotions. This is an integral part of medicine, as while it might seem like the healthcare field is about treating sick people, the provider also needs to be healthy and in the right state of mind. With clinics like these, providers and medics have the opportunity to improve their mental health and provide their patients with the utmost care.

Next, she talks about the positive aspects of emergency medicine that the public may need to consider. When going to help and treat others, all barriers such as race, religion, and sexuality are dropped, and it just becomes human treating human. The medical aspect of emergency medicine is holistically human and drops all of the social constructs and construed ideologies we may have otherwise.

In the end, the field of emergency medical services has many different aspects that could leave professionals with mental disorders. Still, with proper treatment and attention to care, they could be alleviated. Similarly, emergency medicine is one of the few scenarios in life where all social constraints are dropped, and the only goal is to help save someone’s life.