Riding With Haiti Air Ambulance Part 6: A Culture of Pride

EMS World contributor and advisory board member Kevin Collopy is volunteering this month with the first air ambulance service in Haiti. He’s chronicling the experience with a series of blog posts. Earlier posts:

Part 1: https://www.emsworld.com/article/12075142

Part 2: https://www.emsworld.com/article/12075601

Part 3: https://www.emsworld.com/article/12076210

Part 4: https://www.emsworld.com/article/12076579

Part 5: https://www.emsworld.com/article/12077006

You can tell right away when you meet someone who’s proud of where they are and what defines them. This holds true for people in both their professional and personal worlds. I’ve worked with clinicians who kept their uniform in their backseat and put on a wrinkled shirt in the station as they began their shift; people who came to work in ripped t-shirts and sweatpants and only put on their flight suit when they got a request; and people who were embarrassed to admit where they were from or the school they attended. I’ve never understood why anyone would work with a company they were embarrassed to associate with, or why someone would think their background would be considered unacceptable. Those who belittle the backgrounds and jobs of others have no place in the professional world.

Both the people of Haiti and the staff at Haiti Air Ambulance are the embodiment of what it means to live a culture of pride. On and off duty the HAA staff proudly wear shirts and hats with their insignia and speak with a passion for their mission. You can see the gleam in their eyes when they speak about their jobs. As I previously mentioned, one of the Haitian EMTs called his employment not just a job, but an opportunity to learn and excel. Today, while several of us were talking, one staff member described theirs as their “dream job within the field.” Every flight makes a difference—every single one. Each time the team takes off, we know we’re going to improve the care of a patient, and likely improve their outcome. They continued, “Our job here is the purest form of our industry’s intent.”

A similar pride permeates the Haitian culture. It would be a poor assumption to think someone who comes from poverty wouldn’t want to share and tell us about their past and their world. Haitians are some of the friendliest and most open persons I’ve ever met. Today we had the opportunity to explore different areas of Port-au-Prince (with the ulterior motive for me of buying gifts for three spoiled nephews), and each time we met a new artisan, they couldn’t wait to share with us the meaning and significance of their art. You could see in their eyes the pride and love they put into their goods. Their gratitude extended beyond the normal. Every artisan remembered our HAA team members by name and face, and remembered when HAA family members visited from the States and took time to ask about their flights back home. When they learned one crew member recently celebrated a birthday, two different artisans handed her beautiful paintings. It was humbling to see friendship and generosity transcend cultural and potential class divides. At dinner tonight we simply took joy in hearing about our Haitian friends’ families and lives.

We can all learn from our friends here. Our background and heritage define us all and must be embraced without worry of judgment. Neither the lack of goods nor a life of affluence entitle us to anything. Hard work and a personal drive to continuously improve are the best pathway to bettering ourselves and our environment.

Further, be proud of your chosen profession. No job makes someone better or worse; our profession is what we make of it. If someone is so embarrassed about where they work that they don’t want to have any association with their employer outside of it, they are in the wrong job. Embrace a profession not as a job but rather as an opportunity to grow and excel and learn from those around you. Suck in every bit of information—it will only make you better. Being proud means simply that! It is an honor to work at a job you love.

Kevin T. Collopy, BA, FP-C, CCEMT-P, NREMT-P, WEMT, is an educator, e-learning content developer and author of numerous articles and textbook chapters. He is also the clinical education coordinator for AirLink/VitaLink in Wilmington, NC, and a lead instructor for Wilderness Medical Associates. Contact him at ktcollopy@gmail.com.