Sometimes, no matter what you do, no matter how much training you have, no matter how much you mentally are prepared for something, you are still going to get shocked when you actually get in and do something. I’ve spent the last several years learning and watching everything I can about EMS, but now that I’ve spent the last couple of months actually in the field I’ve learned a few things.
One of the biggest things that has really struck me in the Emergency Medical Service, and this may just be because of the school I went to, but the ALS knowledge you have to have even while still a BLS operator on a Medic unit has surprised me. When I was in class, they took us through a very brief rundown of intubation kits, IV supplies and spiking a bag, and medications outside of what we are authorized to use. When I asked why those things weren’t covered anymore than that, I was told we wouldn’t have to work with them or be very familiar with them since we were the basics and the medic unit would deal with that stuff. Well, since entering service, I’ve set that aside as a misconception. I ride on a Medic unit. I am with the ALS crew. When my medic tells me “Justin! I want a Mac 3 blade” I have to know that they’re talking about. In the back of the ambulance I may be called on to spike an IV bag and prep it for connection to the IV they’re establishing in the patient’s arm. I may also be asked to hand them a drug they’re about to give the patient. I have to know the locations of these things, I have to know how to spike that bag, how to set up the intubation tools and get them to the medic in a timely manner.
The last couple of months have been a major crash course for me. It’s been almost like relearning EMT school, just because I’m actually putting into practice the skills I’ve learned in the real world, and the real world is very different from the controlled environs of the classroom. Even now, my heart rate increases when the tones go out. I doubt that will ever change. In class, when you didn’t do something right, there was always the next station or scenario, and you could remedy it. You and your team didn’t save the patient? That’s ok. It’s just a mannequin. I thought that it wouldn’t be that hard to deal with losing a patient. I was wrong. When you and your team have spent the past half hour performing CPR on a patient and you look up from chest compressions as the lead medic puts her hand on your shoulder and tells you that we’re stopping resuscitation efforts, you go numb. It takes a while to get over that. You just have to remember that you and your squad did everything they could and more to try to save that patient. God had other plans for them at that time.
I guess in every field there’s a certain amount of “culture shock” that happens when you get out of the classroom and into the field. I’m excited for the future and to continue learning more and more about the career I’ve chosen.
