Remember your first call? I do. The date, who was working, what it was. I can see all of their faces. I think about how our paths diverged.
The patients are simple to follow. They are buried in the same place they were a few days later. (Not for lack of Herculean efforts I might add)
The providers. Only one is at the same department. Most are fire officers, or nurses now. One is a PA. But for a moment in time, we were united in one place for common purpose. To be the best at saving lives.
As I look around the forum here, I wonder if we are similar. We are at one place. We could be on any other forum, or not at all. It doesn’t seem like we have a common purpose though.
So what is our link? What brings us together?
We don’t share a profession. We don’t share an employer. We don’t even share an ideal.
We are around people all day who need help.
Sometimes we can help them. Sometimes we can’t. Sometime our heart is really in it. Sometime it is not.
One of the places I really enjoyed working is a very busy charity hospital. (inner city, as if there is another kind) I remember being drained, physically, mentally, emotionally. In my 4 years I saw 5 managers come and go. Countless employees. When I go back to visit, the few old hands that remain are very glad to see me. (hard to imagine isn’t it?) We have been tested, and we were not the ones who succumbed to addiction, burnout, apathy, or mental disorder. Is that same celebration what we are doing here?
“If you can make it here, you can make it anywhere.” Was something we used to chant like a prayer.
Perhaps EMS is similar. From the oldest here to the youngest, we set out to be in conflict with the all 5 of the conflicts of classical Greek tradition simultaneously.
Man vs. man. We fight among ourselves to lay claim to being of the true faith and way about our EMS entity.
Man vs. society. We struggle to define ourselves and show value so our budgets are slashed and our hopes of continuing to help people are upheld. We are under constant threat of litigation.
Man vs. Nature. Using medicine, no matter how rudimentary, I think it is self evident this is perhaps where we focus most of our attention.
Man vs. the supernatural. The Greeks defined this as not a deity but that which is beyond the understanding of man. As the low people on the healthcare totem pole, with the most basic education, the unknown is quite formidable.
Man vs. himself. Sooner or later every provider must wrestle with himself. Mental security, value, staying connected with others, compassion, empathy, and the list goes on.
Perhaps that is our common bond. Who outside of healthcare has to contend with all of this at once?
Some are still striving for excellence, some to merely survive the next day or shift.
What is the common bond? Is there a common goal or purpose, are we just paying our dues on the way to something better, or are we just addicts?
As I look back at all that I had hoped to accomplish in EMS, and see that little has actually come to pass. I wonder if it is like the camaraderie of soldiers in war. We huddle together because nobody really understands this “emergency” thing but the people who have experienced it.
What do you think?
Why do you come here?
The patients are simple to follow. They are buried in the same place they were a few days later. (Not for lack of Herculean efforts I might add)
The providers. Only one is at the same department. Most are fire officers, or nurses now. One is a PA. But for a moment in time, we were united in one place for common purpose. To be the best at saving lives.
As I look around the forum here, I wonder if we are similar. We are at one place. We could be on any other forum, or not at all. It doesn’t seem like we have a common purpose though.
So what is our link? What brings us together?
We don’t share a profession. We don’t share an employer. We don’t even share an ideal.
We are around people all day who need help.
Sometimes we can help them. Sometimes we can’t. Sometime our heart is really in it. Sometime it is not.
One of the places I really enjoyed working is a very busy charity hospital. (inner city, as if there is another kind) I remember being drained, physically, mentally, emotionally. In my 4 years I saw 5 managers come and go. Countless employees. When I go back to visit, the few old hands that remain are very glad to see me. (hard to imagine isn’t it?) We have been tested, and we were not the ones who succumbed to addiction, burnout, apathy, or mental disorder. Is that same celebration what we are doing here?
“If you can make it here, you can make it anywhere.” Was something we used to chant like a prayer.
Perhaps EMS is similar. From the oldest here to the youngest, we set out to be in conflict with the all 5 of the conflicts of classical Greek tradition simultaneously.
Man vs. man. We fight among ourselves to lay claim to being of the true faith and way about our EMS entity.
Man vs. society. We struggle to define ourselves and show value so our budgets are slashed and our hopes of continuing to help people are upheld. We are under constant threat of litigation.
Man vs. Nature. Using medicine, no matter how rudimentary, I think it is self evident this is perhaps where we focus most of our attention.
Man vs. the supernatural. The Greeks defined this as not a deity but that which is beyond the understanding of man. As the low people on the healthcare totem pole, with the most basic education, the unknown is quite formidable.
Man vs. himself. Sooner or later every provider must wrestle with himself. Mental security, value, staying connected with others, compassion, empathy, and the list goes on.
Perhaps that is our common bond. Who outside of healthcare has to contend with all of this at once?
Some are still striving for excellence, some to merely survive the next day or shift.
What is the common bond? Is there a common goal or purpose, are we just paying our dues on the way to something better, or are we just addicts?
As I look back at all that I had hoped to accomplish in EMS, and see that little has actually come to pass. I wonder if it is like the camaraderie of soldiers in war. We huddle together because nobody really understands this “emergency” thing but the people who have experienced it.
What do you think?
Why do you come here?