Episode 2 Johan Macias

In this episode of Talking with Denae, Johan Macias, an EMT and pre-med student, discusses the importance of mental health for healthcare workers and first responders. He shares a personal experience where he and his partner struggled to process a traumatic event but were able to decompress and support each other afterwards. Johan believes this experience has prepared him for future difficult situations. However, he notes that many employers do not provide adequate mental health support for their employees in these careers. Despite this, he encourages anyone interested in becoming a first responder or working in healthcare to pursue it, emphasizing the rewarding aspects of the job. The podcast is produced by Students of Journalism at Biola University. Hello, hi everyone, hope you're having an amazing day, or evening, or morning, and my name is Denae Merlo, I'm your host, this is our second episode of Talking with Denae, and we have today, Johan Macias, back for episode two, just to talk to us a little bit more about the importance of mental health with healthcare workers and first responders. Johan Macias is an EMT at First Rescue Ambulance, and he is currently a pre-med student. The last time you were on, we talked a little bit about mental health and the effects. Can you tell me about a time when you or your partners really struggled to process an event or felt like your mental health was affected by your work? Hello, first of all, I just want to say I'm glad to be back, and I would say there was one event that just stuck with me and my partner just a little longer than normal, some crazy chaotic stuff that happened in the back of the ambulance, and it did stick with us for a little bit. Luckily, though, once we were on the call, once we finished the call, got everything done that we had to do, we kind of talked about it a little bit, made sure we were good, then luckily we had a lunch break, helped us decompress even more after. Do you feel like this experience has equipped you to deal with difficult situations that you might have to face in the future? I would say definitely that experience, that one-time experience, definitely has helped me equip myself for any other similar situations that might occur in the future. After that, I truly feel like anything can happen in the back and I'll be okay. That was one of my first big opportunities to learn what the healthcare field is really like, but I'm grateful for it and I feel like I can handle any situation after that. Following that up, do you think that you yourself as a first responder or people who work in these types of careers as healthcare workers have proper support systems in place provided by employers to maintain a healthy, happy physical and mental health? I would say that most employers really don't offer mental health services like that. We don't really talk about it as well, but at least with my own experience with my job, I feel like if I talk to them and try to make them understand that I need some time off, they would be very willing for that, but anything more like helping me get connected with any other resources, I don't believe that my job or any other jobs really try to help you with that. So maybe that's a little lacking in the career field. What would you say to someone who is interested in becoming a first responder or working in healthcare in regards of mental health and how it can affect them if they were to choose a career like such? I would totally recommend it to anybody willing to try the job. I would just try to make them aware of they're going to see a lot of things and be in situations that a lot of people can see as super stressful, but if you think you're well-equipped and can handle that, it can be truly one of the most compelling and great jobs to have, especially for starting off in the healthcare field. Alright, thank you again, Johan, for coming on today and talking with me about how important mental health is, especially in intense careers such as first responders and healthcare workers. Thank you to the listeners for tuning in once again. This podcast has been brought to you by Students of Journalism in the School of Fine Arts and Communication at Biola University. Thank you again, Johan, and we'll see you again soon, hopefully. Thank you again for having me.