Clinical IV draws to a close

Today was my next to last shift in the ED. Following Thursday evening's shift I will be all done with Clinical IV. On the whole I have had a terrific experience in the ED. The staff has been eager to teach, and it has been a great opportunity to practice a wide range of skills that will serve me well in the field. Not only is tomorrow my final day, but it's almost the grand opening of the new wing of the ED. It's supposed to be quite spiffy. Rumor has it they haven't hired enough personnel to staff it, though, so I'm interested to see how everything plays out.

My field internship is also nearing completion. Unfortunately, my preceptor suffered a shoulder injury last weekend, so he is out of action until after Clinical V ends. I'm currently scrambling to find another preceptor so I can finish up my last few shifts before clinical break ends in mid-July. I'm not too worried about it, but it's temporarily stressful as my schedule for the next few weeks awaits resolution.

On a more positive note, I am heading back to New Hampshire this weekend to spend the Fourth of July with Ellen. This will be the fifth straight year I've been in the Hanover area for the Independence Day holiday; I can't think of a better place or person to spend it with.

Fifty four days until Opening Day of the U.S. Chess League!

Wrapping up

I turned in my official application for graduation from the community college today. All things considered, it was something of an anticlimax, especially considering there are still seven and a half weeks left in the program. Once I am finished with the program, though, my way will be paved as far as the community college's bureaucracy is concerned.

The World Open chess tournament kicks off tomorrow in Valley Forge, PA. Held every year over Independence Day weekend, the World Open is the largest open chess tournament in the country. There are also a number of side events held concurrently in the same venue, and recently the Philadelphia International was organized to be played the week leading up to the World Open. It's not so much a tournament as a festival of chess, a chance to spend a week eating, sleeping and breathing the game. Unfortunately I cannot attend this year, but I have many fond memories of World Opens past.

Earlier this month, I finished my last game in the correspondence chess tournament in which I'd been competing. Final results have yet to be released, but it appears that my score of 3-2 is good enough for a three-way tie for second-place. I blundered in the final game, but on the whole I was pleased with my games. Correspondence chess is a much different animal than over-the-board chess, but I've been enjoying discovering its nuances.

I was recently invited to contribute to the Collegiate EMS blog, which you can find at collegeems.blogspot.com . If this topic is of interest to you, look for my first post soon. Check back often, as what I write there may or may not be reprinted in this space.

First day of summer

Happy first day of summer! This is my favorite season by far: Birthday, baseball, warm weather, no school. It just doesn't get better than that. Except for this year, when "no school" is replaced by "wedding." Quite an upgrade, if you ask me. Plus, with longer daylight hours than autumn or winter, there's even more time to enjoy the summery goodness.

Time has flown by in a whirlwind of field internship ride time, clinicals and paid ambulance work. I often feel like this is the case ... probably because it is. The end is in sight, though. If all goes well, I will finish my field internship next week and wrap up my hospital clinicals shortly thereafter. The two-day college final exam, the state skills exam and the state written exam will then unfold over the following month, and that will conclude the program. How far we've come in what, looking back, seems like such a brief time.

I've been picking up shifts here and there with the ambulance company for which I work, but my clinical schedule has limited my flexibility in that regard. With the end of clinicals approaching, however, I'll soon be able to get more aggressive in my bidding (shift bidding is the somewhat convoluted process by which employees vie to arrange their schedules). I will have plenty of studying to do between the end of Clinicals IV and V and the end of the program, but the ambulance is actually an ideal place to study. There are far fewer distractions than at home and my paramedic partner is right there if I have any questions.

To end with a pleasant anecdote, my preceptor, his partner and I were eating breakfast this morning when a complete stranger walked up to our table. He said, "This is for the bill," placed a twenty-dollar note on the table and exited the restaurant. I've noted before that this can be a thankless job, but one person like that makes up for a dozen tough calls.

Anniversary post

I graduated from Dartmouth College a year ago today. Which means I'm now two classes removed from the undergraduate student body. And chatting with my old roommate this evening, he pointed out that in less than three months' time, nearly half our undergrad softball team will be married. Talk about surreal. What is growing up, though, but taking on the responsibility for which you are made ready?

