Well, I survived my first ER rotation. Got a fair amount of sticks in. Unfortunately there were more attempts than actual patent, unblown lines, but hey… all good things come with time. By the end of the night, I hit every one I tried. So, I guess that’s a good thing.
We’re still cranking our way through cardiology and the cardiac pharm. Big quiz today and I think I did pretty well. It’s always a positive sign when you can identify the rhythms and answer all of the questions. There weren’t any head scratches on this one.
So, I wish I had something exciting to tell you, but I’m just kinda wiped out. Between now and the holidays almost every minute is being sucked into the swirling vortex of ER and OR clinicals, field hours on the medic unit, the weekend ACLS course and the regular class/labs. It’s tough to try and have a life.
But no whining. I wanted this and damn it, I will muscle through.
…as soon as I take a nap.
Welcome to the suck that is Medic School.
We’ll get through it. Hang in there
(I know that’s cliche’d, but the truth is that this whole experience is exhausting, overwhelming and just plain sucks. Keep your eye on the prize.)
First of all congrats on improving significantly on IV placement skills. Second you will look back on this training as your greatest accomplishment unless of course you climb mount Everest, solve one of the billion dollar EMS problems, or take over the borg to name a few. You’ve done great so far. Hang in there. Make the world a better place.
Glad you’re having fun
(dork)
IV’s are 90% psychological. I still have bad days, and the fact that I call them bad days means I allow myself to get in the mindset that it is out of my control. There are very few “hard sticks” out there. You’ll get them,a nd they’ll piss you off the most–since they are usually the ones who need the line the most. That being said, if you can’t get a line in the field, and IO isn’t protocol, get your ass going. DOn’t be one of those guys stuck on getting a line and not advancing care.