News/Media

Allow us to introduce New Bedford EMT Riley McDonald, Riley has been an outstanding EMT and joined NBEMS in 2023. She is an exemplary employee and a great asset to NBEMS. We are proud to announce she is also the recipient of the 2024 Paramedic Scholarship with NBEMS and National Medical Education and Training Center in West Bridgewater.

Riley has always been drawn to helping others. Ever since she was little, her curiosity for first-aid kits, bandages, and ambulances was unshakable. So when she started working at New Bedford EMS, she knew exactly what she wanted to do—go to medic school and become an New Bedford EMS Paramedic.

The first day of medic school was nerve-wracking. Riley arrived early, dressed in her uniform, her hands slightly sweaty as she held onto her backpack. The school was a mix of different people from all walks of life—some were younger than her, others older, but all with a shared goal: saving lives.

The instructors wasted no time getting everyone into the action. Riley was soon learning how to save a life in the simulation lab. Riley felt a jolt of excitement. It was real, and she was finally preparing to become a Paramedic and respond to emergencies.

But it won’t be easy. The pace of the classes will be fast, and the material will be intense. Anatomy, physiology, and endless acronyms will fill her notes. Late nights of studying will become the norm, and there will be moments when Riley will doubt herself.

As weeks pass, Riley will become an expert in patient assessment, advanced airway management, advance cardiac life support medications, EKG’s, medical and trauma emergencies and so much more.

Riley will spend hundreds of hours learning and preparing to become a Paramedic. By the time graduation rolls around, she will be ready to embark on a career filled with unpredictability and purpose. Medic school will be tough, but it will shape her into the kind of person she had always dreamed of becoming someone who could be counted on in the worst moments of someone else’s life. More importantly she will have earned the right to be called a New Bedford EMS Paramedic. Good Luck Riley

Lets Give Riley some shout outs and words of encouragement.