It may have been just due to the fact that I am lactose intolerant from drinking a latte or maybe it was both, but once I finished that last Patient Care Report for my clinical book I felt sick. Within this binder of checklists, tabs, and signatures held my journey of skills perfected and people I have touched and those who have touched me. I have written in, carried, cursed at, and protected this clinical book during this Spring semester as if it were a sacred grail. Knowing if I lost or misplaced this clinical book, my entire last two semesters of paramedic clinicals meant it never existed. Those people I watched, preformed on, conversed with meant to the school that it never officially happened.
I have written a total of 128 PCRs. Among those 128 patient reports recalls several people with complaints of chest pains or palpations, difficulty breathing, abdomen pains, weakness, nausea with vomiting, broken or sprain extremities, headaches, attempted suicides, car accidents, painful urination or constipation, low blood pressures and high blood pressures, strokes, fever, babies being born, people needing intubations, altered behaviors, unresponsive people, and one dead on scene. All these patients I have met, observed, assessed, and documented ranged from the moment they were born to 99 years old.
Of course this not my first clinical book, but it sure will be my last. Also me having to turn in all these patient care reports doesn’t mean I will never have to document another patient I meet again, honestly when I start working besides assessment and treatment, it’s all about documenting and paperwork. But overall my last semester clinical rotation has showed me how much I feel ready to become a paramedic. What especially verified that conclusion was during an ambulance ride out at Mineral Wells.
LeAnn and I arrived at the clinical site with two Basic students from another school. As all of us were checking off the truck that morning, the alarm suddenly came on for EMS. The lead paramedic decided for all four of us students to come along, so we all sat in the back of the ambulance. So as we are driving to the scene, I’m sitting in the captain’s chair while LeAnn and the others are sitting on the bench, all of us were quiet. I guess LeAnn and I were not aware of our composure, the call came in as a behavioral call so after thinking what needed to be assessed and what possible treatment the patient might need, all we could do at the moment was sit back and enjoy the ride. Now I obviously couldn’t speak for the two other students, but once one of them said “I can’t believe you guys, are you not nervous at all? How can you seem so relaxed?” It was pretty much at that moment I believe LeAnn and I realized this had to be their first ride out.
As I empathized with these two new students, it was a conscious awareness to me of how much I have grown with confidence and routine. It was so eerie to imagine myself as student on a first clinical ride-out like these two students, but I was there at a time with them. Naturally after knowing that this was the students’ first ride out, LeAnn and I gave whatever comforting words and friendly advice to each of them throughout the rest of the day. My clinical at Mineral Wells had to be the most interesting experience as I talked to the new students about there career dreams, witnessing their excitement, them wanting more calls, seeing them unable to fully relax waiting for a buzzer, and overall made me glad I still shared their passion as a student about to graduate.
With my spring semester involving mostly clinical hours and frequent visits to the school to prepare for National Registry paramedic skills, I was able to receive a part time job with Fisher Co. by the help of our head instructor. Working as an Intermediate with their EMS has allowed me to be the lead medic at times and with that helped me become more confident with not just medical skills, but also people/professional and radio skills that you can’t really take from school. Moreover as a small 4’11 female, I was just happy that I was able to reach the ambulance foot pedals while seeing over the steering wheel when it was time for me to practice driving on transfers.
Even so, here I am completely finished with my clinicals and overall my entire school profession as a TSTC student. When I turned in my clinical book to our coordinator, it was an odd sense of release. I wasn’t scared, nervous, or remorseful – I was done. So until then I wait for my course completion sheet so I can test out my written and skills for paramedic, and evidently wait another three to six weeks for my state license by mail.
Unfortunately for my spring class being able to walk across the stage for graduation has been postponed until August 2009 due the Swine Flu pandemic; however, once I’m an official paramedic I don’t know where I’ll be in August, but I will sure try and walk. For me, it is disappointing because as a 6.5 year professional college student the event would be a fitting closure, but the cancellation may just fit itself.
Sometime during my Spring semester as a friend and I were discussing how much effort – physically and emotionally – it is to move to one place for school, work hard, make friends, and then just leave. Overall the conclusion of the debate came to the fact that it’s the journey. I have made many friends from classmates to instructors, and although it is sad to accept the fact that the old elementary ‘friends forever’ is just a cliché. The people and city I feel close to now may eventually fade out; in truth they were there for my journey and vise versa. No one may ever get a prefect closure, but just to have the knowledge of receiving your degree in the mail and the wisdom that was taught by people who care, with friends who stood by your side for a moment in time, and actually enjoying your job…isn’t that all what matters once college is through?
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