Observations On EMS Conferences

Just finished my inspirational talk at the EMSAAC Conference in San Diego.

They laughed, they cried, women threw their panties, men bought me drinks, everyone held their smartphone flashlights aloft and swayed rhythmically…

… you know, the usual.

But all kidding aside, these gigs are a huge recharge for my career satisfaction batteries. It turns out that, no matter where you go, be they fire or private, municipal or volunteer, EMS people are pretty much the same.

And as a class of people, they’re the kind it’s really fun to hang out and have a beer with. Good people, with kind hearts, and tons of stories.

That’s not the sort of interaction you get on antisocial media, where people are generally divided into friends, and assholes you’d cross the street to avoid.

Today, a woman nearly topped my ostrich story with one that began, “Well, we responded to this liquor store in Banff, Alberta where this elk had stomped a guy to death…”

That there is the kind of story you stop and pay attention to, folks.

And it’s odd, how these events go. On the one hand, I am far more introverted than most people who don’t know me well would believe. I love talking about EMS, and guns, and entertaining tales, but I’m distinctly uncomfortable talking about myself. It’s mentally draining, too, trying to be “on” the entire time I’m out there mingling, and most nights I head back to my room early, sober, and exhausted.

On the other hand, there’s something tremendously validating about people making it a point to come up to you and thank you for your talk, or to tell you how much your words meant to them. All I can do is blush, shake their hand, and say, “Thank you very much.”

But it’s not their thanks for which I am grateful. It’s knowing that other people feel the same way about my profession that I do, and are equally passionate about it.

I don’t always get that from work, but I get it from hanging out with my tribe at EMS conferences. If you’ve never attended a conference, you really should. And if you’re at that point in the career where you have some wisdom to share with your peers, you should really swallow your fears and submit a presentation proposal.

It’s a blast.