Couple take next career steps together

For husband and wife duo Tony and Annie Kubeil, a shared love for helping their community and a willingness to give things a go has led to an exciting new healthcare career on the frontline.

The Euroa couple got their first taste of working alongside Ambulance Victoria (AV) as members of the State Emergency Service (SES).

Neither had any prior medical knowledge, with Annie coming from a banking and finance background, while Tony worked in environmental science.

But when Annie was approached by the AV Euroa Team Manager and asked if she would consider becoming an Ambulance Community Officer (ACO), she jumped at the opportunity.

"At the end of high school, I was tossing up joining the police or ambulance services, but I started banking in the meantime and just never got around to pursuing either,” Annie said.

"It was really interesting how the opportunity then presented itself again decades later.”

ACOs are First Responders, who are employed on a casual basis to work “on call” in rural and remote communities where the ambulance branch is not staffed by multiple paramedics on a full-time basis.

They are trained to provide advanced first aid, to support qualified paramedics and can transport patients to hospital.

After watching Annie enjoy her time as an ACO, Tony felt inspired to follow in his wife’s footsteps.

"I thought it looked like something pretty cool and operating in a small community there’s always an opportunity to give back,” he said.

"When I looked at what being an ACO involved my job paled in comparison. Joining was a fun, enjoyable and logical move.”

But the pair’s AV journey didn’t end there, with Annie then taking the leap to study paramedicine, and Tony wasn’t far behind.

Both were fortunate enough to receive AV scholarships to help them progress from ACO’s to fully qualified paramedics.

Tony has almost finished his Graduate Ambulance Paramedic (GAP) program at Shepparton Branch while Annie is an Advanced Life Support (ALS) paramedic based in Euroa.

While the jump from ACO to ALS was challenging at times, Annie said it was worth it.

"When I first started being an ACO, I had a run of pretty intense jobs but the paramedics I worked with were great. They inspired me to be better and I wanted to learn more to become more helpful,” she said.

"Now that I’ve graduated and am fully qualified, I absolutely love my job. It’s challenging, rewarding and you feel very privileged to be trusted and let into people’s lives.”

It was equally as rewarding for Tony, who now can’t imagine going back to an office job.

"I love that you can spend 20 minutes with someone and make a real difference,” he said.

"In my old job, my kids didn’t even know what I did. Now, I get to work with so many great people and constantly give back to my community.”

With 25 years of marriage under their belt, the pair are excited to take this next career step together and encourage anyone interested in helping their community to give it a go.

"Community is very important for us and local towns like ours rely on volunteers,” Annie said.

"We’re lucky we were able to make a career out of it but there are also other ways. When we’re not on shift we’re still part of the GoodSAM app which anyone can join.

"There’s always something you can do to give back.”