I’ve been on some excellent calls recently. Calls that I’m sure seem mundane to my preceptors, but present me with a new learning experience every time I step out of the medic unit. Every chest pain call is an opportunity to hone my assessment and interview skills and tighten up my IV skills. I’m working hard on delegating tasks to the EMTs and other medics with me. These guys and gals want me to run the scene and they’re poised, ready to jump when I say the word, all to help me succeed. I just need to tell ‘em what I want. And that’s a little hard, when sometimes I don’t know myself. But I’m getting better.

I made some mistakes over the past few days. I’m moving fast. Sometimes too fast. Going down the checklist in my head at a chest pain call at 2 in the morning…

“Okay, Tom, let’s get this gentleman on the monitor and some O2… Dave, can you grab me another set of vitals while I get the aspirin and nitro?”

Tom, my Medic preceptor, hops right to getting the patient on the monitor and some Os flowing on a cannula while Dave, the Firefighter EMT that’s with me, looks up from his BP cuff and says, “As soon as I’m done here, I’ll go spike a bag for you and set it up in the truck. I’ll make sure to set the nitro next to your IV roll.”

“That’s great, thanks Dave.” I mouth a silent “thank you” in his direction. He winks back.

And don’t think that Tom didn’t catch that. On the way back to the station after that call Tom asks in the headset, “So, how’d you do?”

I review the call in my head before I answer. I had a great rapport with the patient, we were laughing and joking on the way to ED. I did an great Q&A. Got a 12 lead in the first 5 minutes in the door, got ASA on board quickly, got an 18 gauge in the right AC while we were en route…

“Well,” I start.

Before I could go any further, Tom says, “It was pretty nice of Dave to save your ass with the Nitro, huh?”

“Yes. Yes it was.” I answer slowly.

These guys aren’t out to bust my balls. They’re working to make me the very best medic I can be. And I appreciate that. That’s why I don’t mind helping with chores around the fire house or cleaning up after dinner. These guys don’t get paid to teach me. They like teaching. And I appreciate it.

And yeah, I wasn’t gonna give that guy any nitro ‘til I had a line. I know better than that. But Dave was there to back me up.

I love riding with these guys.

A great way to test the water, to see if you actually can cope with the sick and injured, is to join a First Aid Team. In Seattle, the American Red Cross has a group of very dedicated volunteers that provide first aid at a myriad of outdoor events and festivals. I’ve been a Team Lead with the Seattle FAST team for a while and it’s a great group of people. The cast is wide and varied; from new EMTs and Nurses to Pre-Med students to folks who’ve taken a basic first aid class and just want to be involved.

If you’ve got an interest in EMS and want to learn a little more, I invite you to contact your Red Cross chapter and see if they have a FAST team. If they do, join. If they don’t, convince them to start one!