Firsts and lasts

Yesterday was the end of (hopefully!) my last full week of work as an EMT-Basic. I'm working one day next week and then taking my paramedic exam on Thursday. If all goes well, I can turn in my exam results to the Human Resources manager and switch job classifications on the spot. There's a training program at the company where new paramedics are paired with senior medics for orientation and training; this process takes roughly a month, depending on call volume and other factors. Unfortunately, I'm moving to New Hampshire four days after the exam.

It's possible to remain part-time with the company (which requires fifty two hours of work per quarter) even from afar, but as far as I can tell, no one has ever tried to do their new-medic orientation on that schedule. I'm waiting to hear back from the operations manager as to what that would look like for me. Trying to do my training in fifty-two hour spurts every three months could take a long, long time. I'm not even certain that I'll try to stay on, though I'd like to, but I'm going to wait to hear back before making a final decision.

Not all of the hospitals in Buffalo have helipads, so from time to time the helicopter is forced to rendezvous with a ground ambulance to bring a patient the rest of the way to the receiving hospital. Yesterday I got to do my first airlift-assist. The second the chopper was on the ground, we rushed out with the stretcher, speedily transferred the patient and then rushed back to the ambulance, crouching down under the rotors all the way. The whole process took maybe three minutes. It was just like a scene from a movie, only cooler because it was real life with a real patient.

In other news, the U.S. Chess League is about to get underway. The New York Knights open the season against the Boston Blitz next Monday at 7 pm. You can bet I'll be watching!