Medic Dani is quite possibly the youngest EMS blogger out there.

Just shy of 21, Dani works as a CNA (certified nursing assistant) by day and an EMT (emergency medical technician) by night. But don’t let her age fool you. She’s been an EMT since 18 and became a CNA at the super-early age of 15.

She documents her experiences in the medical field on her blog Dani’s Anatomy. While all the events she discusses are real, she notes that all names (aside from her own), dates, locations and diagnoses are altered to “protect both guilty or innocent.” This April will mark her first full year of blogging.

How has your blog helped you cope with the stress of your job?

The biggest thing is not being able to talk about the stresses due to the privacy laws. It’s very difficult not to come home and tell my fiancée or my family about the patient I lost.

I’ve always loved writing and thought of using writing as my emotional outlet. Before long I started to blog, and by changing those identifying details I was actually able to talk about it. And having the online EMS community reading and replying helped remind me that I wasn’t alone.

Do things happen to you on the job and you immediately know you want to blog about them?

Absolutely! A lot of the time I actually come across shifts that seem to scream a theme at me. Some nights it’s all about addiction, others it’s about family. If a shift throws a theme at me, I write about it.

What are some misconceptions about being an EMT?

I often go help teach basic classes, and the students are always so excited for the blood, guts and gore. Whoever is placing that bug into their ear should be beaten.

Not a class goes by that I don’t tell them the ‘truth’ about EMS. Not all calls will be life threatening—actually most will be completely not related to EMS at all! When you do save a life, be proud. But don’t feel bad when the only call you get is the homeless shelter. That’s just a part of the job.

It took me a while to understand this, but having my own ‘turkey call’ helped me become a better EMT.

What are some of your personal goals as an EMT for 2010? How about as a blogger?

I actually didn’t set any personal goals for myself this year! It’s horrible of me, but I decided that I want to try something new. I am an Aries, which means, stubborn, pain-in-the-butt go-getter, so my goal for the year is to just go with the flow and enjoy what 2010 has to bring!

As a blogger, my goal is to simply expand my reader base to more than just EMTs but also hospital professionals, firemen and police officers. With my fiancée being an officer-in-training, he is helping me learn skills that they never taught us that are just as (if not more) important.

And this is pretty much a mandatory question: What type of pants do you wear out on the field? What kind of pants do you wish you could wear?

Since I currently work in a hospital I wear scrub pants. My favorites are the Wal-Mart brand that has the side pocket with places to put your scissors, pens, etc. But I really, really want to wear tactical pants!