Critical care isn’t about flashing lights, call tones, or chasing adrenaline: it’s about thinking.
It’s about making the right decision when the clock is loud and the answers aren’t clear.
This blog was built for the people who understand that difference, and for the ones who want to.
I’m Oliver Boryszewski, a critical care and flight paramedic with a background that runs from the streets of Chicago to the skies of rural Illinois. My work has taken me from ground units to rotor and fixed-wing aircraft, giving me the chance to see how emergency medicine operates across the country, and occasionally beyond it. I’ve spent years teaching future paramedics and helping shape systems that actually work for the crews and the patients they serve. Along the way, I picked up a few letters after my name (the kind that prove you can pass a test) but what really stuck were the lessons learned between calls.
Over time, I’ve realized that too many of us get into critical care for the wrong reasons. We chase the patch, the aircraft, the cool onesie, when what really defines this job is the thought process that happens between assessment and action.
I started this space to talk about that side of the work– the side that doesn’t make it into recruitment posters. Here you’ll find stories, reflections, and the occasional uncomfortable truth about what we do and why we do it. You’ll also find honesty: about burnout, leadership, teamwork, and what it really takes to bring ICU-level care to the back of an ambulance or a helicopter.
If this blog makes someone stop and think before chasing a flight job for the wrong reasons, or reminds a seasoned medic why they started, then it’s doing its job.