4/23/2010

The Job Outlook

So recently I have been filling out and handing in large quantities of job applications hoping to find a place to use the license I will be graduating with in a little over a month. The first 5 were rejected outright for lack of experience. In there job descriptions nowhere did it mention the amount of experience needed to apply for the job. But I had another thought... Okay so you are rejecting me because I do not have experience as a Medic. I get that and that is totally your right. However, if no one is going to hire a brand spanking new Medic, how is she supposed to get this experience that they all want?

So I figured someone had to be hiring those of us out there who are just being given our patches and being punted out into the world. So I kept applying and yesterday I got a phone call asking me if I could come in for an interview. Now I do not know much more than I am supposed to show up at a place at a time for an interview because I was sleeping when the phone rang. So my first impression on that particular member of the board of trustees is a semi-unconscious, hoarse voiced, mildly confused, paramedic in training, trying to hold a conversation in her sleep. I did wake up enough to get the details and a name of who called but It was 7 in the morning and I had been awake until 5 am due to pregnant sisters and false labor.

However now I have to figure out how formal this interview is and what I should do to prepare for it. I was a ride-along at this ambulance service for 7 months so although I know all the people for the most part I am not sure what to expect from the interview. I have to go into the dreaded "Office". In all my time as a ride-along the "Office" was a place preceptors disappeared to to complete paperwork and the boss man spent most of his time. Rarely people were called to the office to do QA and be informed of things I was not supposed to be privy to. However most of the time I as told within 10 minutes anyway.

But all of this had me feeling positive until class. Yesterday we had the dreaded talk about how we have to work extra hard from here to the end because it is going to kick our butts from here to kingdom come. Our teacher is desperately trying to put fear in us and scare us and push us hard enough that come the Practical and Written we all find it easy. (Okay well not easy but at least we will not be barfing our guts out or failing epically)

4/21/2010

Things I am afraid of

There are things that I am afraid of now that I am graduating.

*I have never done CPR on anything except for a manikin. I am terrified that my first time will be when I am incharge/lead and that I will freeze.

*I am nervous about finding a job. So many places will just flat out reject you until you are completely finished. I just want a place that says when you graduate we will have a job for you.

*I need to find a new place to live but with no money in my name anymore because of school, and no job right now I am just working on keeping food on the table and gas in the car.

*I am worried that the people in my life who I care about will not understand how much I love this.

*I wonder if I am worth the man who is putting up with my whining. The one who knows the secrets I hide from the rest of my friends and family. The wonderful man who listens when I am crying or talking 90 miles a minute.

4/20/2010

The End of Clinicals

Well it is official I am done with clinicals. I have met many amazing people during my time in and out of hospital ER's and OR's and Ambulance Services. A few shout outs to the ER Tech's I was constantly stealing keys from to get into supply closets and who were constantly giving me advice and tips so that I was more efficient in my IV starts and so that I was not constantly blood letting pt's. To the nurses that put up with my constant begging to do everything that they would let me do and then begging for signatures for all skills I begged to be allowed to do in the first place. To all the RN's willing to sign for pt's they saw me at least check on at the end of the night. To all of the ambulance preceptors who joked with me, pushed me to do and say what was needed for pt care, to the preceptor who yelled at me in private when I left a sharps sitting between the bench and wall without telling anyone. To the preceptors who sat through my sometimes ridiculous questions and who went over EKGs and pt scenarios over and over and over.

Now onto some numbers...
630 hours at a clinical site.
57 shifts
30 ambulance shifts
22 ER shifts
5. OR shifts
225 Pts
16 Pediatrics
3 confirmations of death
175 IV starts
20+ IV Fails
108 Drug pushes (1/2 Zofran, 1/3 MSO4)
5 Neb treatments
12 ETT
40+ hours of clinicals a week
30 hours of class a week.
12 the number of times I did class to clinicals to clinicals to a 4 hour nap to class to clinicals.
2800 cups of coffee the coffee maker has kicked out for our class.

Tons of inside jokes. Lots of laughs. Quite a few new friends made along the way.