# ‘We love this job — and it’s hurting us’: Paramedic Sophie on EMS burnout and culture change

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/ems-one-stop-5691901/we-love-this-job-and-it-s-hurting-us-paramedic-sophie-on-ems-burnout-and-culture-change
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/ems-one-stop-5691901/we-love-this-job-and-it-s-hurting-us-paramedic-sophie-on-ems-burnout-and-culture-change.md
Podcast: [EMS One-Stop](https://stenobird.com/podcast/ems-one-stop-5691901)
Published: 2026-01-22T21:44:08+00:00
Episode link: https://emsonestop.podbean.com/e/we-love-this-job-%e2%80%94-and-it-s-hurting-us-paramedic-sophie-on-ems-burnout-and-culture-change/
Audio file: https://mcdn.podbean.com/mf/web/f3d7kr29hp49svmt/Sophie_final8wzsg.mp3
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JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/ems-one-stop-5691901/episodes/we-love-this-job-and-it-s-hurting-us-paramedic-sophie-on-ems-burnout-and-culture-change
Duration seconds: 2100

## Resource

In this episode of EMS One-Stop, Sophie Fuller — better known across social media as Paramedic Sophie — joins host Rob Lawrence for a candid, energizing conversation about what it really feels like to work in EMS right now: pride, the pressure, the burnout, and the culture issues that too many providers have been taught to silently absorb. Sophie is a critical care ground paramedic, flight paramedic, educator and president of the Tennessee Association of EMS Providers (TAEMSP), and she brings a provider-first lens to everything from leadership visibility, to mental health and pay equity. Together, Rob and Sophie dig into why Sophie started creating content in the first place (hint: burnout and the need to connect), how social media can be used as a force for good, and what “healthy” EMS culture should look like in practice. Sophie shares practical advice for crews and leaders alike: Be human Say the uncomfortable thing Stop normalizing harm Build systems that “care back” for the people doing the work Memorable quotes “We're just working in systems that haven't yet learned how to care back for the provider.” — Sophie Fuller “Management by walking about. Don't be stuck in the office. Don't say my door is always open because that relies on people coming in to see you. Get out and go and see them.” — Rob Lawrence “We love this job and that distracts us from the fact that it's also hurting us.” — Sophie Fuller “Just because it's normal doesn't mean it's healthy.” — Sophie Fuller “We confuse trauma with tradition.” — Sophie Fuller Additional resources: Follow Paramedic Sophie on: YouTube Tik Tok “The Next Shift : A mentorship workbook for EMTs and Paramedics” | E-Book, by Sophie Fuller “To Err is Human: Building a Safer Health System” - PubMed Episode timeline 01:00 – Rob in…

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