FaithManor Posted May 3, 2011 Share Posted May 3, 2011 Well, me ole medic student kid did something amazing today. Seriously, it's just a privilege to be her mother. She had a another shift today and towards the end they received a call for chest pain. It turned out to be a woman who has called 911 eleven times in the last month and neither the medics nor the ER attendings have diagnosed a problem so she's been referred to as a "t.l.c." run...you know...someone who wants attention. Well, since dd is in her externship she runs all the calls under the supervision of the medic and gives instructions to the EMT but the instructor doesn't interfere as long as she isn't making mistakes or their are multiple patients and R needs to triage them and assign a patient to the medic or EMT. She told the team that she was going to run the call as ALS (advanced life support) because she felt that it was not their job to judge her hastily, treat her as nothing more than an attention seeker, etc. and that just their luck, there was an underlying condition that had gone undiagnosed and she would code on their watch. Her words, "We would have to live with that on our conscience. How can we justify She deserves our compassion. Additionally, why should our EMS service incur legal wrath because we assumed it was just another t.l.c. run?" So, she took a full medical history, started an i.v., and hooked her up to a 12 lead ekg. Now, dd is known to be the cardiac guru amongst the medics and the medical director Dr. W. is always hunting down weird cardio strips for her to study. (He's been getting them from cardiologists at U of M and Wayne State because he's tapped out the local cardios.) So, I'll admit that she's a bit extra talented at this than the average medic. Anyway, she found an anomaly that pointed to a possible underlying cardiac condition that is very, very hard to read on an ekg. She prescribed cardio meds and they ran all out to the hospital. The attending was just about gobsmacked; he had a cardiologist from the ICU come down to confirm. She nailed it and had they run the call as a basic run, the woman might have had a heart attack en route. The EMT hugged her twice. He's been to this woman's house five times and he's been an EMT for 20 years. He had that niggling feeling that something was wrong with the patient but most of the medics were convinced that the ER attendings were right and she was fine. It wasn't his place to try to convince the medics to handle the calls differently. So he was trilled to his boots that she'd made the catch. I'd like to state here that I am not bad mouthing the other medics. When the hospital doesn't find something wrong, it's not their job to second guess the doctors. If the doctors and nurses are saying, "attention getter", then they have reason to believe it is probably true. I don't blame her co-workers. The attending reminded her that they all expect her to go to med school and specialize in cardiology. But, I don't see it happening. She loves the field work too much and as soon as she has this level of licensing complete and the necessary experience, she's going after her flight training and then after that, water rescue and the advanced levels of FEMA field medical. If she ever decides to attend med school, it definitely will be in trauma. But honestly, I just don't see her hanging around the ER waiting for someone else to bring patients to her. She's just got to go out and find them in the mud, the snow, the rain, the flood, the smashed up car.... Honestly, she just makes me so proud! Faith Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Impish Posted May 3, 2011 Share Posted May 3, 2011 :party: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
regentrude Posted May 3, 2011 Share Posted May 3, 2011 Great job! You can be proud. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Starr Posted May 3, 2011 Share Posted May 3, 2011 I love her stories. Thanks! :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Osmosis Mom Posted May 3, 2011 Share Posted May 3, 2011 Wow, lovely story. Good for her. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2cents Posted May 3, 2011 Share Posted May 3, 2011 You have every right to be proud!!! Your daughter is an example of the kind of people we need in the medical profession!! :hurray::hurray::hurray: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soonermomma Posted May 3, 2011 Share Posted May 3, 2011 I love reading your posts about your dd!! She sounds like a great girl! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OLG Posted May 3, 2011 Share Posted May 3, 2011 That's impressive! I hope she or someone like her is on duty if something like this ever happens to me, you know?!!! Congrats Mom!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RoughCollie Posted May 3, 2011 Share Posted May 3, 2011 I love these stories. Thanks for the latest installment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mommyfaithe Posted May 3, 2011 Share Posted May 3, 2011 I love your shameless brags. Your dd sounds like an amazing woman. Faithe Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
5kidsforME Posted May 3, 2011 Share Posted May 3, 2011 Trying hard not to be cynical but....most of your stories really sound made up or embellished a tad. :tongue_smilie: I'm sure I'll get slammed for this but....really?? :001_huh: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blueridge Posted May 3, 2011 Share Posted May 3, 2011 I am so happy for her! And you! Wow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mabeline Posted May 3, 2011 Share Posted May 3, 2011 I love these stories. Thanks for the latest installment. :iagree: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kirch Posted May 3, 2011 Share Posted May 3, 2011 Brag away! :thumbup::thumbup: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
