This is it....Training's over

After 2 weeks of classroom orientation and 9 days of field training...I finally cleared and was released to work in the field. Exciting and intimidating. No more..."trainee" errors allowed. This is it. I am responsible. I cleared on Monday at about 1715. I ran my first shift from 1530-0630 Tuesday. It went well...I think I only made one paramedic mad. I handed him the IV tubing the wrong way...my bad...I was nervous. Not only did I hand it to him wrong, but I also tied a knot in it. (oops...it was fixable though) then I couldn't get a blood pressure after two tries. I finally got it once we stopped at the hospital. But I learned something...so thats good! I will run my first regularly scheduled shift tonight. I don't have a partner yet, so either I will sit around the station all night and do nothing, or I will jump on with someone else who doesn't have a partner. I still have a lot to learn and get experience in to be good and not make people upset...but that takes time and thinking logically. Hopefully it will come fast. Thankfully I was able to get the schedule I hoped for that will allow me to work my other job, and still be involved in bible study and church. I will try and get some pictures up soon...a blog with no pictures is pretty boring. Thanks for your prayers regarding getting this job and going through training! I will keep you all updated on what kind of calls I am running as I can if you are interested...here is a list of what we did on Tuesday:

1. Slip and fall
2. Possible shoulder dislocation (ouch!)
3. Dystonic reaction*
4. DOA (Dead on Arrival)

*Dystonic Reaction: A state of abnormal tension or muscle tone, similar to dystonia, produced as a side effect of certain antipsychotic medications. (http://medical-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/dystonic+reaction)