Stacy’s Story
Stacy’s Story
I'm an emergency medical dispatcher, I take 911 calls from the communities that we service, talk to people and give them instructions on how to help themselves or someone else until the emergency personnel show up.
I do this job because I have a love for people. I have love for the community. I like to be able to help people and make a horrible day for them somewhat better. Usually, when someone calls 911, it's probably one of the worst days of their life or someone else's life. So I'd like to try to be comforting and help them through that.
To be good at what I do you need to have a true compassion for people, a lot of patience, and be able to not get worked up in a terrible situation. You have to help them through it, you have to be calm, you have to be laid back and understanding - you know, truly care about what's going on with somebody.
Courage on call in the dispatch center is knowing that you could be getting a call that could be pretty traumatic, or it could be something that's really painful for somebody, or there could be hysteria on the other line. And you have to have the courage to be able to handle that situation.
To know that you were a part of saving somebody's life is huge. When someone calls when a person is in cardiac arrest, and you give them CPR instructions, and they're doing what you're telling them. It’s great knowing that you're a piece of that person coming back
I think that if you wanted to come into this field, communication is key. You have to be able to talk to somebody, maybe someone who's angry, someone who is mean- you have to have the ability to be able to converse with that person, and be able to take them from being an angry, mean, ugly, hysterical person to kind of bring them back down to somebody who you can help.
Answer the Call
Do you have what it takes to make a difference? To be there when people face their greatest needs? If so, we could use you. We’re looking to welcome a new wave of emergency medical professionals in Massachusetts.