happypamama Posted May 3, 2011 Share Posted May 3, 2011 You have every right to be proud! She sounds like she has a real gift for this work and is doing it well! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SonshineLearner Posted May 3, 2011 Share Posted May 3, 2011 That is so cool, and that woman's family should be so happy tonight!!! (for your daughter!!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SonshineLearner Posted May 3, 2011 Share Posted May 3, 2011 Trying hard not to be cynical but....most of your stories really sound made up or embellished a tad. :tongue_smilie: I'm sure I'll get slammed for this but....really?? :001_huh: Is this for real? First of all, it wouldn't matter... it's a light spot in the day... second of all... how incredibly rude. Why don't you investigate and report back? :glare: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brehon Posted May 3, 2011 Share Posted May 3, 2011 So, she took a full medical history, started an i.v., and hooked her up to a 12 lead ekg. Now, dd is known to be the cardiac guru amongst the medics and the medical director Dr. W. is always hunting down weird cardio strips for her to study. (He's been getting them from cardiologists at U of M and Wayne State because he's tapped out the local cardios.) So, I'll admit that she's a bit extra talented at this than the average medic. Anyway, she found an anomaly that pointed to a possible underlying cardiac condition that is very, very hard to read on an ekg. She prescribed cardio meds and they ran all out to the hospital. The attending was just about gobsmacked; he had a cardiologist from the ICU come down to confirm. She nailed it and had they run the call as a basic run, the woman might have had a heart attack en route. I'll admit to occasionally (or, depending on the doc, not so occasionally) feeling...smug when I can point something out to the ER doc that s/he would otherwise have missed, especially a tricky 12-lead with lots of FLBs. The attending reminded her that they all expect her to go to med school and specialize in cardiology. But, I don't see it happening. She loves the field work too much and as soon as she has this level of licensing complete and the necessary experience, she's going after her flight training and then after that, water rescue and the advanced levels of FEMA field medical. If she ever decides to attend med school, it definitely will be in trauma. But honestly, I just don't see her hanging around the ER waiting for someone else to bring patients to her. She's just got to go out and find them in the mud, the snow, the rain, the flood, the smashed up car..../ Heh. After more than 13 years of doing this job, I've BTDT as far as crawling around smashed vehicles and running calls in all weather extremes. Give me a nice, complicated medical call any day of the week, preferably in the a/c. :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Denisemomof4 Posted May 3, 2011 Share Posted May 3, 2011 you have every right to be proud!!! We NEED people like her to do what she does, who are GOOD at it and with a HEART!!! She sounds amazing!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sparkle Posted May 3, 2011 Share Posted May 3, 2011 Bravo! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simka2 Posted May 3, 2011 Share Posted May 3, 2011 I love hearing about your dd!!!! Be proud! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rosie_0801 Posted May 3, 2011 Share Posted May 3, 2011 I love your shameless brags. Your dd sounds like an amazing woman. Faithe :iagree: I think I would die if my kids turned out so wonderful! :) Rosie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gaillardia Posted May 3, 2011 Share Posted May 3, 2011 :w00t: That is awesome. I was prepared to read. Your daughter sounds like she will be a life saver no matter what she does. I believe every word of it, you can't make this stuff up, and you wouldn't anyway. I think most of us know that you've been around long enough to NOT have embellished...wait...did she really say "most of your stories really sound made up"? :001_huh: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simka2 Posted May 3, 2011 Share Posted May 3, 2011 :w00t: That is awesome. I was prepared to read. Your daughter sounds like she will be a life saver no matter what she does. I believe every word of it, you can't make this stuff up, and you wouldn't anyway.I think most of us know that you've been around long enough to NOT have embellished...wait...did she really say "most of your stories really sound made up"? :001_huh: No way!!! I can't believe she wrote that. I have deleted 10 snarky nasty comments that I want to say (and it takes a lot for me to get really mad). Oh well. :cursing: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rosie_0801 Posted May 3, 2011 Share Posted May 3, 2011 No way!!! I can't believe she wrote that. I have deleted 10 snarky nasty comments that I want to say (and it takes a lot for me to get really mad). Oh well. :cursing: "Bless her heart" should be sufficient, no? Or if we are feeling charitable, "Here Sweetie, take this chocolate and go and put your feet up for a while." Rosie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liz CA Posted May 3, 2011 Share Posted May 3, 2011 Should she perhaps consider med school? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nd293 Posted May 3, 2011 Share Posted May 3, 2011 I love reading about your dd - keep the brags coming! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amydavis Posted May 3, 2011 Share Posted May 3, 2011 I love reading these brags! It's got to be such a wonderful feeling to know that your child has found their calling, and is excelling in it! I'm so happy for her! You have every reason to be happy, satisfied, and proud! Continue to keep us posted on her advancement in the field! