It's funny how (well, at least for me) the last day of anything often makes you re-consider why you started the task at hand in the first place.
The day started off with a Doctor (a female, imagine that!) scolding me for a grevious error I was not aware that I had commited, and then telling me that she knows that the ER is an "exciting place to be, but..." Honestly my first thought (well, besides sheer cynicism) was to just swallow it and spend the next six hours commited to seizing every opportunity, to make the most out of this final day.
That lasted....five minutes.
I once more was largely with staff I did not know, and as a result they were not familiar with me so within thirty minutes to the start of my shift I was so ready to just leave for the day and reminisce about the good times that I had previously experienced. But, I had a made a commitment, and I was going to spend the day in the ER whether it was good or bad, but to be honest, all I could think about was how ready I was for the day to end.
You always have an idea of how something will turn out, but our expectations often do not live up to the reality of the given situation. However, when I look back at my hopes at the beginning of this Internship, I realize that I knew that this would be difficult at times and some days would be less than pleasant, but at the core, it turned out exactly as I hoped it would (minus being offered an awesome job) :) I did after all write: "I know that there will be shortcomings, I'll come across as a dork, and some days will be horrible. That's okay. I didn't go to school thinking that I'd be a life saver. I went because this is my passion. This is where God has called me." And how true this still remains.
I did finally get to see a closed femur fracture that makes no sense how the patient broke it in the first place. Even the ambulance crew that brought him in didn't suspect it; they thought it was a hip fracture. Apparently he was walking outside, lost his balnce, fell and toppled over onto his left side. The pain was so unbearable that he could not walk. Upon admittance to the hospital, he explains that he is "only allergic to marriage" and when doctors told him he has a heart condition he'd "have nothing of it" thus living in denial about any health problems he may have. He also smokes a pack of ciagarettes a day and drinks a six pack of beer daily. Thus, your ideal candidate for perfect health!
The Doctor enters the room, takes one look at him and says "You have a broken femur." Immediately she orders that a hare traction splint be placed. For those of you unfamiliar with this medieval looking device, it's use is quite simple and handy: It realigns bone ends to the proper position with a mechanical device to pull traction on the injured area.
Funny story is we used these all the time when I was in school, and one time during a practice session, someone pulled traction on my healthy uninjured, un-painful leg and wound up disturbing my back for a few weeks. Word to the wise: Only use this when medically needed.
As the day wound up, I found myself having a conversation with....an employee who I've known for the duration of my Internship. We've talked about what class was like for me last semester and when I took National Registry what it was like. I've told them about my IV class, and the road to my certification. And after all this time, know what they asked me?
"So when are you taking Registry?" (Note: National Registry is the exam that needs to be taken and passed in order for one to become a certified EMT such as myself)
Really? Seriously? Of course, I should have been tipped off earlier when they told me that I really have no idea how little they care about...anything. But, it was a wonderful way to realize that often times people aren't listening to what you're saying.
And so, my ninety plus hours of Internship time has finally come to an end. I said a few goodbyes, I actually got a hug (gasp!) and as quickly as I came, I walked through the department, down the hall, past the exam rooms, through the doors, and out into the admitting area. I said a final goodbye to one of the Tech's who have aided me on this journey and her parting words were:
"It's a rough world out there"
And so it is.
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Thus concludes my Internship journey and blog. Thank you so much for taking the tme to read about my progression and adventures. Thank you for laughing, crying and encouraging me, as I lived and learned in the Emergency Department. I will be posting a closing blog within a few days, just to wrap things up nicely....just for you, my wonderful readers.
What a story it has been.
:)
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