To celebrate International Day of Women and Girls in Science, we caught up with Specialist Paramedic Clare Fitchett and asked her about her journey into critical care and what it’s like working on the frontline of our life-saving charity.
HEMS Paramedic Clare Fitchett
What motivated you to get into pre-hospital emergency medicine?
Pre-Hospital Emergency Medicine (PHEM) is a fascinating world – I enjoy the fact that no two days are the same, and we have the privilege of being able to care for people who are suffering from severe injury or illness. PHEM allows us to provide cutting edge, evidenced based medicine at the point of injury or illness when every second counts.
How long have your worked in PHEM, what is the best thing about it?
I have always been interested in working in healthcare and after a number of years in the military, I left to retrain as a paramedic in 2018 when I was thirty-years-old. I haven’t looked back since. I’m fortunate to be a part of a high performing team, with people who are motivated to provide the best level of care to our patients.
How have routes into science careers changed over the years?
More and more opportunities are opening up to more and more people. There are now many ways to get into science and it’s great to see this happening from an early age. It’s heartening to see this reflected in the paramedic profession, for example 41.7% of paramedics registered with the Health and Care Professions Council in 2021 were female.
If you weren’t in medicine, what do you think you would be doing?
That’s a hard question. I think I might have stayed in the military but the opportunity to fulfil my ambition and dream to work as a Critical Care Paramedic meant I left a bit earlier than initially planned. However, being a reservist still allows me to use my medical skills in a different context.
What advice would you give to others wanting to get into PHEM?
My main piece of advice is to embrace all the opportunities given to you. There is absolutely a place in science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) and PHEM for women – there is no reason why you can’t do it. Ask for support, gain experience from others and believe in yourself. I have been lucky to have had some inspirational mentors throughout my career who have supported me in making my desire to work as a Critical Care Paramedic a reality.
