Doesn't Anyone Watch TV?

For the past couple weeks I've been working different 911 shifts all over my company's service area. In the process of doing this I've come to the realization that people on TV are much more judicial about using the 911 system than in real life. I admit that I have a fairly cynical view of our current educational system and I tend to think that people take their cues on how to act/how the world works- especially when it concerns aspects of society that many people know little about (in this case the EMS system)-from TV shows and movies.

On TV, when someone yells "call 911!", it's usually because someone is dead or severely injured. I've seen this type of scenario in countless movies and crime shows, but I missed the one where someone yells "call 911, it's too hot in my apartment!"..... While that may sound like an exaggeration, that was an actual chief complaint on a call I ran last week.

Even in the news, the stories about Fire/EMS are usually some traffic accident with the patient being rushed to a helicopter in full C-Spine with IVs going. You never see the calls we get in the dead of night for back pain that the patient has had for weeks, but suddenly thought 3am was a good time to call an ambulance....

With all this media exposure about what Fire/EMS does, how is it that people don't understand what constitutes an "emergency"? There seems to be a persistent notion that just because you go to the emergency room in an ambulance, you will be seen quicker. You will be seen based on the severity of your illness, just as you would if you walked into the ER. Okay, end rant.

More Than Book Smarts....

I'm realizing more and more that working in healthcare is more about people skills than anything- yes, of course there are times when you have to know all the procedures and treatments- but there is a lot to be said for being able to connect with someone who is basically putting their health and safety in your hands. We've had a lot of ride-alongs recently (EMT students seeing what it's like in the field), and the ones who are most comfortable are the ones who can easily talk with patients and build a rapport. The ones who can hold a conversation tend to also be able to apply the skills and knowledge from class- funny how that works!

There was a new EMT I worked with the other day who told me how great it was to see how I was able to connect with patients and seemed so comfortable doing the job. He said it was really helpful for him to see how I was able to talk with the patients and staff comfortably. This was one of the best compliments I've received- it really meant a lot to me that the way I do my job reflects how much I enjoy what I do.

Movin On Up

This month I was hired by a large ambulance company that runs IFT's and 911 calls, which is a big step up for me. Besides that obvious excitement of running 911 calls, there is the relief that comes from working for a well run company. As of now, all ambulance services (minus the Fire Departments) are private and are run like regular companies that need to make a profit. Fortunately for me, this new company understands that keeping a happy/not completely over-worked staff is one of the key points to having good service.

One of the things that strikes me about working 911 is the pace- most of the time it's slow. The majority of the calls we run could easily go to the doctor's office or urgent care. When there is a true emergency, it puts everyone on edge- if you ever see a Fire Captain running with a patient, it's a big deal. There are little flashes of excitement and then a good amount of sitting around in the rig waiting for the next call. The thing that stays true to all the bs calls is that you have to treat them with the same professionalism and compassion that you would for a major trauma or medical emergency. It's really about the connections you make- the patients I'll remember most are the ones I had conversations with and got to know a little bit about them. That is more interesting to me that how many full arrests or trauma calls I run.

Basically, I love my new job and I'm excited to really get into the swing of things. I went on my first full arrest call this week and I feel like I've learned a lot in terms of what kind of care provider I want to be (emulate some paramedics, do the opposite of others...).

New Beginnings

I started this as a travel blog mostly, but now that I've started traveling less and moving in a new direction career-wise I thought I'd start using this as an outlet for my musings about EMS and all the stuff we deal with even though I don't work 911... yet.

I've just moved into a new apartment and I'm starting to feel more comfortable at work. Things seem to be moving in a totally new direction for me, and I'm okay with it at this point. There is a rhythm to the days now, even my 24-hour shifts seem to go by pretty quickly. We never really know what we're going to get (aside from our usual dialysis calls), which keeps things interesting.

