The Takeover.
P school is not easy.
And it doesn’t matter if it’s your first attempt or your third. Nothing about constantly having your nose in a book, balancing work with school (and clinical time, and third rides) is fun or easy.
And it’s not supposed to be.
And then you hit the dreaded Cardiac chapter. And even though you might have been through this before, you realize that you have to read the same paragraph three times to retain the information. Information that you had down pat just a few years earlier seems to run away to the parts of your head that you can’t access at the most inopportune times.
You find yourself unable to remember what you walked into the kitchen for. You start calling your four-year-old little girl by the wrong name. Repeatedly. And She’s less than impressed by this. Then again she’s less than impressed by just about everything you do and at least it’s a name she recognizes…
The truth is that I’ve hit a brick wall. And something has to give. Unfortunately for now that has to be my posts here. For just a little bit.
That being said an amazing group of people have stepped forward and offered to takeover the blog for a bit. Some of them you’ll know, some you might not be as familiar with. All of them are far better at this writing stuff than I am.
I’ll be back as soon as I’m through cardiac.
With that being said, I’m very honored to present you with our first guest blogger, Greg Friese.
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5 Things I learned in Paramedic School
In May of 2005 I completed a nine month paramedic program. Nearly five years later I can barely comprehend how I attended class two or three days a week, finished all my clinicals before the end of March, worked full-time, and welcomed our first child into the world eight weeks before graduation.
Along the way I learned a few things that I don’t recall seeing in the syllabus and as I look back may be the most important lessons I learned.
- Everyone has advice, but that advice is not always for everyone. Lower the bevel angle. Who showed you to use such a low angle? Approach from the lateral edge. Plunge right in. Move real slow. Tension the skin here. That is not enough tension. That is too much tension. Start high. Start low. I could probably write a reasonably sized book with all the various IV insertion advice I received. Like most things there are many techniques, tips, and tricks. Once I focused on just doing it with confidence the cascade of advice dried up and my success rate increased.
- I couldn’t learn it all. Not in nine months, probably not even in 24 months could I learn everything about being a paramedic. What I did get though was a foundation so I could keep learning and growing as a paramedic.
- The people that smile a lot were always helpful. Kristen, an ER nurse, had an amazing smile. I remember pushing and pulling a recently deceased patient onto the funeral home gurney as she continued to explain and teach me about the code we had run an hour earlier. I gravitated to Kristen even though she was not my “official” preceptor because she was friendly with her patients. Her enthusiasm for being with patients and their families overflowed onto me and other students. Spend time with the people that genuinely smile the quickest when you enter the room.
- Neonatal Advanced Life Support certification is way more information than any expecting dad should have seven days before their first child’s due date. As the Doctor explained the worrisome fetal monitor tracing, copious red vaginal bleeding, and weakening contractions I wished for ignorance. Instead my mind raced with things like placenta abruption, uterine rupture, and breach birth as the surgical team rushed into the room preparing my wife for an emergency c-section. Thankfully, less than an hour later a ten and half pound boy entered the world healthy and screaming and NALS worries drained away.
- Priorities can change really fast when something big happens. There were several big events during my paramedic training – a large work project, a dramatic situation with a friend, and our first child. Each time something big happened I reshuffled the deck and came up with a new plan. I would love to tell you I studied as hard, listened as well, and read just as many pages in the last two months as I did in the first seven months. But there was no way I could hammer out another hour of studying when little Michael just needed to be cuddled.
Finally, stress and fatigue for me come in waves. Throughout paramedic class there were highs and lows. Then and now when I recognize I am at the peak of the stress wave I try to step out of it for a moment, reaffirm where I am going, eliminate any obvious clutter, and reenergize for the next manageable chunk of time and tasks.
Greg Friese is paramedic, educator, and online CE designer. His blog is http://everydayemstips.com and he co-hosts the http://emseducast.com podcast.
Comments
I think a lot of us have been where you are April. I’m lucky in that I didn’t have a family depending on me when I went through school.
Lean on those who are going through it with you.
That’s my best advice.
That, and kick that cardiac test’s ass and start writing again. I know you, and I know that you know your stuff. The rest is cake.
Thanks hon.
It better be chocolate cake
Epi I miss you already? When will cardiac be over?
“The people that smile a lot were always helpful.” I can’t agree more.
Good luck Epi. I wish you the best. I’m probably going to be in your position in another year as I redo my medic schooling. Right now your blog is giving me hope that I can actually do it and not just give up.
I’m right behind you (we start cardiac next week) so I understand. 100% do I understand…..
Good luck, and we’ll be waiting for you when it’s all over. And thanks for the new writers.
Epi,
I truly wish you the best in medic school and especially cardiac.
Come back soon!
Keep at it – although it seems insurmountable and never ending it really is. One day you’ll wake up and be surprised to find out you’re done. I finally got my NREMT card in the mail a few days ago after 1 1/2 years of school, clinicals, studying and test taking. Sometimes I wakeup after having a recurring dream about being in class and talking about the test, and have to pinch myself to make sure it’s real. And it feels GOOD.
My 6 year old said to me yesterday ‘Wouldn’t it be great if all you had to do was go to school for ONE DAY to be a Paramedic ?’. ‘Not at all !’ I told him, ‘it just wouldn’t be special if everyone could do it.’ You’ll get there, you’ll graduate, you’ll get your card and you’ll be a (special) Paramedic.
This brings back memories of being in paramedic school. Stress!! Several years later I have found teaching at a paramedic program much more enjoyable than attending. And the students force you to keep up all your knowledge.
Just remember that your blog, no matter how enjoyable and therapeutic at times, is probably your lowest priority!
The friends and colleagues you have made through the blog will always be here and waiting for you anyway.
And remember you have access to a huge pool of EMS knowledge and feel free to email or skype me at markglencorse if I can be of any small help to you (i’m a bit of an ECG geek!)
good luck and see ya when you get back!
I’m with Mark, Epi. You know what your priorities are and you’re handling them. Do what you have to – we’ll be here when you get back.
I’m also with Mark in that if you need some help with the subject matter I can do that too….
Uh, I can’t think of any reason you should even have to explain why you are putting the blog on the back burner, Epi. After all, it’s YOUR blog. You are not going to disappoint anyone by reassessing your priorities, especially in the face of family, work and school and everything else Life throws at you. Any one of those is more than enough to keep a person busy, so I don’t now how you keep it all straight.
All of us readers will still be here and those of us who have “been there, done that” will be here to support you no matter how tough it gets. You know by now that all you have to do is shout and any one of us will do what it takes to help you through a tough class topic or even (in some instances) tough topics in the other areas affecting you. Seems to me you’re like every one’s junior partner (okay, rookie) that you can’t help but want to see succeed.
All of this chaos will pass; we’ll be here to help! Now, get this school stuff behind you and stop reading my rambling comments!