The Midlife Medic: What I Wish I’d Known Then

“The years teach much which the days never knew.” —Ralph Waldo Emerson

In the movie Terms of Endearment, there is a great scene where Emma (Debra Winger) tells her mother Aurora (Shirley MacLaine) that she is pregnant. In response to the happy news Aurora grits out, “Why should I be happy about being a GRANDMOTHER?!?” Her not-so-thinly veiled outrage at the notion of being bumped up a generation is hilarious and hits home.

It is one of thousands of movie references I can make that a growing percentage of you will simply not “get.” My favorite pop culture references and song lyrics moving into obscurity is an early and painful symptom of my inevitable transition to the next phase of my life.

When working out the theme I wanted for this column, I came up with the concept of the “Midlife Medic.” After all, that’s what I am—a career paramedic who has made it just a few miles south of the big 5-0. My experience officially spans a generation. I am proud to have made it this far, and to have had some wonderful opportunities along the way. I recognize that this field is different for the older provider and believe that together we can open conversations about unavoidable transitions. It’s honest and it’s who I am.

I hate it.

I hate it because it’s true and I can’t change it. It is somewhere nobody ever believes they will be until it is too late. I mentally flinch at the term just as quickly as I avert my gaze from the increasing ratio of silver in my hair. I say it aloud and dreams of bifocals and enteric-coated aspirin dance in my head.

I love it.

I love it because I’m still here, and my fear of the unknown is less and my confidence is more. I love it because all those years of interacting with people has made me a patient-whisperer. All those different calls have honed my situational awareness and ability to interpret a scene to an edge so sharp I may appear psychic to you. I love it because medicine is dynamic and our field is evolving, so there is always something new to challenge myself with. I am not the Midlife Medic because I am old, but because I am still here and I still love my job.

Here are some tips I would give my 20-year-old self to make the long haul easier:

1. Everything comes with recovery time. Enjoy going out until all hours and then pulling a double shift, because 10 years from now that will make you cry. Seriously.

2. Stop eating garbage. Make proper diet and exercise a lifestyle habit now. It is SO much harder when you’re older. Skip the fast food and dump the coffee…wait, what am I saying? Life is short, always drink the coffee.

3. Stay current. Read journals, use the Internet, go to conferences or find classes that offer more than the minimum. Don’t reject innovation, leave your comfort zone.

4. Own your age. It’s all right if you do not like the music or speak the slang, just maintain a base knowledge. (Like hazmat awareness, instead of the DOT manual you use “Urban Dictionary” from a non-work Internet source.)

5. Get glasses. If you are having trouble reading dosages and expiration dates, then get it corrected before the next thing you have trouble seeing is vocal cords.

6. Overtime is nice, time over with family or friends is nicer.

7. Diversify. Pursue the topics that interest you, find your passion. Finish that degree! Continuing education gives you professional mobility.

8. If you are struggling, ask for help. Whether that help is figuring out a complicated medical call, lifting a heavy patient, or because you are considering ending your life, there is always someone out there willing to help. Always.

9. Your experience has value, share it. Every encounter gives you the ability to either learn or teach something. Use it wisely.

10. Stop carrying your equipment on the same shoulder! (Don’t lie and say that you don’t, I know you do.)

Someday you will be where I am. I hope you will remain true to yourself and still love the work, because those are the things that will resonate to the younger providers around you. Work together to learn from each other and help move the industry forward in the spirit of mentorship. Traditions are made by integrating the past, not ignoring it.

My name is Tracey, and I am a Midlife Medic.

Tracey Loscar, NRP, FP-C, is a battalion chief for Matanuska-Susitna (Mat-Su) Borough EMS in Wasilla, Alaska, and a member of the EMS World Editorial Advisory Board. Contact her at taloscar@gmail.com or www.taloscar.com.