Graduate ambulance paramedic Brooklyn Ash’s drive to become an Ambulance Victoria (AV) paramedic didn’t come from the fast-paced world of lights and sirens, but rather from witnessing paramedics in action.
When she was 15, Brooklyn and her mother were driving home along a dark freeway after a basketball game when they were involved in a traumatic road incident.
Although both escaped unharmed, Brooklyn witnessed a severely injured patient and immediately called triple-0.
Amid the whirlwind of the emergency response, what struck Brooklyn the most was the professionalism and care shown by the attending paramedics.
“I never wanted to be in a situation like that again and not know how to help. In that moment, I knew I wanted to be like those paramedics,” she said.
Brooklyn studied a bachelor of nursing and worked as an anaesthetic nurse for four years to help build her clinical knowledge and people skills.
However paramedicine was still her goal, and after completing more study, Brooklyn put on her AV uniform for the first time three months ago.
Brooklyn is based at Laverton and is part of the Medium Acuity Transport Service (MATS) team. Long-term, she has her sights set on becoming a Mobile Intensive Care Ambulance (MICA) paramedic.
“I love this job. I wear this uniform with such pride and feel like I contribute towards keeping my community safe,” Brooklyn said,
There are many aspects of being a paramedic that appeal to Brooklyn, but her favourite part comes from the small moments shared with patients.
“I really enjoy the small human moments that come from all jobs, like a neighbour who stays to translate or someone saying thank you at 3am because we were there when they needed us,” she said.