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FaithManor Posted May 3, 2011 Author Share Posted May 3, 2011 Trying hard not to be cynical but....most of your stories really sound made up or embellished a tad. :tongue_smilie: I'm sure I'll get slammed for this but....really?? :001_huh: Wow - I'm sorry you felt the need to post this. I guess you have no use for paramedics or what they do and I certainly hope you won't have the need of one of them in the field since you have such a low opinion of their abilities. I have your siggie written on a post-it note next to my computer so I can avoid any threads you may begin about your own children's achievements. I wouldn't want to be tempted to be so snarky to you. Faith Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChristusG Posted May 3, 2011 Share Posted May 3, 2011 Love hearing stories about your daughter!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FaithManor Posted May 3, 2011 Author Share Posted May 3, 2011 As for med school, well....I don't know. She would like to have a husband and family some day and she's only about 28 credits into her pre-med program which she's been working on while in paramedic training. That's not easy and she needs to work her way through pre-med so she can save money. We just don't have the kind of money she needs for med-school. So, if she continued at the current speed, she'll be 24 when she finishes pre-med, have four years of med school, then internship, residency, and specialization. I doubt she'd be finished with school before she was 33-35. That's pretty late if she wants to settle down and be a mom because as soon as she finished, she'd need to work in her field and gain more experience. That old biological clock would be ticking away..... Plus, it would take her out of the field and field work is what she loves. She did talk about a physician's assistant program or certified nurse midwife. There are two programs we've found in the states that allow paramedics to go directly into the CNM after a certain number of years experience. I could really see her going the CNM route. But, then again, I can see her working as a medic and staying in the field. She seems to be so good at the cardio end of things but, yikes....I think the number of years to get from a to z is very off putting to her. Additionally, she just really loves this and there is a high turn-over rate for medics or at least in the area she is training in....I'm not certain what all the reasons are behind that. I do know they've told her that the chiropractor should be your best friend and that having regular counseling sessions after being on the job for a few years is a wise idea if one is servicing level 1 trauma units because they are much more likely to see the really brutal accidents, shootings, etc. She seemed to handle the child suicide she attempted to resucitate very well. But, I can also see how years and years of doing this can wear on a person. Brehon, how has it been for you? I know you have a lot of experience in the field? Is it something you find most medics are able to do indefinitely or do many move on to other medical professions? I value your input! Faith Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brehon Posted May 3, 2011 Share Posted May 3, 2011 As for med school, well....I don't know. She would like to have a husband and family some day and she's only about 28 credits into her pre-med program which she's been working on while in paramedic training. That's not easy and she needs to work her way through pre-med so she can save money. We just don't have the kind of money she needs for med-school. So, if she continued at the current speed, she'll be 24 when she finishes pre-med, have four years of med school, then internship, residency, and specialization. I doubt she'd be finished with school before she was 33-35. That's pretty late if she wants to settle down and be a mom because as soon as she finished, she'd need to work in her field and gain more experience. That old biological clock would be ticking away..... Plus, it would take her out of the field and field work is what she loves. She did talk about a physician's assistant program or certified nurse midwife. There are two programs we've found in the states that allow paramedics to go directly into the CNM after a certain number of years experience. I could really see her going the CNM route. But, then again, I can see her working as a medic and staying in the field. She seems to be so good at the cardio end of things but, yikes....I think the number of years to get from a to z is very off putting to her. Additionally, she just really loves this and there is a high turn-over rate for medics or at least in the area she is training in....I'm not certain what all the reasons are behind that. I do know they've told her that the chiropractor should be your best friend and that having regular counseling sessions after being on the job for a few years is a wise idea if one is servicing level 1 trauma units because they are much more likely to see the really brutal accidents, shootings, etc. She seemed to handle the child suicide she attempted to resucitate very well. But, I can also see how years and years of doing this can wear on a person. Brehon, how has it been for you? I know you have a lot of experience in the field? Is it something you find most medics are able to do indefinitely or do many move on to other medical professions? I value your input! Faith How nice! Thank you. The mental, physical, and emotional stress is enough to get anyone out of the job, especially if one is working in a very busy system. Most medics are not able to work in the field indefinitely as the