Dat Cao knows it sounds generic to say he became a paramedic because he likes helping people, but it’s the truth.
Mr Cao is Ambulance Victoria’s Werribee acting team manager, and celebrated the first International Paramedics Day on Friday, July 8.
“We get to meet different people every day, [they] can be the same but can also present differently,” he said.
“You can never stop learning in this job, when we work together with our colleagues, we assist each other to improve in our patient care..[we] have to keep on improving our skill sets to provide best patient care.”
Mr Cao believes it’s the “mundane cases” and not the sensationalised stories of traumatic incidents that have made the most impact on him.
“One of the cases I attended early on in my career, there was an elderly patient who lives alone independently and was in need to assistance of medical help from a medical episode,” he said.
The patient was distressed, because all of their family members lived oversees.
“I was able to reassure the patient by contacting their family members by phone and explaining that they were in our care and will be taken to right hospital for treatment,” Mr Cao said.
“The patient continuously thanked my partner and I and gave us a hug. As a paramedic, we are the first health care professional come into contact with the patient – we provide the initial care.”
Mr Cao said he hopes other paramedics are coping well with “high workload demand”.
“It is always best to be aware of your mental health and fatigue, have good support around you and never be afraid to seek help when in need.” he said.
