Local Mobile Intensive Care Ambulance (MICA) paramedic Murray Colvin
has retired from Ambulance Victoria after a distinguished 30-year career, marked by a longstanding commitment to
helping others.
Mr Colvin’s career spanned roles
from Ambulance Community Officer (ACO) through to MICA paramedic, as well as positions in education, clinical support and management, making a significant impact on patients and colleagues across East Gippsland and metropolitan Melbourne.
His pathway into paramedicine began with surf lifesaving, where he recently marked 50 years of service.
“I started lifesaving in Lakes Entrance in 1975 and as part of it we were doing first aid and would often call the ambulance, or sometimes transport patients ourselves to the local clinic. It all started from there,” Mr Colvin said.
Motivated by the ability to help people in need, he joined as an ACO in Lakes Entrance, providing first response care in a rural setting while supporting paramedics and transporting patients to hospital.
Around the same time, Mr Colvin worked as a helicopter aircrewman with the National Safety Council of Australia aboard the Helimed 1 air ambulance,
now part of Air Ambulance Victoria’s Helicopter Emergency Medical Service (HEMS) fleet.
“I was very lucky to be exposed to the air ambulance field and to be working alongside MICA paramedics before I began a paramedic career myself,” he said.
“The days on Helimed 1 were certainly my formative years of how to operate professionally and set me in the direction of becoming a paramedic.”
After gaining extensive emergency service experience, Mr Colvin formally studied paramedicine, securing a role in Queensland in 1995 before returning to East Gippsland the following year.
“Transitioning to being a paramedic just seemed like a natural thing. I couldn’t see myself doing anything else,” he said.
He began his paramedic career in
Sale and Lakes Entrance before progressing to MICA level in the early 2000s,
working in Melbourne’s Pascoe Vale and later returning to Gippsland in the Latrobe Valley.
Over the following decades, Mr Colvin took on a variety of roles, including paramedic educator and clinical instructor, as well as relieving positions as a clinical support officer and senior team manager. He finished his career as a MICA single responder in Bairnsdale.
Throughout his career, he witnessed and contributed to major advancements in pre-hospital care, including the introduction of pre-hospital thrombolysis — a clot-busting treatment for heart attack and stroke patients.
“That was one of the biggest game-changers for us and the Lakes Entrance branch was instrumental in getting it up and running,” Mr Colvin said.
“We were thrombolising patients well before it was rolled out across the state.”
One case involving the treatment remains a standout memory.
“We did pre-hospital thrombolysis and before we left the residence, the patient was pain free. It saved what could have been a devastating outcome,” he said.
Mr Colvin said mentoring and supporting colleagues had also been a highlight of his career.
“It was all about sharing knowledge for the purpose of our advancement
and getting a better outcome for our patients,” he said.
Reflecting on his retirement, Mr Colvin said stepping away would be difficult.
“I’ll miss my colleagues and I’ll miss
the patients. Mostly I’ll miss trying to
get a better outcome for people who
have called for an ambulance in their moment of crisis.”
