So recently I had this grand idea to do something in the medical field.  I envisioned myself in a set of pressed mint green scrubs, a stethoscope slung nobly around my neck, as I confidently swagger down the hospital corridors with a self assured grimace of concern on my compassionate face.  With this glamorous picture in mind I set my sights on the EMT program held at the college.  What the heck, two nights a week, 4 hrs a pop.  I could handle some dry lectures, a few perfunctory skills labs, throw in a test here and there- shucks I’d be curing diseases and saving lives within three months.  It sounded so exciting, so easy.

Yea; easy like playing golf!  Just whack the little white ball into the hole.  The hole is clearly designated on the map; each hole is numbered chronologically and marked by a flag in the middle of a well manicured clearing.  A proverbial stroll in the park.  Easy?  Yea right!

The arduous task ahead of me began to sink in as I started reading the assigned chapters.  There was a plethora of things to memorize such as medical terms, symptoms, heart rates, blood pressure, respiration, vital signs and anatomy.  Who’d of thunk it, 206 bones in our body, each having its own unique name, and usually in Latin and impossible to spell!  Even being a complete rookie, I began to look at the human body with a whole new sense of ah and appreciation.  It’s freaking amazing, all the muscles, veins organs and nerves, each hardwired to the brain, a mini self contained factory producing consciousness, awareness, life!

Once I became so fixated and conscious of the sound of my heart beating in my chest that I became self conscious and paranoid; what if I stopped concentrating on that pulsing thump, thump? Would it stop? I know- I’m weird.  But you have to understand, the chapter on the autonomic nervous system had not yet been covered, i.e. how things work without conscious awareness.

Towards the end of the class, students are required to do one shift with an ambulance crew and one shift in the ER.  Hmmm, I thought to myself, I’ll do my shift 4pm to midnight on a weeknight and be done with it.  How many emergencies could possibly happen in a small town like SLT during these hours?  Sure, there might be the pedestrian ailments; the over protective parent with their runny nose kid, maybe a sprained ankle from a slip on the ice, a rash or tummy ache.  Even I, with my nominal skills could be of some help.

I took a deep breath, adjusted my stethoscope, straightened my badge that read “EMT Trainee” and was buzzed back into the bowels of the ER (I know, bad choice of words).  To my naive eyes it appeared to be pandemonium, a cacophony of groans and beeping machines, phones ringing, and the sound of staff members conferring in cryptic medical speak. The air was tainted by the ubiquitous odor of hospital coffee and industrial Lysol.  Gradually it occurred to me that there was a rhythm to this choreographed system of chaos and mayhem.  Patients were being seen timely and receiving excellent personal care.   A bank of computers tracked where each patient was located, when triaged, their current status and when vitals were last taken.

I fretfully plodded behind an EMT tech as he calmly and methodically attended to each patient.  I was struck by how personable and reassuring he was to each patient.   He called each patient by their first name.  In the process of taking vitals, bandaging and changing bed sheets, he made time to find out small details about each persons life and their family.  This was the type of person I’d trust to look after my mom or someone I love.

The cavalcade of the injured, sick and infirm continued to arrive throughout the night.  The ER crew kept their rhythm and groove going as they provided their professional care with kindness and compassion.  I watched as they cared for the array of people, some young, some very old, but most were frightened and in pain.  The ER tech that I had shadowed stayed a bit beyond his scheduled shift to finish up with a couple of the patients he had initially cared for.  Now that’s true dedication and great personal care.

Toward the end of my ER stint I began to feel tired and drained.   I was assigned to another ER tech that calmly went about his rounds.  He sported a clean shaven head and wore an infectious grin (no pun intended).  With only a couple minutes left before I was to leave I asked how he liked his job.  While punching some notes into a computerized chart he simply replied, “it’s great- I get paid for helping people”.  Huh, this never occurred to me.  So simple and true; yet profound!

I walked outside into the cold clear Tahoe night and I let his words sink in.  Above, the Milky Way streaked across the sky from one snow peaked horizon to the other.  I glanced up to catch the moon yawn, wink and then give me a reassuring smile. I thought to myself, what a most divine night.  It took me a while, but I finally got it.  It’s pretty cool to work with a group of professionals whose main focus is to help and comfort people in need.  Everybody who comes through the door is treated with dignity and given respect.  That’s really amazing and inspiring!  So, this is a big thank you for letting me tag along.   And a huge salute to those in the ER and all the other Barton Team members.  Good job, you guys got a great heart and soul!!!

Comments may be directed to Victor Uriz at vuriz@bartonhealth.org.