Jessica Finley is a Real Lifesaver for JoCo Med-Act

Nov. 28--When you're a paramedic, there's no such thing as a "typical day."

Jessica Finley can attest to that.

"It might be chest pains, it might be a house fire or a seizure," the 29-year-old Olathe woman said.

"Every day is something new."

She wouldn't want to do anything else.

"I love it," she said. "We work 24 hours on, then 24 hours off three days a week. You do your three days, then you have four days to rest. It's great!"

It's also hard.

In her first three years with Johnson County Med-Act, Finley has worked car accidents, drug overdoses and suicide attempts.

"We see more of that around this season," she said. "And when people are losing their jobs we see that."

Some people think being a paramedic is a "superhero job," she said. Others think it's all blood and sadness. Actually, it's somewhere in the middle.

"It's a very rewarding job, but at the same time it can be extremely difficult," she said. "You do see some bad stuff, especially pediatric cases and elderly abuse."

But Finley also spends a lot of time comforting people and often helps save lives.

People don't forget that.

"On one call a lady was having shortness of breath," she said. "We took her to Olathe Medical Center. The next week I was (at the grocery store) and that same lady approached me and said, 'I remember you. You took care of me last week. I just want to thank you for being so nice to me and treating me with such care.' That really felt good."

Finley, who has a bachelor's degree in biology from the University of Kansas, originally wanted to be a doctor.

"Then, in my junior year, I decided that I didn't want to do another eight years of school," she said. "My mom was a nurse, and (being a) paramedic had always interested me."

So she Googled how to be a paramedic. In the search results she found the paramedic program at Johnson County Community College. She took her initial class, called "First Responder," in 2006.

"From there I was hooked," she said.

She got certified as an EMT (emergency medical technician) in 2007. After taking more classes, including human anatomy and medical terminology, she applied and got accepted to JCCC's one-year paramedic program. Two months before earning her associates degree in December 2008, she got a job offer from Johnson County Med-Act. She started that job in January 2009.

Finley has some suggestions for prospective paramedics.

"Schedule a ride along and shadow us for a few hours," she said. "Just to see what it's like."

She also suggests taking health care classes at school and getting trained in CPR.

It feels good to help others, she said. But there is one thing she has to bear in mind.

"I am an emotional person," she said. "But if let my emotions get to me on every call, I would never make it in this job."

There are ways to deal with such strong emotions if they become overwhelming.

"Johnson County has a debriefing program where you can talk about your emotions if you're having a hard time after a disturbing call," she said. "Police officers, firefighters and paramedics will get together and talk about their emotions involved in these difficult cases. One example would be the car accident on Highway 69 where the child was killed."

But for every sad case, there's a happy one.

"It's great when you go on a cardiac arrest call and you save them," she said. "Then you hear that they walked out of the hospital five or six days later. Now that's a terrific feeling."

To reach James A. Fussell, call 816-234-4460 or send email to jfussell@kcstar.com.

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