In this episode of Adding Context, we sit down with Patrick Pianezza - former paramedic, screenwriter, and co-creator of the film Code 3 - for an unflinching conversation about the realities of emergency medical services, burnout, and why authentic storytelling matters.

Drawing from more than a decade on the truck, Patrick shares how Code 3 became a “love letter to EMS”: a project rooted in lived experience rather than Hollywood myth. Patrick explores the emotional toll of first response, the stigma surrounding mental health in EMS, and the cultural tendency to avoid uncomfortable truths about violence, death, and exhaustion.

This conversation goes beyond film. It’s about orientation—how first responders survive the weight of the job, how storytelling can impose a societal cost on ignoring burnout, and why changing your mind, asking better questions, and adding context may be the most honest way forward.