Kaiser ER (not Soze)

As part of my EMT class we are required to do one "ride along" with a local EMS provider (and we are encouraged to do two). There are many options to select from and I chose the Emergency Department at a local Kaiser Hospital as my first one. Since the ER doesn't actually go anywhere I wouldn't call it a "ride along"; more of an observation.

I was there on a Wednesday night, from 3:00 p.m. until 1:00 a.m., and even though the charge nurse would probably shoot me, I'd have to say it was a pretty quiet shift. Most of the people who came through had complaints of chest pain.

I wasn't assigned to any particular room, so I stayed in the triage area the entire time. I got to see patients as they came into the ER but not much follow-up once they were assigned to a room. I did learn to take vitals, do EKGs and start people on chest monitors. The nurses were disappointed that I wasn't able to start IVs. I said I would be willing to learn but they they probably wouldn't be happy with the results. :)

The most exciting thing I saw was a hand laceration. I figured I shouldn't post it in case there are sensitive eyes! When the patient's finger moved you could see the tendons in the hand move too - it was awesome!

What I did learn is that there are varying levels of EMS providers out there. There were paramedics bringing in patients (and not critical patients as this was not a trauma center) without having any vitals on the patient. That was just plain laziness. There were some who had almost an entire life history of the patient. That's how you can tell who is good and who could care less. Sad to see it was pretty balanced on both sides.

My next ride along is with the San Francisco Fire Department (SFFD) in two weeks. I'm looking forward to that one!

Sigh of Relief; Dance of Joy

The letter finally came today! I have been accepted into the Nursing Program at Cal State East Bay. I will begin the Fall of 08 and will be working towards a BSN! Woohoo!!

Over the past two weeks I've struck up quite the e-mail friendship with another woman who was waiting to hear about her acceptance. She got her letter on Wednesday. We have been talking each other down from the ledge on a daily basis, working to regain some sort of Zen about this whole process each time. It was nice to know I wasn't alone in my insanity and talking with someone else about remaining calm helped me to be calm(er) as well. And I'm looking forward to meeting her and becoming her classmate!

I am 1) relieved, 2) ecstatic, 3) scared to death, 4) tired, 5) numb, 6) weightless and 7) just about every other emotion I can imagine and many others I have no name for. It's hard to believe that almost 3 years ago to the month I started on this path. I took an on-line course in Sociology through Napa Valley Community College because I read that it was one of the pre-requisites for nursing and I had somehow managed to make it through my entire undergraduate career without taking a Sociology course. I was in a mad rush to start the process and the class through NVCC was the only one I could find that was open on such short notice.

As I finished up that class over the summer, I really began researching the other steps I would need to take for this little seed of an idea to become a reality: Nutrition, Chemistry, Speech, Anatomy, Physiology, Microbiology. Each semester a different class and an opportunity to meet some amazing people who were also pursing a dream. I'm so grateful to Cathy, Diane, Alison, Sheila & Heather. They are some of the strongest, craziest, smartest, sanest women I have ever met and I am proud to have shared a part of my life with them.

I can't wait to see what this next chapter brings!

And now I can truly begin to plan for the future - like figuring out how much this is all going to cost! :)