A world of care
Highlights
- ACU paramedicine student Jordan Berger travelled to the USA and Tanzania and expanded her view of global healthcare and her role within it.
- Hands-on experiences, from firefighting ride-alongs to supporting medical teams in resource-limited hospitals, brought classroom learning to life.
- Leadership at ACU, including reviving the Paramedicine Society, helped her grow academically, professionally and personally.
When ACU paramedicine student Jordan Berger scrubbed in for surgery in a rural Tanzanian hospital, the lights suddenly went out.
In the middle of an operation, with the patient bleeding and no backup generator to rely on, the doctor was forced to perform the emergency procedure in the dark, guided only by instinct.
For Jordan, it was a moment that captured both the fragility and strength of health care – and reaffirmed why she wanted to dedicate her life to helping others.
“It was a moment that you would never see at home in Australia,” she said.
“It really makes you appreciate even the simple things like light.”
Jordan’s journey to paramedicine began long before that night in Tanzania.
From a young age, she was drawn to medicine and service – but it was a chance conversation with a paramedic friend that turned interest into ambition.
“What started as a small chat turned into an hours-long conversation which ultimately had me leaving with my mind made up. I was going to become a paramedic.”
Shortly after, she joined St John as a cadet with a dream of becoming a paramedic, and the rest was history.
Combining travel with study
A self-confessed travel lover, Jordan always dreamed of combining her curiosity for the world with her commitment to pre-hospital medicine.
That dream came true early in her Bachelor of Paramedicine at ACU when she joined firefighter paramedics in the United States, shadowing them through Los Angeles and San Diego.
She experienced an entirely different side of paramedicine: from riding in fire trucks to checking out 911 dispatch centres to even driving America’s largest fireboat.
“It gave me a look at a system very different from Australia’s, one where US paramedics are dual-qualified as firefighters,” Jordan recalled.
“I loved seeing the family-like culture at their stations, the teamwork, and the way they supported each other under pressure.
“Those experiences opened my eyes to the possibilities in paramedicine. You just don’t get opportunities like that in Australia as a student.”
Her time volunteering in Tanzania took that perspective even further.
There, Jordan worked in hospitals that lacked the most basic supplies – sometimes even an equipped crash cart, a trolley typically stocked with medicines and equipment used for critical medical emergencies.
“It was empty,” she said of the emergency department’s crash cart.
“As a paramedicine student, cardiac arrest management is our bread and butter, but without the equipment it really limits the outcomes our patients can have.
“It meant the critically unwell patients couldn’t get the care they needed.”
Still, amid the challenges, there were moments of profound joy. Jordan vividly remembers watching new life enter the world.
“There is nothing that quite compares to watching life be brought into the world and hearing a baby cry for the very first time,” she said.
“Being able to stand alongside the doctors and watch these deeply meaningful moments was nothing short of extraordinary.
“Not only was it simply a beautiful thing to witness, but it was like seeing everything I had been studying back home right in front of me.
“It was an educational experience like no other, and I felt so grateful to have the passionate doctors take the time to explain concepts to deepen my own clinical knowledge.”
When she wasn’t in the hospital, she was out exploring the town of Arusha with other volunteers or hiking through Tanzania’s stunning landscapes.
Leading through learning
For Jordan, travel wasn’t just an adventure – it was a classroom.
“Whether it is local or overseas, giving back to communities and experiencing life beyond the classroom offers lessons that simply cannot be taught in our lectures,” she said.
“It challenges you to problem-solve, to adapt to unexpected situations, and to become a more understanding and resilient future clinician.
“Going to both the USA and Tanzania during my paramedicine studies has shown me both ends of the healthcare spectrum – from an almost over-resourced country to a hospital that struggles to provide even basic care to the sickest of patients.
“In these places, you learn the privilege it is to be able to help people in any context, and what being a ‘paramedic’ really entails on a personal level.”
That perspective has shaped her time at ACU, where Jordan has thrived not only academically but as a leader and mentor.
With a drive to make the most of the university experience for herself and her peers, she restarted the lapsed ACU Paramedicine Society with an executive team and was elected president – a role that allowed her to create a vibrant, supportive community for her peers.
