Sisters Emma and Sarah Bannerman always knew they wanted to work in health care, and this year, their careers have aligned at Ambulance Victoria (AV).
Younger sister Emma has been working as a paramedic at AV for eight years and is currently training to step up to Mobile Intensive Care Ambulance (MICA) level.
Sarah, a doctor, has only just joined AV, starting as a Retrieval Registrar for Adult Retrieval Victoria (ARV) last month.
Sarah and Emma’s careers have already overlapped at AV, with Sarah’s orientation period coinciding with Emma’s MICA Bridging Program – a six-week program to transition paramedics back onto the road after post-graduate studies.
“It’s exciting that we can share an understanding of what each other does at work and potentially be able to cross paths more and work together,” Sarah said.
Emma said she had once wanted to be a doctor too, but couldn’t be happier with her choice to become a paramedic.
“I love the clinical side of the job and increasing my skillset, which is why I was drawn to becoming a MICA paramedic which has a huge scope of practice,” Emma said
“On top of that, I love that every day is different and that when I start the day, I have no idea how it’s going to pan out.”
MICA paramedics have an expanded clinical skill set and can perform high-level medical procedures including advanced airway management, administering intraosseous (into bone) medication and providing greater management of cardiac and traumatic conditions.
AV’s MICA paramedics have a reputation as being among the best in the world.
Sarah is in her twelfth year as a doctor and has spent time studying or working in Melbourne, Bendigo, Darwin, Alice Springs, Nepal, Ghana, the UK and Vanuatu.
She said she has always been drawn to emergency medicine as a speciality.
“That was my interest from early on, as well as working in rural, remote and low resource settings,” Sarah said.
“ARV fits in with that and I’ve also had exposure to retrieval services through my work in more remote locations, so I knew I liked the idea of this type of work.”
The key part of Sarah’s new role is supporting the transfer of critically ill patients from a hospital or urgent care centre to a bigger hospital or health facility with different resources.
“Often these are the sickest patients in the state,” Sarah said.
“It’s about assessing them, making them safe for transport and then being prepared for the worst during transport.”
This Saturday, 8 March, is International Women’s Day, with UN Women Australia setting the theme ‘March Forward: For ALL women and girls’.
Sarah said she and Emma were lucky to grow up in an environment where they were taught their gender wasn’t a disadvantage.
“I’ve grown up in an extremely positive and female-oriented environment, with a family of mum, dad and two sisters,” she said.
“I was almost naïve that gender played such a role until I was well into university, but it meant I grew up without internalised bias or self-doubt that my gender would play a role.
“Certainly, I have become very acutely aware of it – it’s something you can’t really escape from.
“But my advice to girls is don’t ever let anyone tell you that you can’t, we’re all equally capable.
“Keep working and keep following things that are true to you and feel right for you and you’ll get to where you’re supposed to be.”
MICA has historically been a male-dominated field, but Emma said times are changing.
“The body of people that are MICA paramedics is changing and it’s becoming an easier path for women,” she said.
“My advice to others would be to know your own worth and know that you get to where you are based on your own efforts.”
