I did it!!

I took my National Registry for EMT-Paramedic. At 80 questions my test shut down. And now, I am pleased to announce ... I am officially a Nationally Registered EMT-P!!!!


In other news, I also graduated the paramedic program with an AS degree and a 3.50 GPA. I have a job offer and another interview next week.

Job hunting

So, I graduate in 6 short weeks.

Terrifying thought, really. Really terrifying, actually.

But I decided that on the brink of free time (ha ha ha) I should start looking for a job. So far, I've applied to four. One place takes medic-students with the understanding they will be medics as soon as we're certified. I've applied to two other places as BLS - because it's very hard to get a foot in the door and they're hiring NOW. Not in two months when we graduate, but now. However, I don't mind a BLS job. I just need a job since I'll be paying back loans and not getting my stipend once school is out.

Wish me luck.

Greatest compliments

A hug from a pt's family/friend to say thank you for helping!
(Even if it caught me by surprise and startled me badly. I don't do well with unexpected hugs.)
A teacher telling you: "You're a natural, it's obvious you love what you're doing."
An even stricter teacher telling you: "Great job."
A student saying: "I understand now!"

Guess it's that time of the year

I'm sick. Not only sick, but sick of being sick. It's been three days now, with a deep hacking cough, headache, plugged ears, non-existent voice and just generally feeling like crap. Today the nose started running. Annoying, let me tell you.

I missed a shift yesterday. 16 hrs and I slept like a...well, like a baby, literally. Except we'll substitute the crying every two hours for coughing. Today I broke quarantine for a class I can't miss, and went armed with tissues and hand sanitizer and sat very far away from everyone in hope of not spreading germs. Four hours and I felt like I'd been hit with a sledgehammer.

I hate being sick. I really do. It turns me into a whiny brat.

Tomorrow I'm supposed to be on shift for a 12hr. Maybe I'll get lucky and it'll be very slow where my lack of voice and coherent though won't be as noticeable. Uhg.

Quote of the day

"At first, you're afraid you're gonna die. Then you're afraid you won't."

Spring semester...already?

I'm a week into spring classes and so far I have...

• Simulated a decompression of my instructor's chest and extricated him (with a lot of struggle and hassle) from a 'car vs bridge'
• Killed the Sim-man
• Told a simulated pt's son everything would be ok while in the middle of CPR. This is bad, very bad.
• Learned that I forgot everything about eggs and ovaries
• Went to the Arrowhead EMS conference and reaffirmed that I LOVE teaching
• Explained 12ld ECG's while drunk. Now I just have to figure them out while sober.
• Made arrangements to ride with another medic to get more experience in the field
• Acquired a new roommate

Meet Sly. Isn't he lovely?

An interesting thought

I borrowed the following quote from Dr. Amy Tuteur (who in turn got it from The Huffington Post). Though her most excellent post has more to do with epidurals during childbirth, this quote stuck out enough that I went back and read the article.

"In fact, for each year that a woman’s first full-term pregnancy is delayed, her risk of breast cancer rises 3.5 percent." 

This quote comes from a new bill (passed by New Hampshire's Tea*coughBAGcough* Party) requiring doctors to tell patients that abortions cause breast cancer. The quote is directly from the bill in New Hampshire and it makes me wonder:

If delaying pregnancy increases risk of breast cancer

and abortions increase the risk of breast cancer

Shouldn't we be encouraging girls to start getting pregnant as soon as they get their period?

This would, naturally, give each girl a great chance at not getting breast cancer. After all, according to this bill, if a girl (let's say she's 12) waits until she's 18 to have her first full-term pregnancy, she's 21% more likely to have breast cancer. Gosh, with that, I'm 45% more like to have breast cancer. I better go put a bun in the oven.

But wait ...

Doesn't the Tea Party advocate ABSTINENCE before marriage?

Now, I know that in New Hampshire a girl can be married at 13 with parental permission (which makes me go WTF??) and a waiver but still...what if she starts her period at 10 like some girls do? That's still a 7% increase.

Besides, what's the odds of getting married at 13 anyway? Most people wait, since most parents (hopefully) would rather keep their CHILD in school and not sell her off in marriage. So...

What I am really getting at is that this is the stupidest and *insert other synonyms here* thing I've heard in a while. After all... "There is no proven breast cancer link to abortion, according to the World Health Organization and the American Cancer Society." (See referenced article for quote). I think I'll believe the WHO and ACS. Idiot TeaBaggers.