I don't want to just rant about how EMTs are treated and all that, because there is a lot of complaining going on the subject out there already. One of the things that has struck me since I've started working on an ambulance is how wrong I was about why I got into emergency medicine. I originally wanted to become an EMT because I thought it would be more fast paced and exciting that working in long-term care. While that is partially true, I've made connections with patients on a ten minute transport that are still very powerful. Yes, there are plenty of calls that I forget before we've pulled out of the hospital parking lot, but there are also calls that keep me up at night wondering how the patient is doing and whether they're still alive. I feel that the connections we make as humans are very important to growing as a person and this job has helped me to see how much I enjoy interacting with people.

The job is stressful, boring, exciting, tiring, and rewarding all at once. There are times when I question whether I made the right choice in moving away from playing music. When we get a call at 3am, it can go either way- a bs psychiatric call where the patient is obviously homeless and simply looking for a bed and a meal, or a NICU call where the newborn is in critical condition and we have to go lights and sirens to the ER.

I'm still not sure what direction I want to go with my career, but I'm feeling good now with where I'm at- for the time being.

Morning Walk

This morning I slept in (a little), had a nice breakfast, and set out to see some more of the city. The sun was just coming up when I started walking, it was beautiful. I walked down along the water to see the fish market and the new concert hall.

The fish market
In the background is where the new concert hall is being built

No job, but a great experience anyway...

I woke up this morning a half hour before my alarm went off- wide awake with anticipation. After breakfast and pacing around my tiny hotel room to kill time, I walked to the rehearsal hall for the Kristiansand Orchestra. There was plenty of time to warm up, and the staff were all very nice. At 9am, ten bass players from around the world picked numbers out of a bowl to determine the order of the audition. I got number 9, so I had a while to wait (and worry) before my audition. I warmed up and wandered around trying not to over play and tire myself out. The picture about is the view from the warm-up room I was in- nice huh? Below is my little setup in the corner of the room (I was sharing the room with another bass player).
When it was finally time to play for the panel, I tried to calm myself down and just play for myself. The pianist was very helpful, and talented, which made the concerto seem a little less daunting. The beginning of the first movement of the Vanhal Concerto went really well, I felt confident about it, and was starting to feel comfortable when I missed an entrance by just a little too long- it was a small mistake, but it started the nervousness all over again. I was able to pull it together, getting about halfway through before they stopped me. They only listened to about 8 bars of the second movement before asking me to move on to the excerpts. My Bach excerpt went really well, but the Berlioz was a bit messy- I got going too fast and had to struggle to keep it under control.

After waiting around for an hour they posted the second round list, cutting the original 10 bassists down to 5. I was not on the list. As much of a disappointment as it was not to see my name, I'm still glad I came and tried. Auditioning has always been difficult for me and this was one of the better auditions I've played, despite the jet lag and nerves. I also got to meet a couple great bass players who were about to give me some good advice about auditioning and playing in general.
This evening I went out to a pub with three of the bass players from the audition- one who was out after the first round like me, one who made it to the second round, and the guy who won. It was a lot of fun to chat about playing and the craziness that is involved in trying to make a living as a professional musician. Again, I'm glad I came, and I feel like I learned a lot about how to play auditions, and what kind of competition is out there.

Norway Day 2

Today was a pretty relaxed day, mostly spent either practicing or sleeping. It was raining for most of the day, so I only went out for a little while to get some food. I turned my little room into a little practice room, and was able to get some good work in. I also took a nap that was supposed to be a short one, but turned into a marathon nap. When I woke up, it was dark out and 6 hours later- I guess it only makes sense since I was traveling for almost 24 hours yesterday, and then couldn't sleep for long last night... I'm just hoping that I can get back to sleep soon so I'll be awake in the morning for my audition.
The picture above is the only one I took outside today because of the rain/snow.... it's the Cathedral, which is only about a block and a half from my hotel. It was really cold and wet weather today, so the only reason I went outside was to get some pizza. One thing that is a little different here is that it's a LOT more expensive to live here- the pizza cost about $20....
Tomorrow is the big day, which will either be a long one if I'm able to stay in for all three rounds, or a short one if I'm eliminated in the first round.... I'm glad I came and I'm excited to get to compete, no matter the results- of course, it would be nice to win! I'll post my results as soon as I get back from the audition tomorrow!