Sudbury welcomes 13 new paramedics at Nov. 26 council meeting

The City of Greater Sudbury has added 13 new paramedics to its ranks.

The new recruits were introduced to city council at its Nov. 26 meeting.

Kearson Pitawanakwat is one of the brand new paramedics who recently started working in Greater Sudbury. 

He says when he was younger, he had a positive encounter with paramedics that turned his day around.

"It was just inspiring to see them do that. So I kind of want to take that and maybe follow in their footsteps," he said. 

"Also, I have a lot of family in the health care field so it was nice to kind of just join the tradition," he added.

Pitawanakwat says his first shift as a paramedic was October 20. 

"Some days are busy so you really got to push on from the last call you did and you really got to start thinking about how you're going to handle this one," said Pitawanakwat.

He adds that it's also helpful to be an extra set of eyes for his partner who's driving to make sure the roads are safe as they head out on a call.

Pitawanakwat says what's important to him about being a paramedic is making a difference in somebody else's life and being the first set of hands to help someone.

Tammy Joyce is also a new paramedic recruit. She's been a volunteer firefighter for about five years at Fire Station 16 in Valley East. 

"I work closely with paramedics and career volunteer fire," she said.

Joyce says when she was taking her Emergency First Responder course, one of  her instructors suggested she pursue the year-long paramedic training program at Canadian Career College.

And the rest, as they say, is history.

Now that she is a paramedic, Joyce says it's been an amazing experience so far.

"It's very rewarding to be able to help someone when they're having maybe the worst day of their life," she said. 

Both Joyce and Pitawanakwat have advice for someone who is considering a career as a paramedic.

"Taking science classes like biology in high school really makes the process much easier going into the paramedic program at whatever college you've planned to go to," said Pitawanakwat.

Joyce adds that it's a good idea to talk to paramedics to get a better understanding of their roles.  

"We really are fortunate to have such amazing paramedics in the City of Greater Sudbury," she said.