On Feb. 28, firefighter paramedic for the City of San Diego Fire Rescue Department, Taylor Nelson spoke to the Health Career Club at BVH about his job and what students interested in the same line of work can expect. Nelson is a former student of Healthcare Internship Director, Sports Medicine and Human Anatomy and Physiology teacher George LaFiguera who organized the presentation for his students.
“I used to be a student of LaFiguera. Getting to come back here and educate people to get them to think about a career in the fire service is why I wanted to do this presentation and show them what it’s all about,” Nelson said.
Nelson showed photos and videos showcasing the reality of his career. While presenting, Nelson explains that he wanted to do something that benefited the community while also following in his father’s footsteps.
“My dad is a retired fire captain for San Diego and growing up, I always looked up to him. I knew I wanted to do something impactful, meaningful and challenging with my life,” Nelson said.
A main part of Nelson’s challenging work is handling dangerous scenarios such as fighting violent flames. However, Nelson explains the thrill he gets from this experience on the job.
“Being on duty, I’m always excited and looking forward to whatever challenge the day brings. It’s a fun time [because] every day is different, you never know where you’re going to go. In one second, you could be drinking a cup of coffee, and the next second you are sprinting to put out a fire,” Nelson said.
LaFiguera organized this presentation to give students an inside perspective on the job of a firefighter paramedic. This also gave students a better understanding of jobs in the medical field overall.
“The presentations are meant to give our students a real snapshot of what’s going on in the medical field. And to show them different careers [paths] from the people who actually are in those careers,” LaFiguera said.
LaFiguera plans to reach out to more medical professionals like Nelson who present numerous videos of the harrowing yet thrilling moments on the job as a firefighter paramedic. These videos include car crashes and blazing buildings that are being extinguished by firefighters.
“When I have them present, I ask them to give us the most real representation of what it’s going to be so the students know what they could get into. So it includes scheduling, job responsibility, issues and joys,” LaFiguera said.
Students that attended the presentation felt fulfilled with the information that they received from Nelson. One student in particular is Health Career club President and senior Diana Contreras who volunteers at three hospitals. Contreras finds this information helpful for her medical field future.
“The videos and pictures he showed, his own stories that he told, gives a lot of insight. He was able to answer our questions. When he showed us his schedule, there was also a big insight to the [details of the jobs],” Contreras said.
Knowing details of Nelson’s job experience such as his busy schedule helps Contreras consider the negative aspects of a career in the medical field. She explains how this helps students make a more informed decision when choosing a medical career.
“I think it’s really inspiring because he didn’t just show the good [parts] of the career but he also talked about the bad. The good usually tends to outweigh the bad anyways,” Contreras said.
The presentation brought light into the experience of firefighter paramedics for students such as Contreras who are interested in similar medical professions. This is one of the many presentations that will be shown in LaFiguera’s classroom. LaFiguera plans to have another speaker allowing his students a better understanding of various medical professions.
“I would like to bring [different] people from the medical profession in for our students so they can talk about the career fields. Nelson presents firefighters, [while] his brother is a paramedic. He’ll present within the next few weeks or so. [These speakers] enlighten our students on what’s going on out in the world,” Lafiguera said.
