So close

Well medical phase is almost over. One more week until we're all fully qualified paramedics. After that we'll be doing a mandatory stint on the ambulances around the island. I'm really looking forward to that. We'll be able to really apply our procedures to actual people. The hospital ER time is good and all that, but that only allows us to practice a very limited amount of what it is a paramedic does. Hospitals are controlled environments where everything you could need is at your disposal. Paramedics work in the pre-hospital setting where other factors come in to play. Distance from a hospital, traffic, environment, equipment limitations, etc... And it goes without saying that as a SAR Tech all those complications are only compounded since you might be stuck on a mountain or in the arctic attending a patient for a week.

The past few weeks has all been in preparation for our finally series of tests. And as always there's a written test that accompanies the practical ones. These calls are the fun ones (at least when you're "pretending") because they make you think about what's wrong with the patient and how the treatment you're providing might affect them. For example you have an old fart who's smoked all his life and has bad emphysema which causes him to get short of breath. We can do something about that, but if he has a history of heart problems the drug we give for his shortness of breath could potentially cause undue strain on his ticker.

That's all I got for now. Here's a closing picture of Giles (the last guy you ever want delivering your child) practicing delivering a baby. Apparently he's expecting some nasty shit to go down because he's wearing every piece of protective equipment he could find.