Paramedic Svitlana Smal from Volyn talked about her work on an ambulance on TikTok

Svitlana Smal, 24, has been working as a paramedic at the Volyn Regional Center for Emergency Medical Care and Disaster Medicine for nearly four years. At the same time, she runs a TikTok account where she shares her daily work routine and explains how to properly call an ambulance, meet the paramedics, and interact with them.

She decided to start the social media account to raise public awareness about emergency medical care and the work of paramedics.

She begins every video with the phrase, “Good morning, kitties!” According to her, no matter how she’s feeling, she tries to start the day by greeting her followers.

The paramedic’s workday begins at 6:00 a.m., and by 7:40 a.m. she’s already on duty.

The paramedic admits that as a child, she wanted to become a police officer. However, her mother, who also works in the medical field, had other plans for her daughter’s future.

“No, my daughter. You’re going to be a doctor,” her mother told her.

Svitlana graduated from university with honors. She completed her first internship under her mother’s supervision in the village of Pishcha in the Kamin-Kashyrskyi District, where she is from.

“I started my career in Kamen on a part-time basis and worked half-time in Pishcha; there, I was under the supervision of my Lyudochka—Lyudochka is my mom. Once in Kamen, a man chased me with a knife during a call, and I ran across the field with that box and the cardiograph,” Svitlana Smal recounted.

Later, she began an internship at the Volyn Regional Center for Emergency Medical Care and Disaster Medicine. It was then that she realized she wanted to stay and work at this facility.

Svitlana Smal admits that her first calls were challenging. Among them were a patient with liver cirrhosis, a hanging incident, and gastrointestinal bleeding.

“I went on my first call—it was a case of liver cirrhosis; the second call was a hanging; the third call was gastrointestinal bleeding. I was so nervous, but it turns out I’m not that clueless—I actually know something… I love this job; I really go out there and get a kick out of it—not for content, not for TikTok. I love it; I like being useful and helping people,” says the paramedic.

During a single shift, the team can handle anywhere from five to 12–13 calls. The number of calls depends on the day of the week and the circumstances.

According to Svitlana Smal, there are especially many calls on Saturdays. People don’t always have time to see their family doctor during the workweek, and over the weekend their health can deteriorate rapidly.

“You never know what’s in store for you. We can’t always predict what the first call will be, what the last one will be, or even the reason for the call—for example, heart problems can lead to gastrointestinal bleeding,” says Svitlana Smal.

Working in emergency medical services requires not only a quick response but also continuous learning. Svitlana Smal says that after certain calls, she continues to reflect on her actions and looks for ways to improve her work.

“After some calls, I wonder if I did everything right—why didn’t I do this, why didn’t I do that, or maybe it would have been better this way. The job always makes you think and improve,” says the paramedic.

One shift for the team lasts 24 hours. During this time, Svitlana works alongside her partner—paramedic Volodymyr Hryhoriev, who also appears in her TikTok videos.

Vladimir Grigoryev speaks highly of working with Svitlana and highlights their teamwork during calls.

“It’s really nice and fun to work with her. She’s smart. Yeah. It’s like we’re on the same page—we understand each other with just half a word. Now it’s really interesting to arrive at calls when people say, ‘We’ve seen you before,’ and you think to yourself, ‘I need to do this a little better than usual,’” says Svitlana’s partner, Volodymyr Hryhoriev.

The paramedic emphasizes that her profession carries a great deal of responsibility, and in her opinion, the work of emergency medical professionals is still not sufficiently appreciated.

That’s why Svitlana Smal strives not only to help patients and save lives, but also to promote the paramedic profession and educate people on how to interact with ambulance crews. This is exactly what she does in her TikTok videos.

Svitlana Smal spoke about this in an interview with Suspilne.

Earlier, a U.S. Navy reservist found a 6.03-carat diamond in Arkansas during a live TikTok broadcast. The gem is estimated to be worth more than $1 million.