physical demands alone get to be too much as you, ahem, attain the age of wisdom. :tongue_smilie: I began working on a truck later than most people (I was 26 or so) as I finished up my uni education first. Now, at nearly 40, I find myself moving a little slower and creaking/popping a lot more.:glare::lol: I also find that I don't bounce back from those shifts I'm up all night as easily as I used to. Chronic sleep deprivation is rarely a good thing. On the other hand my experience and knowledge allow me to be the calmest person on scene in the midst of utter chaos. It balances out. Having a chiropractor and massage therapist on one's speed dial isn't a bad idea. I haven't found the need for regular counseling sessions - what passes for humor with my colleagues and firemen do the trick for me. But everyone's needs are different and no one should let embarrassment or shame stop them from getting the mental and emotional help s/he needs. My system (actually the county) has an EAP (Employee Assistance Program) which is free for county employees. The man who runs it is very knowledgable and I know several of my colleagues have utilized this successfully. In my area those medics who stay in paramedicine usually move up to administrative positions (and those positions could be clinical or operational) or teach full time. Contrary to the old adage the best paramedic teachers are those who have field experience. I've had three, I think, colleagues who went on to med school and were very successful there. Other colleagues became PAs or NPs. Given the various stresses paramedics are placed under I think it is a good idea for a medic to have a back-up work plan in place. This could mean getting a RN, etc license and/or having a uni degree. Having this allows you to work if, for whatever reason, you simply can't work on a truck. I have a really beautiful short piece on being a paramedic. Let me get home and dig it up and I'll post it. I'm actually coming off shift this morning. Your daughter sounds like a wonderful young lady and has the makings of a great medic! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C_l_e_0..Q_c Posted May 3, 2011 Share Posted May 3, 2011 She loves the field work too much and as soon as she has this level of licensing complete and the necessary experience, she's going after her flight training and then after that, water rescue and the advanced levels of FEMA field medical. If she ever decides to attend med school, it definitely will be in trauma. But honestly, I just don't see her hanging around the ER waiting for someone else to bring patients to her. She's just got to go out and find them in the mud, the snow, the rain, the flood, the smashed up car.... Honestly, she just makes me so proud! Faith Honestly, your DD sounds like the perfect candidate for Doctors without Borders! Is she aware of that option? Every year, Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) provides emergency medical care to millions of people caught in crises in nearly 60 countries around the world. MSF provides assistance when catastrophic events — such as armed conflict, epidemics, malnutrition, or natural disasters — overwhelm local health systems. Had I known of this organisation when it was time to choose what to do with my life, I would have become a doctor. I just didn't want to work in a hospital though. I didn't know you could be a doctor and work on the field. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brehon Posted May 3, 2011 Share Posted May 3, 2011 When God Created Paramedics...[author unknown] When the Lord made Paramedics, he was into his sixth day of overtime when an angel appeared and said, "You're doing a lot of fiddling around on this one." And the Lord said, "Have you read the specs on this order? A paramedic has to be able to carry an injured person up a wet grassy hill in the dark, dodge stray bullets to reach a dying child unarmed, enter homes the health inspector wouldn't touch, and not wrinkle his uniform." "He has to be able to lift 3 times his own weight, crawl into wrecked cars with barely enough room to move, and console a grieving mother as he is doing CPR on a baby he knows will never breath again." "He has to be in top mental condition at all times, running on no sleep, black coffee and half-eaten meals. And he has to have six pairs of hands." The angel shook her head slowly and said, "Six pairs of hands...no way." "It's not the hands that are causing me problems," said the Lord, "It's the three pairs of eyes a medic has to have." "That's on the standard model?" asked the angel. The Lord nodded. "One pair that sees open sores as he's drawing blood and asks the patient if they may be HIV positive," (When he already knows and wishes he'd taken that accounting job.) "Another pair here in the side of his head for his partners' safety. And another pair of eyes here in front that can look reassuringly at a bleeding victim and say, 'You'll be all right, ma'am' when he knows it isn't so." "Lord," said the angel, touching his sleeve, "rest and work on this tomorrow." "I can't," said the Lord, "I already have a model that can talk a 250 pound drunk out from behind a steering wheel without incident and feed a family of five on a private service paycheck." The angel circled the model of the paramedic very slowly, "Can it think?" she asked. "You bet," said the Lord. "It can tell you the symptoms of 100 illnesses; recite drug calculations in it's sleep; intubate, defibrillate, medicate, and continue CPR nonstop over terrain that any doctor would fear...and still it keeps it's sense of humor. This medic also has phenomenal personal control. He can deal with a multi-victim trauma, coax a frightened elderly person to unlock their door, comfort a murder victim's family, and then read in the daily paper how paramedics were unable to locate a house quickly enough, allowing the person to die. A house which had no street sign, no house numbers, no phone to call back." Finally, the angel bent over and ran her finger across the cheek of the paramedic. "There's a leak," she pronounced. "I told you that you were trying to put too much into this model." "That's not a leak," said the Lord, "It's a tear." "What's the tear for?" asked the angel. "It's for bottled-up emotions, for patients they've tried in vain to save, for commitment to that hope that they will make a difference in a person's chance to survive, for life." "You're a genius," said the angel. The Lord looked somber. "I didn't put it there," He said. This was sent to me by a former colleague who went on to earn a PharmD. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
