Intensive care flight paramedic Gavin Becker has been saving lives for more than 18 years and said it was the best career move he could have made.

It wasn't until he was 22 that he decided that he wanted to be a paramedic, and a less than stellar performance in high school saw him return to year 12 as a mature-age student determined to pave a path to his chosen career.

During his years in the service, he has seen it all, and filed away enough good and bad memories to last a lifetime.

After working in Bundaberg and remote postings including Fraser Island, Mr Becker moved to Mount Isa 10 months ago, brought here to become the first intensive care dedicated flight paramedic, working hand in hand with NQ Rescue helicopter team.

``We have got a really good team here, from our management to our guys on the road, we have a very proactive station compared to some that I have been in,'' he said.

``We are working hard to get the NQ Rescue helicopter up and cement its place within the emergency service framework here in Mount Isa.'' Mr Becker said working as a paramedic had its challenges, especially in remote areas like Mount Isa.

He said the heat of the Outback, the cultural understanding of indigenous populations, the travelling population and the mine made for a very diverse and interesting set of challenges for a paramedic.

From one extreme to the other, Mr Becker treats patients anywhere from two kilometres underground in a mining environment, to thousands of kilometres above the ground in a helicopter.

``It's a different environment underground and it is certainly a different environment up in the helicopter,'' he said.

``There are definitely unique challenges to responding in the mines, so Mount Isa is a unique place to practice for a number of reasons.''

In such a unique and challenging working environment, the families of paramedics often suffered the strain of the job as well, said Mr Becker.

After he was assaulted by a patient a few years ago, his wife Carolyn has often feared for her husband setting off for a shift.

``That would be worst thing about my job - the concerns that my family might have, and the amount of times I have missed out on milestones, because I have been on call or on shift,'' he said.

Mr Becker said assaults on paramedics were becoming increasingly common and they were now trained in defence, to protect themselves if the need arose.

``Assaults are definitely becoming more predominant,'' he said.

``I think as we move through our generation changes, the younger people and their respect for people in authority is not there.

``It's hard to take because first and foremost we are paramedics, we are normally caring people with caring natures and we want to implement our training that we have done to better the patient outcome and reduce mortality and morbidity.''

But for all the sadness he may see throughout his career, Mr Becker said there were very positive components of his job, and couldn't imagine himself doing anything else.

``I think every paramedic, every now and again we get frustrated with certain things, but in general most paramedics that do the job love the job, they would be lying if they didn't,'' he said.

``Just seeing the difference that you make in the individual patient is a great part of the job, without a doubt.''