Most Taylor students don’t need to account for 48-hour shifts in an ambulance in their daily schedule, but this is normal for freshman Isaiah Dawson.
Dawson is a human physiology and preventative medicine major and has an honors minor. Originally from Fort Wayne, Indiana, he has also lived in Ecuador, Spain and Germany. While studying full-time at Taylor University. He also works part-time with Three Rivers Ambulance Authority as an emergency medical technician (EMT).
Dawson’s mother is a doctor, and the proximity to the career is what first ignited his interest in the field of medicine. He then decided to become an EMT so he could learn, get real experience and get paid.
His mother had a friend who was a paramedic at one of the fire services in Fort Wayne and this friend helped Dawson get the training and take the exams needed to be certified.
A typical shift for Dawson starts with arriving early to check the truck and make sure all equipment, medications and electronics are ready. Once the shift begins, he and his partner are sent to different posts around the city, and they sit in the ambulance waiting to be dispatched.
Each call takes around an hour, and most of their time is spent driving between posts. A call involves getting dispatched, arriving at the patient’s location, assessing them, transporting them to the hospital and returning to service.
While there are physical demands to the job, Dawson said that the emotional demands are often harder to deal with.
One of his co-workers was one of the only Christians on the job and was the one who pointed out to Dawson that ministry is not limited to his patients, but includes his co-workers. He said that the ones who have the most trauma are the people who are also seeing everyone's worst day, every day, and they may not have a faith or a community to back them up.
“To show the Christians on the job that you can have God and do the job at the same time was one thing that he showed me, but then he further proved his point when he took his own life on July 4,” Dawson said.
Dawson said that being kind to co-workers and patients is not optional, but it is a responsibility God calls him to: act on now, not later. He said that delaying obedience has consequences, just like Jonah running from Nineveh. Even though God’s plan still happens in the end, Jonah still had to face the consequences of his actions.
Realizing this taught Dawson that he is responsible for pouring into his co-workers spiritually, but he can only do that if he is taking care of his own faith. He needs consistent time with God so he can guide others well.
“I can’t lead someone somewhere if I don’t even know where I’m going,” Dawson said.
Being an EMT has not been easy, but Dawson has found a sense of purpose pouring into the lives of his patients and co-workers. His major and his part-time job have both fed into each other, and he continues to grow –professionally and spiritually –through these experiences.