love2read Posted May 3, 2011 Share Posted May 3, 2011 You have every right to be proud!! Good for her for standing up for what's right. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FaithManor Posted May 3, 2011 Author Share Posted May 3, 2011 Brehon, Thank you so much for posting this! I have sent it to R and our pastor. Our church has adopted the local EMS and first responders for the National Day of Prayer and he's going to read this during the service. I hope to find someone really good with a calligraphy pen who could make a beautiful copy that I can frame and give to her. Thanks again, Faith Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FaithManor Posted May 3, 2011 Author Share Posted May 3, 2011 Cleo, I think dd would work with doctors without borders if she wouldn't be in her mid-thirties when she finally exited med training. She really does want to have a family and is scared because infertility rates go up dramatically when women put off their first pregnancy until so late. She is going to be able to work with a similar program through her EMS which helps provide training in third world countries. She has to get a few years experience, but after that she can apply for this. Her EMS refurbishes old rigs, donates them to cities in underdeveloped regions that have no EMS service, and then pays to send medics over to help train very basic EMT service with the hope of eventually having fully trained EMTS and medics for that area. One city on the Arabian peninsula just got their first ambulance for the entire country. DD knows the hospital administrator who is volunteering in that city's only hospital and he is hoping she will be able to come over at some point and help him get some staff trained. He doesn't care if she has her instructor certifications...just somebody, anybody who can help. The nurses who have graduated this country's "nursing program" do not even know CPR. They are more like nurses aides than ADN's or RN's. The entire hospital in this HUGE city has four European nurses who are an absolute God-send, three doctors, and a few of these aides. That's it. He's excited to have an ambulance. But he needs help. Like most doctors, he doesn't even know what equipment or drugs would be standard supply for an ALS rig much less how train for field work. All of his field knowledge has been gained by being thrown into the deep end of the pool, so to speak. He's a family doctor...this is not part of the training given to GP's in America...well, even most specialties. The Trauma docs ride with ambulance services so they can do the field work and understand it better, but most other doctors are not required to accumulate any field work. Only recently have the two BSN programs near the teaching hospital required their nursing students to do a "field clinical rotation" with the EMS. This has improved ER nurse/paramedic relations so much. Previous to that, the nurses could be quite snarky - "Why did you do this? Why didn't you do that? Why, why, why" because they did not understand why and how some things have to happen because of the situation of the victim. They would receive the patients already somewhat patched up and completely stabilized if possible. They couldn't see it from the other end. By the same token, the paramedics didn't understand the attitude of the ER staff so dd's EMS requires medics to accumulate 108 hours of ER work before they apply for their license which the hospitals have come to LOVE because they get a free extra pair of hands that can do a lot! After that, they are assigned to an ER for a couple of shifts each year just to keep their knowledge of ER protocols current. ER nurses are equally assigned to the field. There is a shift slowly happening with the education of doctors. The one teaching hospital closest to us is now requiring residents to ride one shift per week for a semester during their first year of residency. I think that is really going to help all of the medical professionals understand each other better and it will provide more doctors who can then volunteer in underserved areas and handle the unique and stressful qualities of field work. So, I'm just not certain where she will ultimately land. But, wherever that is in the medical profession, I'm sure she'll be in the grime and muck because that is what she loves. An American hospital is, by in large, just too tame and clean! Faith Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
justamouse Posted May 3, 2011 Share Posted May 3, 2011 She is the BEST. I'm proud of her, too! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ciyates Posted May 3, 2011 Share Posted May 3, 2011 :party: Love to hear stories like this! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Granny_Weatherwax Posted May 3, 2011 Share Posted May 3, 2011 Thank you for sharing. I enjoy reading updates about your children. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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