Getting ready for the home stretch

I spent the bulk of this past weekend doing clinical rotations in the emergency department. Of all my clinical rotations thus far, the ED continues to be my favorite. The other locations have been instructive as well, but the ED gives us the most opportunities to practice the widest range of skills. It's also beneficial to see the course of a patient's treatment after the ambulance crew departs, at which point EMS personnel consider a call complete. After all, EMS workers--and really all healthcare providers--are ultimately in the people business.

My field internship begins on Sunday, assuming the necessary paperwork is processed by that time. This was one of the highlights for me, going into the program, and I am eager and motivated to tackle it head on. The first component of the field internship involves me primarily observing my paramedic preceptor and assisting as directed; the second and longer component entails me functioning as the primary paramedic on the call.

As I mentioned earlier, I am trying to clear up my clinical schedule as much as possible for the spring and summer months in order to better accomodate the field internship. As a result, though, March is jam-packed. In the next ten days, I have five days of class, five clinicals, three tutoring shifts, two field internship shifts and two EMS standby coverage events. Once that is behind me, though, Ellen will be here for a visit!

In other news, The New York Times reported today on a Massachusetts study that linked regular, moderate alcohol consumption to a decreased likelihood of obesity. It's an interesting but unconvincing read, seeing as its measure for obesity is the Body Mass Index, which is currently in a dead heat with Nielsen ratings for the title of Most Meaningless Statistic.