Wednesday, December 26, 2007

I am completely bored, the day after Christmas, stuck in my dorm room. I made the trek back on the hopes of getting some work done...but after watching a movie and aimless websurfing, I know that it is hopeless. I guess some rambling wouldn't hurt.

So on my last ambulance shift for the class, I had a good time with a long time preceptor. We were out in the country for one of the last calls of the night, and I actually saw STARS in the sky.

It was amazing. My preceptor stated that he regularly sees shooting stars. I had no idea they actually existed. We were called into the backwoods, almost exactly like the home of the poor but smart kid from October Sky. I mean even the lights and crumbling steps mirrored the movie.

Through out that day we transported to a hospital that had the coolest nurses. There was one I just instantly had a crush on for the day (don't worry I don't normally do this). She was so...spunky. Looked just like Liv Taylor, but a lot funnier. I normally take a while to get used to people and places, but man, with her it was hard not to flirt back...


Anyway. Okay calls that day. Pretty crazy calls with this new service I'm hoping to volunteer for permanently...a kid with o2 sats at 45%, a couple of seizures here and there, mvc's...

The only sucky part is the ever present call at 4 am, and the last call 5 minutes before your shift is over. Oh and last shift, just when I take that last call guaranteed to make me home late by an hour, a Code Blue call goes out. AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH WHHHHHHHHHHYYYYYYYY...

Thursday, November 15, 2007

Finally, a decent call.

My supervisor, another emt, and I were watching a sweet musical (Jesus Christ Superstar) when our pagers went off. Good timing, right during the final song. It was a weird moment, when all of us jerk up when the vibrating pager went off.

"Head Injury. No detail."

Oh crap.

All three of us start jogging out to the truck parked in the driveway, then halfway there we sprinted for it.

Lights and some sirens, speeding down a lane in 5 seconds that normally takes me a minute to bike.

The guy looked fine, but had blacked out. Crap.

A car full of guys had driven up to him, rushed him, mugged him, and popped him on the head with....something....then drove away.

After awhile, we finally convinced the guy to go to the hospital. I was frozen by now, since my friend who wasn't on duty needed my official EMS hoodie...to look official...

Things are getting pretty nasty.

College isn't safe. Be careful guys and girls.

Friday, November 9, 2007

Wow that was a hectic month. Combine living at the ER on the weekends with crazy biochemistry studying and epi lectures to give...

I am going to miss my ER rotations. A lot. The one particular hospital I spend every weekend at, a county hospital level one trauma center, has basically been my new home this semester.

I am going to miss:

  • The really nice pediatric trauma fellow who loved to let us do cool things like hold a screaming kid while he stitched up a 8 inch laceration while thoroughly explaining everything he was doing as he was doing it. First of all, pediatric trauma? Wow. Second, a really really nice guy/doctor in a super busy ER who obviously has better things to do than show EMT students cool random things on the xray scans? Now that's rare.
  • The smell of vomit, feces, urine, sweat, blood, rotting flesh, cleaning solution. Oh wait, never mind, I have a weak sense of smell =)
  • The helicopter pad. I swear if I find a really cool girlfriend, I am going to bring her to the top. On a clear night. Yes.
  • One word: nurses.
Quick reminders to myself for the future:

  • Please please keep extra gloves in your pocket.
  • DO NOT BE A WALLFLOWER. Seriously. That is the only thing separating our class from all of the normal paramedic students.
  • Stop with the AC IV's.

On a related note, I started an IV on myself the other night. Sweet. Now I just need to keep the ingredients for an banana bag in my room for those pesky hangovers =)

More on my first ambulance shifts later on.

Friday, October 12, 2007

Oh here we go

I have no idea why I am doing this. It's not like I have anything in particular I need to tell/whine about.

Life is fine. I am happy, well fed, but sleep deprived.

I just got back from a clinical at a local trauma center earlier, and I immediately thought about this quote:

'True heroism is remarkably sober, very undramatic. It is not the urge to surpass all others at whatever the cost, but the urge to serve others, at whatever the cost.'

-Arthur Ashe

My last patient had been in and out with the law. She was reading one of those thick romance novels when I approached her, and I couldn't help blurting out "Oh Nora Roberts is SO much better."

She was one of my favorite patients. Rehab is so lonely, so we just had fun talking about...stuff. It's so weird how I barely know the people living on my floor, but I got to know her really well in a 5 minute conversation.

Emergency medicine is a oxymoron. Spinal taps hurt. Like Hell. Oh god.

I just love patients leaving Against Medical Advice. Just love it.



That is all. I would like some sleep this weekend.