I Passed the Class!

This was our final week of EMT class. Tuesday was just practicing, and Thursday included both our multiple-choice final and the practical portion of the national registry, both of which I did very well on. Everyone in class passed, and all the camp people did especially well!

On the last day of class, I was also very pleased to get an e-mail that my "graduation gift" I got for myself had arrived at Wal-Mart. So after class, Eli and I swung by Wal-Mart to pick up my brand-new Nerf gun! (We've been having spontaneous battles ever since.) We also stopped by the Wendy's drive-thru so that Eli could buy us dinner. You see, I had made up a song to help me remember the steps to a medical assessment, and Eli said he'd pay me five bucks if I sang it during the practical test, not expecting that I'd actually do it. So before I took that part of the practical, I informed the test proctor that I would be singing parts, and not only did he enjoy it, but he hounded Eli the rest of the day to pay up. I agreed that dinner would be a fine replacement since he didn't have cash.

The class ended just in time; we're starting to get a lot of groups coming out with the warmer weather! Last week we had a HUGE upper elementary camp, and this weekend we had a college group. We worked in the kitchen all weekend since there were no activities, but I left after lunch yesterday because I still had one more ride-along to go on.

I had my ride-along at station 61 this time, and it was my first experience driving through Omaha. I think I could do it again if I needed to! After a couple of missed exits and wrong turns, I got Horsebeef (the van) to the station. At first, all the doors I tried were locked and I couldn't find anyone to let me in. After some waiting, I saw the firetrucks pull in. The firefighters informed me that I had just missed a really good call that involved CPR and all that good stuff. Man, I was there a half hour early and STILL missed out on the action! There were couches and a TV in the garage, and I was told to wait there until the ambulance returned. I did some reading and such for an hour, and then finally got to meet the EMS staff, Jeff and Tina. They showed me the ambulance, and then told me that I could just hang out in the garage and watch TV or whatever. (It seems like I got opposite treatment from everyone else. At Station 65, I was in the kitchen while all the other students stayed by themselves in a room. At Station 61, everyone else ended up in the kitchen except for me who was alone in the garage!) Not too long later, we got a call. As the ambulance left the station, I realized that we were driving in normal traffic and there were no lights or sirens. Apparently it was a Code Alpha, which the paramedic Jeff jokingly told me meant that I was in charge! It was a non-emergency and no interventions needed to be made, but I was able to take a blood pressure and SAMPLE history on the way to the hospital. I also realized that being a patient advocate does not always make you feel like a hero, or even like you're doing society a favor. The rest of the night was spent reading, writing, and watching some television. Although my shift was supposed to be from 4-10, Jeff came into the garage around 8:30. He told me he felt bad about the lack of calls, and that the one call we got wasn't that great, and he gave me permission to leave if I wanted to. Since I had to drive all the way back to Fremont and knew I'd start work at 7 the next day, I decided to take him up on that offer.

So now I'm officially done with the EMT class, passing with a B+. All that's left to do is take the National Registry exam, which I'm actually kind of excited for. Until then, I really think I'll have to pick up a couple new hobbies. Now that we're just working 9-5 most days and there's no studying involved, I might have quite a bit of free time on my hands!