I spent much of yesterday at a standby for the Allentown Art Festival in downtown Buffalo. There wasn't much opportunity to explore the various booths, but people-watching was a fascinating diversion in its own right. Everything was going smoothly until a police officer flagged down my unit to report a man bleeding heavily a block away.

Upon reaching the patient's side, we found the report of profuse bleeding was not exaggerated. As I treated the man's injury and packaged him for transport, a slightly adapted version of "Peace Frog" by The Doors kept running through my head. "Blood in the streets / in the city of Buffalo ..."

In other local news, the 2010 Buffalo Mayor's Cup was won by International Master Kenneth Regan with a score of 4.5/5. Held June 5-6, the five-round event featured two national masters, one expert and twelve other players of assorted playing strengths in addition to the victorious Regan. I had hoped to play in this event but went on my Westchester road trip instead. Perhaps next year I will make the journey back to play.

Congratulations Dartmouth College Class of 2010!!

Weekend road trip, Pt. II

Different weekend, different road trip. This weekend I am back in Westchester County to pick up some more furniture and to reconnect with friends and acquaintances of various stripes from my high school days. From my old chess club and ambulance corps to friends and family, it has been a jam-packed weekend of catching up. Unfortunately I won't see everyone I'd hoped to, but it's going well for barely a thirty-six hour trip.

Apparent timelessness is a remarkable thing. When I arrived at my old chess club, I was surprised to see that everyone was right where I had left them on my last visit, more than a year prior. Not only did everybody look the same, but they were even sitting in the same chairs. Fortunately their playing strength was not quite what I remembered, and I was able to take nine out of ten games.

It was nice to see my old ambulance corps as well. I haven't been as active with them in 2010 as I'd hoped to be--blame the six-hour commute for that--but I've put in enough time over the years that everyone remembers me. The corps seems to be thriving, and I enjoyed hearing about their latest news, developments and projects.

I've enjoyed playing the itinerant these past couple weeks, but now I have to drop anchor while I knuckle down and finish up Clinicals IV and V. It's going to be a demanding month, but I'm looking forward to the challenge as well as to having all of my clinicals behind me. Fewer than eleven weeks remaining until the state exam!

Weekend road trip, Pt. I

I made the sojourn to the Upper Valley last weekend to spend the long Memorial Day holiday with Ellen. It was a stupendous visit but, as always, all too short. We did manage to make a day trip to Westchester to pick up some furniture for our apartment. Bringing it back and setting it up was a lot of fun. Nothing drives home the fact that the wedding is rapidly approaching quite like seeing our apartment take shape!

It was also nice to see many of my friends who are graduating this year, I'm not going to make it back to New Hampshire before next weekend's commencement ceremony. Many will be sticking around the area next year--be it as grad students, employees or in another capacity--but I'm glad I was able to say goodbye to their undergrad selves.

While I was in town, I learned that The Dartmouth Apologia was named Best Student Publication for 2009-2010. The award could not have gone to a more deserving publication. Congratulations to all of the writers, editors and staff! The Spring 2010 issue, to which I contributed an article, will be posted shortly at the official website.

In other news, I was recently shown this article about the increased health risks of eating bacon, hot dogs and other processed meats. Too bad Ellen is such a terrific bacon cook!

Memorial Day

I spent the bulk of Memorial Day on the road this year, returning to Buffalo from New Hampshire. The unwavering expanse of Interstate 90 didn't offer much in the way of visual stimulation, but it gave me time to reflect. Not far from my ruminations this year was the confluence of Memorial Day and the recently-concluded EMS Week. Memorial Day is a national holiday and deservedly holds the country's attention. EMS Week, however, commands a much lower profile.

There are numerous reasons for this disparity--not the least of them longevity--but EMS Week deserves higher visibility and observance than it currently receives. Area hospitals will hold a cookout in honor of EMS providers, and usually provide them with a small gift, but that is largely the extent of the observation of the week. The sentiment is appreciated, but at the same time it bears strong traces of damning with faint praise.

During my ride time yesterday, I was stopped in a diner by a patron who thanked my preceptor and me "for being there." We thanked her and continued on, but I was struck by the encounter. In the nearly six years I've been doing this job, I can count on one hand the number of times something like this has happened to me. As Kelly Grayson points out, EMS providers aren't in it for the money or the glory. All the same, I simply cannot figure out why the public is not more invested in recognizing EMS even this one week a year.