A Day in the Life of a Field Medic

I have worked for IPS for a total of over 10 years in various capacities. At the start of my time with IPS, I was waiting to write my EMT exam with the province, so I began work as an EMR doing drilling rig stand by. Throughout the years, my role with the company has changed but all this time later, I am still actively involved with the company as it continues to evolve. I have not always worked as a field employee. I was given the opportunity to be involved with the corporate functions both in the Calgary office as well as in the field. Today, as an ALS Paramedic, I am an area supervisor for a heavy oil site in Northern Alberta.

In addition to my work with IPS, I have also continually worked as a municipal Paramedic. Combining both types of work has allowed me to stay on top of current EMS trends and maintaining my skills while enjoying the benefits of working as an industrial medic.

The nice thing about industrial medical standby is the variance in schedules from time to time. I have worked 2 weeks on / 1 week off, 3 weeks on / 1 week off but my favourite is definitely 2 weeks on / 2 weeks off. This gives me lots of time back at home to make up for the time spent away from family for work. There have been times when a single job requires your commitment from start to finish. These jobs can last from as little as a week to several. The nice thing about these is that there is a start and an end in sight, so if you just want to pick up some extra work these are a good option. I have also worked jobs that have only lasted a day or two at a time, usually Fracturing jobs. Because the industry is so busy, it is often not a problem to pick up a few extra days on jobs like these through IPS.

Since high school, I had decided becoming a Paramedic was an important life goal to achieve. I think, as medics, we all enter into this profession to help people in need. I am also very active in mountain sports and I remember thinking of how important it would be to have a solid knowledge base in emergency medicine should I require it in the back country. I am happy with my decision to continue all the way up the ladder to obtain my ALS Paramedic and look forward to a lot more years in the field.

I didn’t have any previous back ground as an industrial medic before joining IPS. I was fresh out of school and working industrial seemed like a great way to pay off student loans and get started in my EMS career.

Lately I have been working on a large heavy oil site in north Alberta. This location has all aspects of exploration and production from building roads and leases with seismic exploration to drilling, well servicing, pipelines and processing. There is a very large number of workers at this site and others like it, therefore our days are filled with patient contacts and managing our resources for the project.

In the past I have worked on stand alone drilling or servicing sites where there is just one rig and its support crew. Beyond working out of camps, there are also lots of jobs that you commute from town every day. Although you spend more time during the day working when you include driving, it is a refreshing change to be back in town and eat what you want and have the freedom to explore the town on your time off.

Living in northern work camps can be both rewarding and challenging at times. Working in a small camp, you get very close with the other workers and strong friendships can be built. Generally the work sites like to see the same medics back time and time again and when this happens it alleviates always having to learn a new group of people due to travelling from site to site. In the larger camps, generally there are other medics and members of the safety department working. Generally you will associate with these people first, but as you get to know others; it doesn’t take long till it feels "like home".

Regarding camp conditions, they are all different from site to site but these days there seems to be an emphasis on comfort and providing recreational opportunities for the staff working on site. Even the small camps have entertainment and recreation rooms which usually include satellite TV, pool table and fitness equipment. Some of the larger sites I have seen have recreation facilities that would rival a YMCA, including hockey rink and archery range. The key to being happy in camp is asking a few questions before you are dispatched to a location. This way you know if you should pack your running shoes, get a phone card or consider any other amenities that will help make your time more enjoyable.

On the job I currently work on there is not as much down time as on single drilling rig jobs. With paperwork and logistics, it is possible to stay busy for at least the first half of the day. On the small sites, it is usually expected that the medic attends the shift change meetings in the morning and evening. For the rest of the day, you must be on call but have lots of time to yourself.

Regardless of what location I am on, I generally try to maintain my fitness and spend as much time in the gym as I can. I have heard of other medics playing video games, reading, and correspondence school among many other tasks to help pass the time. It is up to each individual to find something to pass the time. Extrapolate on any past times you enjoy and go up to site prepared.

It doesn’t bother me at all. It is important to note that although major incidents do not occur on a regular basis, when they do, there is a lot to think about regarding scene safety and access, medical treatment and transport to the hospital. With time and experience, medics should learn the area they are working in and be prepared for any emergency that might come their way. In the middle of nowhere, there is hardly ever a routine call for a full scale emergency due to all the variables on location.

However there are lots of jobs that you will be on location with several other IPS staff members. Some sites have Nurses, Paramedics and EMT’s all working together as a team.

I have dealt with just about every medical and traumatic event in the back country while working as an industrial medic. Of course there will always be the sprained ankles and the lacerations requiring stitches, but I have also seen an increase in major medical conditions requiring acute care.

One of the most notable calls I ever did was attend to a chest pain / pre code patient 4 hours north of Fort Nelson in BC in the middle of the night. This patient displayed all the classic signs of chest pain including diaphoresis, crushing chest pain, shortness of breath and the look of impending doom. With assistance we loaded him into the ambulance and began doing a full set of vitals, 12 lead ECG, IV, O2 and all the bells and whistles. Shortly into our trip we were able to stabilize the patient through drug therapy and our next course of action was to facilitate transport to a hospital with a cath lab, as Fort Nelson does not deal with this type of emergency to that extent. 4 hours of driving later, we arrived at the airport for an awaiting medic flight, bypassing the local hospital and under doctor’s orders rushing the Patient to Edmonton where he went for immediate surgery requiring a quadruple bypass. Weeks later I was able to reconnect with the patient and his report was that he was doing fine, all things considered. The moral of the story is that for the many days we do not have the opportunity to affect change on the workers; here was a gentleman who was truly grateful for the service we provide to industry.

I encourage anyone to get involved as an industrial medic who has interest in this line of work. Times have changed from when medics were just considered a necessity and an encumbrance, all in one sentence. In this new era of remote medical care, medics are called upon to be as professional and resourceful as if they were responding on a municipal ambulance. The resource company’s expectations have increased which furthers the need for professional members in our field. Once established in this industry, one will notice the many rewards of the job. The ability to take regular extended days off and earn a solid pay cheque all allow the medic to maintain a healthy work / life balance.