Ainsley started working at Pro EMS in 2016, after graduating from Rhodes College in Memphis, TN. She says she wanted to work as an EMT after college because she was planning to go into health care and she wanted to get experience interacting with patients outside of a hospital setting. “I wanted to see patients in their homes and on scene, not always in a clean controlled setting like a hospital.” Ainsley says she was initially drawn to Pro EMS because of the small, family-feel. “I felt like they really cared about me as an employee, and I felt like there were opportunities to get involved with various projects”.

After a year of working as an EMT, Ainsley decided to attend Center For MEDICS (CFM). She says she was surprised as an EMT that she immediately got so much experience with a wide variety of patients: including some that were critically ill. She was motivated to become a paramedic because, “there were a lot of things in EMS that I wanted to learn more about, and I saw paramedics doing things that I wanted to do.”

Ainsley graduated CFM Class 17, earning the Program Director’s Award. Her favorite part about CFM was the ability to apply what she was learning in class to her shifts on the road. “I loved working with my classmates outside of class and getting to practice the thought process behind patient care.”

After working as a paramedic for 2 years, Ainsley applied to PA school and was accepted at Bryant University PA Program. She has just completed her first week of class and says she feels her EMS experience has given her a huge advantage. “I’m already comfortable communicating with patients and have a good foundation of assessment skills.”

Ainsley’s program is 27 months long, and we’re sure she’ll do great.