I’m a firefighter/paramedic and also teach classes to other healthcare providers (mainly doctors and nurses). I have had a stutter my whole life. When I was younger, I just chose not to talk. That probably hurt me. But then I had to use my voice when I decided I wanted to be firefighter. I still get scared and worried I’m going to talk and the words out of my mouth are going to be garbage. It’s more difficult with medical jargon. At the end of day, it’s there and sometimes it’ll pop up. With friends, we laugh about it now. In a professional environment, I pause, take a mental deep breath and keep on going. No one cares that I may have stuttered a little when I’m still able to do my job. These are people who trust a complete stranger with their life. I see stuttering as just another little tic we are human with unique differences. When I’m teaching (especially when I’m tired), I can get really caught up and I just apologize and start over. I actually had a speech pathologist point it out (using my hands a lot and using hard enunciation) and we talked about it. But even with those moments, I always get great positive feedback. It’s nothing to be embarrassed about. You’re doing great going the career route you’ve chosen even though you knew there be some challenges.