Announcing the 2020 Winner of D&D’s Annual Scholarship for Emergency Responders and Their Families

Posted By Nadine Diaz

Darrigo & Diaz Attorneys at Law is pleased to introduce Angie Yvonne Hogan as the 2020 Winner of our Annual Scholarship for Emergency Responders and their Families. Since 1999, D&D has worked tirelessly to protect the rights of Tampa FL community members; those who fall victim to personal injuries in traffic and slip and fall accidents. Each day we learn of phenomenal acts of courage, compassion, and competence exhibited by emergency responders. We are honored to contribute to their educational path and will be awarding a $1,000.00 scholarship to an Emergency Responder student each Spring Semester.

Angie Yvonne Hogan is currently a full-time certified Florida Emergency Medical Technician (EMT), working toward her degree at St. Johns River State College. She initially began her college education with aspirations of becoming a nurse and working in a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). 

“Nursing appeared to be a comfortable reality, with everything available at my fingertips, but there are so many paths in Emergency Medical Services. When I set my sights on becoming an EMT, I thought nothing of it. I would always shout, “Let’s go save some lives!”

It took Angie 16 weeks of education and training from an accredited institution, including real-life experiences, to become certified as a Nationally Registered Emergency Medical Technician and a certified EMT for the state of Florida. There were laboratory days where skills were mastered, and lecture days where healthcare procedures were studied and new material learned. There were 133 contact hours to be completed and fire department ride-alongs to perform in order to acquire hands-on experience. 

As time went on, Angie found Emergency Medical Service to be exciting and never predictable. It became second nature to go above and beyond, not stopping at minimum standards, or making judgments of people’s life choices and decisions. 

“It is like you are walking into a dark forest, but when you get there you will gain night vision and learn how to work in the dark.”

Attending college while working as an EMT is quite a feat for anyone. Angie’s main challenge is that her work hours are rigorous — ranging from 12 to 72-hour shifts! It took her many sleepless nights and long days before everything was settled into place and working together. How does she manage it all?

“My school days now are shift-based which is easier to handle. My classes are during the day, on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday. I manage this by working nights, but not on the days that I have classes.”

Angie works for a private EMS company that does intra-facility transfers, as simple as transporting a patient from the hospital to a hospice or rushing a critical patient to the hospital. She has learned that the true fulfillment of being an EMT is about giving her all on every call while providing the same attention and full body assessment for every patient.

For Angie, the most critical time of a call is arriving on the scene because she is the driver. She doesn’t want to make any wrong turns to delay patient care. Intersections are challenging and Angie says that she checks to make certain ‘everyone has eyes on me.’ Taking the victim to the ER is the next most time-consuming task because depending on the patient’s injuries, there are different hospitals that treat them. What else can be critical to a patient’s outcome?  

“Bystanders and extended family members can be distracting at times, sometimes recording you and asking you questions while you’re working on a patient. When this happens I will let my Paramedic work with the patient, and I will talk to them in another room or give the family a task such as packing a bag for their loved one.”

These days Angie is planning to attend advance her career with paramedicine under her belt. The permanent medic that Angie works with is encouraging her to become a Paramedic because she is ‘cool, calm, and collected’ when under pressure and notices that she doesn’t get tunnel vision in stressful situations. A Paramedic can administer more medications than the EMT and has more access to treatment options.  

“My extended plan is to get my degree in EMS and then transfer over to nursing as a Paramedic. There is a bridge program where working and currently certified Paramedics can apply and become registered nurses. I want to go all the way up the nursing ladder to become a nurse practitioner, and who knows where from there?”

So Angie, what message would you like to share with our country…and the world?

“I would like to encourage every young unfortunate child to dream, and dream big — the sky’s no longer the limit! You can achieve whatever you dream and aim for. It may take some guidance and lots of planning, but go for it anyway!”