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EMS Profile: Terri Burton


What’s your current position? 

Director, Emergency Services, District of Muskoka.

When did your first job commence as an EMS professional? 

In 1985 when I joined Air Ambulance 799 in Buttonville, ON.

Why did you decide to pursue a career in EMS? 

I started my career as a critical care nurse and worked in ICU/CCU at Royal Victoria Hospital (RVH) in Barrie, ON. We consistently saw air ambulance paramedics in our departments transferring the sickest patients via air to Toronto. My personal goal was to join that elite team in five years. I saw the impact the air medics could have on a patient and the effect of patient care in general by offering such a highly skilled service. Being part of Air also offered continuous learning, and continuous challenges on the job as no two cases were ever the same. 

Who was the biggest inspiration to you when you were first starting in EMS? 

Without a doubt, John Wultchyn and Bob Fretz. They were two of the original air medics on 799 and John in particular encouraged me to apply and challenge myself to become a critical care flight paramedic. 

Once I was in training, my mentors were Dr. Ron Stewart, Dr. Andy McCallum, Dr.Barry McLellan and Dr. Dave Williams. I could not have picked better mentors—Dr. Stewart is renowned for his work in EMS and is a former Minister of Health. He is currently with Dalhousie, Medical Humanities Program and is a recipient of the Order of Canada. Dr. McLellan has returned to his roots and is now the president and CEO of Sunnybrook. Dr. Andy McCallum was appointed chief coroner for Ontario and Dr. Williams is the first Canadian to become an astronaut and aquanaut.
I have learned so much from these gentlemen—their interest in EMS and encouragement has been with me all my life. The important thing is that at some point in our lives, we are mentored, and sometimes we don’t even realize it. At some point you have to become the mentor and give back. Now, it is our paramedics who inspire me. I see their goals and their thoughts on EMS. Working with them on projects gives me a new perspective and it is extremely valuable when it comes together for the betterment of patient care. Two examples of that have been our visibility and conspicuity project for uniforms and for vehicles and public and patient safety. I think the best inspiration for anyone is to be around those who make you want to be a better person. 

Please provide a brief description of your career. 

Graduated from nursing, and worked in ICU/CCU at RVH Barrie, then went to Sunnybrook, ICU. For 10 years, air was only available on day shift. The Minister at the time announced that air was going to go “24 ours” in “24 hours.” Sunnybrook was the base hospital and they went to the critical care areas to look for nursing staff to work on the aircraft. I jumped instantly to be part of this new venture. After three months of temporary staffing, the Ministry determined that they required an additional three full-time staff. I was successfully hired full time and trained as a critical care flight paramedic (CCFP). During the previous 10 years staffing, the same core group of paramedics staffed the aircraft, along with one nurse. 

Once I received my certification, I was the first female CCFP on 799. The next transition in my career was into education at Sunnybrook for both the air and land programs. 
I then made the break from air and moved to working with Toronto EMS faculty. Toronto EMS was the first paramedic program in Ontario to receive accreditation and it was a great adventure to be part of that. I moved to Muskoka in 1997 and had been accepted into law school. 
Within a month of arriving in Muskoka, I received a call from the CAO to come and meet with him and talk about ambulance downloading. I worked with the District of Muskoka for two years preparing for downloading, creating an RFP, doing evaluations and helping prepare the contract. 
I thought it would be over at that point, but alas, someone had to administer the program. The contract for the district and the successful person was me! 
Over the last decade our EMS program has evolved and has had many changes in patient care and paramedic safety. I am proud of our accomplishments and although we are smaller than some of our peers, we are confident we can keep up with the best in terms of innovation, creativity and recognition. During the past 10 years I have also had the privilege of being part of AMEMSO as a founding member, a board member, president, and past president. This has been a very rewarding decade in helping to develop EMS in Ontario for all our peers. 
What is your most memorable situation while on the job? 

