“I am J. Marshall Thomson and I live in Crested Butte Colorado. My medic journey Started more than 50 years ago when my mother was in a horrific ski accident. If it wasn’t for the on-hill and pre-hospital care of the Ski Patrol and local EMS service, my mother would not have survived. Growing up an avid skier in VT and hearing of my mother’s story I always wanted to be a ski patroller helping others. I became an EMT in 2008 and joined the Crested Butte Mountain Resort Ski Patrol and Avalanche Dog Rescue Team. Over the years, I spent a lot of time traveling while competing in mountain running, ski mountaineering and was a member of the US National Ski Mountaineering team competing at the world championships. Although racing and competing gave me unforgettable experiences and travels all over the world, I never felt the same sense of pride and accomplishment that I do from being a member of a ski patrol team and helping those in need. My wife always says, I am happiest when I have the cross on my back.”
“I wanted to become a paramedic to better my knowledge and skills while providing an increased level of care to help my ski patrol, local Fire/EMS and community. My background and experience are in Ski Patrol and Avalanche SAR, I had never worked on an ambulance for an EMS service. The lack of traditional EMS experience was going to be one of my biggest challenges. With Crested Butte having a population of around 3000 people, I wanted to find a service for my ride time that would have the greatest benefit for me to learn and move forward in my paramedic career. Learning from a service with progressive protocols, high call volume, high level of critical care, longer transport times and highly experienced preceptors willing to teach was very important to me. ASM seemed to be the perfect fit, after speaking with ASM I knew that it would be worth leaving my family and traveling 2000 miles for the best Paramedic field experience possible.”
“My experience at ASM was invaluable. The entire team went above and beyond to make me feel welcome, I was a member of the team and not just a student. Every EMT I worked with was willing to take the time to teach me the basics of being on a truck and how the system works. I was fortunate for the patience everyone had with me and willingness to assist in the entire process of learning. My preceptors at ASM were amazing with an indispensable wealth of knowledge. Everyone had their own passion for EMS and a desire to teach and willingness to spend extra time to discuss calls, treatments and differential diagnosis. My lead preceptor took charge and control of my education making sure that I was learning and improving. He would follow up with other preceptors making sure I was on the correct path, continuing to discuss my progress and performance. I am forever grateful for the experience I had with ASM and I am looking forward to taking what I have learned back to the Mountains and communities of Colorado.”
