My dad always said: attitude determines altitude.

Apparently, the last blog I wrote was May 13th!! I think it's time for an update.

EVOC training went well and I learned a lot. Since then, I've started my field training. Let me just say, I knew it would be tough to get back in the game (it had been a year since I'd run any calls or been in an ambulance), but I don't think I realized just how tough.

Running calls is like doing math. It takes practice to be good at it. And I definitely had not been practicing! The first 3 shifts my FTO had to remind me this wasn't my internship, I wasn't an intern and I needed to step up my game.

My shift on Monday was the shift from hell. Well, actually, the shift was fine. It was the first call that we ran that day that set my attitude for the rest of the day and it wasn't a good one! I froze up and my FTO had to step in and run the call. This is not a good thing. At this point, she shouldn't be stepping in at all. She reminded me after this call that at the end of these training sessions, she and I will be coworkers, on the same level, who are supposed to be like minded in our patient care decisions. And she's right!

We had another talk after our shift yesterday (which went SO much better), we both acknowledged that I have no experience and she has 9+ years of it. She understands that because of that, I won't handle every call like she would. But I need to be extra thorough in my assessments (dot all my i's, cross all my t's), until I get some experience and develop a "gut feeling". Because I'm too new to have a gut feeling, right now, it has to be textbook, every single time.

Now, I'm not saying that as paramedics we don't fully care for and assess every patient. I'm saying that most medics with experience can tell how serious something is. A newbie like me cannot.

So that's what I've been up to these past few weeks! AMR classroom and field training.

Now that I'm off for a few days, I'll be working my second job (still nannying!), studying and enjoying friendship. :)

I can honestly say I'm not really looking forward to going back to work, but that's only because it makes me uncomfortable. But the only way to grow and improve is to get uncomfortable!

The recipe for success in this situation is to have an open, willingness to learn, be humble and have a good attitude. However simple this may be, it is much easier said than done!!

So, here's to at least a year of being uncomfortable!