NSW AMBULANCE Inspector Kay Armstrong can't imagine doing anything else - she's been in uniform for 30 years, loves her job, and frontline work runs in her family.
But it wasn't always like that.
She was studying to be a science teacher when she met someone who told her stories of his time on the road as a paramedic and inspired her to join.
The Murrays Beach resident has now been recognised with the prestigious Ambulance Service Medal (ASM) on Australia Day.
"I think what keeps me coming back to my job every day ... is that I really enjoy looking after the community," she said.
"It's not a chore for me - I still put my uniform on every day and love going to my job.
"I'm definitely a caring sort of person, I like to look after people."
Inspector Armstrong leads a team of about 160 at Sydney's super station at Haberfield and applies that passion to her staff as well.
For more than a decade, she's been a peer support officer.
"I think that's probably one of the most important parts of our job," she said.
"You never know what you're going to get in ambulance ... some of the crises we face in our workplace are so significant and so impacting."
Inspector Armstrong is married to fellow NSW Ambulance Inspector Andrew McAlpine, has a daughter in the NSW Police, a niece who is a nurse, an ex-military mother and another family member in the navy.
She said she was extremely proud when her daughter followed in her footsteps of being a frontline worker.
"It also worries me to some degree because I know what she's exposed to and I know what she's going to see out there on the road," she told the Newcastle Herald.
"I'm sure she's probably a chip off her old mum's block."
She said it was a surprise - and an honour - to find out she had been awarded an ASM.
"I do my job because I love it so much and I look after my staff because I love them too," she said.
"Sometimes the worst situations can bring out the absolute best in people."
Inspector Armstrong has been an advocate for female leadership in NSW Ambulance and said she hoped the next generation of managers had a strong female lineage.
Inspector Armstrong said the couple loved living at Lake Macquarie.