For memorable and funny, I would likely say getting pushed out of 799 by my partner at the time, John Hubert. We went for a female patient, unconscious on an island in Muskoka. The pilots could not land, so we were hovering, I had my headset off as I was throwing medical bags down to a person in a boat. The next thing I knew, there were two hands on my back pushing me out and down into the water. We brought the patient back on a backboard across the bow of the boat and then off to Sunnybrook.

For memorable and serious, I would say being honoured by my peers with the Richard J. Armstrong Leadership Award this year at AMEMSO. Each year, nominations are put forth to honour someone in EMS in Ontario who has shown exemplary leadership. This year, John Cunnane and I both received the award. I was honoured and humbled to be awarded along with John. A pivotal memorable part of my career is being able to meet and have time with Major General Rohmer and Mary O. The Major General is Canada’s most decorated citizen. He is a commander of the Order of Military Merit and Officer of the Order of Canada. His is a proud fighter pilot who earned a reputation as one of Canada’s top Mustang reconnaissance pilots. He has received the Distinguished Flying Cross for flying over the beaches of Normandy on D-Day. He is also a lawyer, litigator, journalist and best-selling author. The General is an inspiration to all of us in EMS and to all of us in Canada.

What’s the biggest challenge facing EMS today? 

I would say it is staffing and keeping paramedics motivated in uncertain times and during changing times where there is a greater emphasis on technology for patient care. EMS is a physically and mentally challenging career and like any career, you have to find your own value in what you contribute and put into work every day. Not everyone can self motivate, so providing opportunities for paramedics to develop themselves personally and academically is a challenge. It is a challenge for all employers. We are fortunate in Muskoka to be able to offer training, field trials, equipment evaluations and paramedic committee involvement to keep paramedics involved in the planning and progression of our program.

I think the other challenge is appreciation. How often do you get a letter of thanks from your employer? I can’t stress how important that recognition is in EMS for a paramedic. There is an expectation that if you are a paramedic, firefighter or police officer, that danger, extreme weather conditions, working outside and working in difficult situations is what you signed up for. That is true, but it is so appreciated by a paramedic to receive a note or letter from a family or recognition from their employer that they did something in an exemplary manner, or that they supported or represented their service in a meritorious way. Or even if they were just kind and thoughtful to a patient and eased someone’s suffering. We have all been there—we know we have the power to comfort and make a difference to someone. This feedback, recognition and appreciation is what shapes all of us. So if you can enhance the value of your paramedics to make sure they know they are valued, then why wouldn’t you?
If you could change one thing in EMS, what would it be? 

For everyone to readily recognize Paramedicine as a career and profession and not call us “ambulance drivers.”

What’s your favourite tool/technology available to EMS professionals and why? 

I am a big fan of our Grey Island, AVL GPS, and have been using Medtronic products for many years for patient care. Our newest technology is moving to Electronic Patient Care Records through Interdev. This is exciting for us from a paper management and expediency point of view as well as having readily available data for analysis and program development. Personally, I think paramedics will enjoy the electronic data capture and the ease at which their LP15s will sync with other EPCR technologies to capture patient data and reduce the time required for manually writing out ACRs.

 

What does the future of EMS look like? 

I think EMS in Ontario looks particularly bright. During the last decade since ambulance downloading from the province, most services in Ontario have improved service to the public, and excelled at offering training and education to paramedics. Muskoka is working on a capital plan for a new headquarters and part of that will be our Academic Centre. Our long term goal is to have an accredited training program here in Muskoka. I think patients in Ontario should feel very confident. Our paramedics are highly trained, and highly skilled and highly valued. 

Paramedics see a lot of strange things in their work. What’s the funniest thing you’ve witnessed in EMS? 

The funniest is hard to pick, since most calls on Air were very severe, most of the “fun” happened around the base while waiting for a call, or talking to our Quality Regulation Officer, Paramedic Tim Waite. He has all the good stories. 

What do you do when you’re not working?

Enjoying our 1984 SideWinder boat and living with my family in Muskoka.

 

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