Karakura is a place widely known for its large spread of factions across the city, one of the largest of course being our lovely EMS workers, who are tirelessly working themselves for the sake of citizens health and wellbeing. However, as with any faction and or group of hard working individuals, there are layers, and titles that come with it. Different roles one could find themselves home to, and today I would like to shine our spotlight on the Paramedics division!
Our guest of the day is none other than the ex-head doctor turned Paramedics lead herself, Miyako Higashikokubaru. We start this interview off by learning a bit more about the woman of the hour. Before we conducted this interview, Ms. Higashikokubaru had already said our greetings and whatnot, she is incredibly friendly.
[ A link to the audio recording is provided, along with a transcript of everything said below. ]
[!] Alisa Blackwell can be heard muttering “4:36pm, Wednesday.” As the recording starts up. [!]
Alisa: “‘Tis a bit late for this, but good afternoon! To get the basics out of the way for everyone at home, might I ask you to properly introduce yourself? Name, age, and most importantly occupation!”
Miyako: “Yes! I am Miyako Higashikokubaru, or Dr. Higashikokubaru. I am 53 years old, and I am currently working as the chief paramedic at the Karakura hospital.”
Alisa: “A pleasure it is to have this opportunity to speak with you, Ms. Higashikokubaru! It is not often one is able to interview someone with such an important position to the hospital. Speaking of which, how long have you had this position anyhow?”
Miyako: “Thank you for having me! I have had the chief paramedic position for about. . . A month now, I believe? Though before I had this position, as you can guess by my name, I was a doctor.”
Alisa: “A multifaceted woman you are then, Miss. Let’s go backwards in time for a small moment, I must know, what made you go into the medical field to begin with? Always a passion of yours?”
Miyako: “Well thank you! I have a lot of knowledge up my sleeve, you see. I guess that is one perk you get as you grow older. Knowledge. . My prosthetics was the main reason for my drive towards the medical field. I wanted to go into orthopedic trauma surgery, actually. But, then I found myself in love with electrophysiology.”
Alisa: “And what, pray tell, is electrophysiology for those at home who may not know about it or ever even heard of it?”
Miyako: “Ah, right. . Not everyone knows what that is. . An electrophysiologist is someone who treats heart arrhythmias, which are basically just irregular heart beats! It is a very specialized subject, not at all something you can just waltz into on a regular day. You first have to become a cardiologist before becoming an electrophysiologist.”
Alisa: “I see, I see. So just to confirm what you’ve told me thus far, electrophysiology is essentially what pushed you to become a doctor in the first place, yes?”
Miyako: “Yes, when I did my shadowing work before officially becoming a doctor, I happened to be with an electrologist. I fell in love with it, even if at the time I was just a spectator. From there, I knew what I wanted to do.”
Alisa: “How lovely, it is not often someone is so sure of the career choice they want to pursue, and so early on to. Some others spend half of their lifetime trying to find their best suited path. So I congratulate you on finding yours, Ms. Miyako. Though I am sure the journey was not easy, correct?”
Miyako: “It was not easy, I did have my fair share of moments where I almost quit. Along with this, you can guess that having two prosthetics definitely does not help in that endeavor, especially with the amount of pain I found myself in sometimes. However, I worked through it all, and am pleased to find myself in a position that I never originally thought possible until it happened.”
Alisa: “It has been lovely to learn more about you with these starting questions, Ms. Miyako. And I do believe that there is even more to uncover as we move on to today’s anticipated main topic. The star of Today’s interview.”
[!] Alisa can be heard shuffling around a bit, the sound of her pen scratching against her paper stops, and the sound of what one can guess is a page being flipped is heard. A few seconds of reposition before the interviewer speaks up again. [!]
Alisa: “So the paramedic department. It is something that is new to our hospital in Karakura, am I correct?”
Miyako: “Ah yes, the Paramedics! It is indeed something new we have introduced here at the Karakura hospital. A small department, one of which is run by myself and Dr. Veidt”
Alisa: “A most noble pair the two of you are for taking up the mantle of running a new department atop your other work. Especially considering this new department is currently not garnering as much attention as one would hope. However, since it is a new piece of a giant such as EMS, giving others a chance to learn about the paramedics may lead them to trusting you all a bit easier. So, Ms. Higashikokubaru, might I ask you to detail a bit more about the paramedics team?”
Miyako: “Of course, it would be my pleasure. Our job as paramedics is to respond to medical calls about. . Well, injured people. We check over them, stabilize them, and determine two things. Are they in a critical enough condition to need actual hospital treatment? And, if they do, are in a safe enough condition for said transportation, or do they need further stabilization? I feel like this is something Karakura has needed for a long time now, as it is extremely unsafe to go transporting people with severe injury cases without proper treatment beforehand. . I am still currently surprised not many people are more severely injured with the way these things have been handled in most cases.”
