MICA Paramedic reflects on rewarding 25 years
January 29, 2025in News
After recently celebrating 25 years as a Mobile Intensive Care Ambulance (MICA) Paramedic at Ambulance Victoria, Acting Barwon South West Area Manager Michael Wells remains as passionate as ever about making a difference to people’s lives.
Michael was recognised for his two and a half decades in MICA at the Barwon South West staff service awards and said his career could have been very different if it weren’t for his father, who was an ambulance officer for more than 30 years.
Michael Wells was recently recognised for 25 years as a MICA paramedic.
After finishing school, Michael decided to complete a nursing degree, but quickly found himself following in his dad’s footsteps.
“I have a lot of memories of my dad bringing the ambulance home and being on call,” he said.
“Through him I got to see what the career was like and in the final years of my nursing degree I applied to the ambulance service and was accepted when I turned 21.”
Michael worked as a paramedic for a short time in New South Wales before receiving a position at Geelong and District Ambulance Service in 1995.
In 1999, he went from being an ambulance officer straight into the MICA paramedic course and in 2005, he traded the road for the sky and became a MICA flight paramedic.
“When I commenced MICA, Advanced Life Support (ALS) paramedics had only just been introduced, so within a short period of time I went from only being able to administer a few medications to being able to perform advanced treatments,” he said.
“It was a very steep learning curve but luckily, I had some great leaders and mentors around me who helped me gain confidence.
“I always liked the idea of the Helicopter Emergency Medical Service (HEMS) and the more time I spent on the road, the more it became attractive to me.
“When I made the switch, I was only 30 years old and one of the youngest people on HEMS.”
Michael with HEMS when it was called Air 495.
Since then, Michael has continued to expand his career by taking on managing roles including MICA team manager, senior team manager, operations manager for Adult Retrieval Victoria and, most recently, area manager.
While managing a team is different to being on the road, Michael said the foundations are the same.
“Part of being a good paramedic is caring for people, whether you’re in a road ambulance or helicopter,” he said.
“As a team manager, you should be caring for and advocating for your team. So, you’re still looking after people every day, just in a different capacity.”
Throughout his almost 30-year ambulance career, Michael has witnessed a lot of change at AV and believes the quality of care offered will only continue to improve in the future.
“The education paramedics receive now and the research highlighting what we do is so much better than when I started,” he said.
“We are now delivering world class care and have phenomenal advancements in helping stroke patients, those with closed head injuries and people in cardiac arrest.
“When I started, all these things were viewed as hard to recover from, but now we’re able to reunite with patients who have survived a cardiac arrest or stroke.
“One of the groundbreaking changes we’ve seen in ambulance recently is telehealth and to be part of that next step is exciting.”
Michael practicing MICA flight skills.
Working in ambulance is continuing to run in the family, with Michael’s daughter currently undertaking her paramedicine degree.
“I was lucky enough to work with my dad before he retired, and I hope to work with my daughter before I retire,” he said.
Michael said his biggest piece of advice for anyone wanting to work in paramedicine, including his daughter, is to never lose sight of the significant role you play.
“We’re in a very privileged position to help people in their time of need,” he said.
“They’ve called because they don’t know what else to do. We’re there to help them and provide that link in the healthcare system.
“The jobs we go to allow us to see the best and worst the world has to offer, but knowing we’ve helped someone when they needed it most makes everything bearable.
“I’ll retire from this job having enjoyed every minute of it.”