Alisa: “I see! It seems like you and your team have a far more important job than the average passerby would originally assume! Which begs the question, Ms. Miyako, in your opinion, what is the current reason for lack of traffic for the Paramedic department? Is it a lack of exposure to the people of your work, maybe? Or something else?”
Miyako: “Yes, absolutely. Paramedics have a very important job. Oh but it is also not just physically injured people we are limited to! We also respond to mental health calls along with the other stuff too.”
Alisa: “A hotline for everyone, I am sure that will be handy for others once they are finally aware of its existence.”
Miyako: “But, going back, I think the reason for ‘lack of traffic’ is mainly sourced from people not knowing the difference between when you should call 110 vs when you should go ahead and bring them in. People are unaware that for most medical emergencies are things you should call 110 for unless you are three steps away from the hospital. And even then, it’s always best to call 110 so we can properly look over the patient and stabilize them before movement. Imagine moving someone with a broken spine, that would not end well.”
Alisa: “You are right about that. Making sure the victim is in a proper enough state for movement is critical for ensuring that they make it out alive after everything is said and done. Ms. Higashikukobaru, do you believe that this ‘lack of traffic’ issue could be easily fixed if citizens called the 110 number instead of just blindly rushing in? Is it really that simple?”
Miyako: “I believe so! I also believe people should. . Stop and think for a moment. Like. . err. . . Not everyone has. . Common sense? So it seems. . While I understand the rush of adrenaline can blur the line of logic for most people, it would be a great help for them and us if they took those few seconds to stop and think if they really should transport this person, or if they should take the safer option and call 110.”
Alisa: “Hmm. . You know, I am curious. Since you were a doctor before being a paramedic, and it seemed to be something you really loved doing seeing as how you spoke about it, what pushed you to start the paramedic department? Surely it wasn’t just a whim.”
Miyako: “Hmm. . . . Well, I guess it would be accurate to say that I wanted to do something different for a change, though I am lucky enough to be able to continue doing my work as a doctor alongside paramedic work. Which, I am very happy about. I do love answering calls and treating people on the scene of a call. . Emergency medicine was actually my second choice, so it kind of makes sense!”
Alisa: “It does make sense! Like a major and minor in college, one could say. Is it safe to assume that you thoroughly look forward to opportunities to partake in your Paramedic work?”
Miyako: “Yes, it is. Again, I do love my current work. And I have actually been noticing a slight increase in 110 calls, so hopefully that number just continues to go up.”
Alisa: “Hopefully, indeed. Just a few more questions, and then we will wrap this interview up, as it is getting a bit late. If there is one thing you could change about the paramedics department, what would it be? Is there anything you would even change?”
Miyako: “Hmm. . To be honest, not really. The department is going fine as is. We are fixing up some things as we go but we have a strong team of paramedics that are learning right now and are ready to answer calls.”
Alisa: “You sound very confident in your department, Ms. Higashikokubaru. Which I find to be a good thing. It’s easier to trust someone who not only loves their job, but is confident whilst doing it. As one of the leaders for the paramedic department, do you have any future plans for it?”
Miyako: “Currently no plans right now. Just getting everyone properly trained, and everything polished up but there may be some exciting things in the future, just need to keep your eye out for it.”
Alisa: “Well you can be sure that I will! Ms Miyako as we come to our close for the interview, I have one final question for you. Are you ready?”
Miyako: “I was born ready!”
Alisa: “What qualities do the paramedics have that make them trustworthy for the citizens in need? What can people have faith in when it comes to your team?”
Miyako: “Oh my! Hmm. Well, we do make sure the paramedics are all thoroughly trained in any situation that may arise when responding to calls. They will absolutely give their best efforts to provide treatment for those who need it. We all love our job, and want to see people get better.”
Alisa: “A reliable team with reliable workers; how lovely it is to see that quality stretch to all departments of EMS. I greatly appreciate your time, Ms. Higashikokubaru. Are there any final words you would like to say before we end this?”
Miyako: “Yes, there is one thing actually. . Please, are calling 110, state what is going on and if you need EMS, KPD, or both.”
[!] Miyako can be heard laughing for a moment, before she suddenly. . stops?? [!]
Miyako: “You would be surprised how many people don’t do that.”
Alisa: “Surprising. . Indeed. Well, here is to a bright future for the paramedic team!”
Miyako: “Cheers! Thank you for having me, this was lovely.”
Alisa: “You were a pleasure to have.”
[!] The recording comes to an end. [!]
As you can see, Miyako HIgashikokubaru is an extremely warm woman, who loves not only her job, but the safety of others. If you find yourself under her care, you are in good hands.
Oh, and be sure to call that 110 number!
- This is Alisa Blackwell, signing off. Until next time!
