The week of November 5-11 is National Collegiate Emergency Medical Services Week. Ryan Seewald '10 is a member of Hamilton's Emergency Medical Services team and here offers observations about his first three months on the job. We are proud to recognize all 22 members of HCEMS.
Beepbeepbeepbeepbeep… For an Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) it is one of the most exhilarating and nerve-wracking sounds you will ever hear. It's an instantaneous adrenaline rush. For me, it causes excitement about the usually unknown nature of the call to follow, yet forces me to quickly recall as much information I learned from class, from training, and from prior calls. And this can occur at 2 in the afternoon, 10 at night, or 4 in the morning. It can also happen when I'm cramming for a midterm that is an hour away or trying to finish a paper due the next day. For an EMT, at least twice a week your life is ultimately ruled by your pager.
I began volunteering for Hamilton College Emergency Medical Service (HCEMS) at the beginning of this semester. Currently, 22 students volunteer for HCEMS, all of whom are New York State certified at the EMT-basic level. This required a semester-long course taken two nights a week (and usually an additional Saturday class) in addition to our regular Hamilton classes. Our office is connected to the Health Center where Diann Lynch, a registered nurse and also certified EMT-basic, acts as our coordinator.
At Hamilton there is an EMT on call 24/7, except during breaks. During the school week, each of us has one or more shifts, either a day shift, from noon to 10 p.m., or the night shift, from 10 p.m. to noon the next day. On weekends, the day shift is shortened to 7 p.m., at which point the night shift EMTs go on for a 15 hour shift. I am frequently asked if we are allowed to sleep at night, to which I respond, "As long as I answer my page for a call almost immediately, I can sleep as much as I want." Each of us usually has one or two shifts during the week, and then we rotate weekend shifts. I really enjoy this system, because at least one to two weekend nights a month I am able to get a new experience.
Though we do not run an ambulance service, all emergency medical calls that occur on campus are handled first through HCEMS. When someone needs a transport to the hospital, we call the ambulance. The benefit to having our own state-certified EMS service, as Diann Lynch points out, is that we cut down response time to calls, ensuring that patients receive care as soon as possible. Currently, our response time is three minutes, whereas other EMS services can take 15 minutes or more to arrive.
"Hamilton is its own little community with some 1,500 students who are on campus 24/7 and more than 2,000 people on campus any given day. This is about the size of some small towns. If we can provide care as quickly as possible to keep our community safe and healthy, and we have the students willing to volunteer their time, I think it is our obligation to do so," said Lynch. Bates College, Amherst College and New York University are among others that also have emergency medical services.
Generally, an EMT's job is to treat patients on arrival and assess where further care should be sought, either by calling an ambulance for patient transport or advising the patient to seek further medical care, with which we assist them. EMTs are trained to handle basic life support, which means we are capable of treating most injuries and emergencies until more advanced life support arrives, if it is required. We know, to some degree, how to treat patients with heart attacks, respiratory distress, respiratory arrest, fractured bones, frostbite, allegoric reactions, intoxications, strokes, signs of shock and many other ailments. (Though it is generally assumed that EMTs on our campus handle only intoxications, the majority of our calls are not alcohol-related. )
Students choose to volunteer for HCEMS for various reasons. Some want to boost their medical school resumes. Others want an exciting and unpredictable experience to break up their regular schedule. Some, like sophomore Emma Trucks, wanted an experience that would expose them to the medical profession before they made the decision to enter that field. All of us have different interests and majors. Some are chemistry and biology majors (pre-med required courses), while others take Russian studies and history. However, one common trait of all HCEMS members is our drive to help other students on campus. We truly care what happens to our fellow students And though people may become angry or embarrassed when we arrive, our main goal is to ensure that our fellow students receive the best possible care and end up safe and healthy. As a more seasoned member of the service, Emma Trucks expressed similar views, "I enjoy it very much, though when it is freezing cold and 3 a.m., I can get a little frustrated. Still, it is nice to see I helped someone through what is probably one of the worst days of their life," she said.
When I first started going on calls, I was terrified about making the smallest error, even if the call required minimal emergency care. Luckily, within HCEMS there is plenty of support from veteran EMTs, who have spent a year or more taking calls and are comfortable taking them over. Slowly, I began to realize that my training was equal to that of any other EMT-B, including the ambulance drivers. After this I became comfortable fielding calls, administering treatment and documenting everything about the call. With this realization, my feeling when my page sounded changed from worry ("Oh my God, am I going to be able to treat this patient correctly") to exhilaration ("I can't wait to help this person"). The adrenaline rush that accompanies the beeping still remains. I love getting calls and I now look forward to my shifts.
While I feel there are many upsides to being an EMT, the experience can be upsetting at times, especially when our patients do not trust our medical knowledge. Certainly we do not have as much training as an ER doctor or an advanced life support EMT, but our training is identical to most other emergency responders, even those who have an ambulance service, especially if the call requires only basic life support.
Although it is usually easy for me to brush aside anger by patients, because I understand they are scared or frustrated, it bothers me when patients ignore our advice because they do not believe we are real EMTs. Our only service is to the patient, and not to the college, the health center or campus safety, and therefore any advice we give patients is based on some medical training and experience with the emergency medical system. If we are ever uncertain about any of our advice, we inform the patient of our opinion, but then also provide them with other options. Ultimately, we want to ensure the patient receives the best care possible as effectively as possible.
Though this is only my third month as an EMT, it has been an enlivening experience for me. I look forward to going on call each week and spending some part of my day helping my fellow schoolmates. At times the experience can be frustrating, but on the whole, this has been one of the most positive experiences I have had on campus. Though some students question why I would give up a Saturday night to take care of people, I could not imagine a better way to spend those nights.
-- by Ryan Seewald '10
Beepbeepbeepbeepbeep… For an Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) it is one of the most exhilarating and nerve-wracking sounds you will ever hear. It's an instantaneous adrenaline rush. For me, it causes excitement about the usually unknown nature of the call to follow, yet forces me to quickly recall as much information I learned from class, from training, and from prior calls. And this can occur at 2 in the afternoon, 10 at night, or 4 in the morning. It can also happen when I'm cramming for a midterm that is an hour away or trying to finish a paper due the next day. For an EMT, at least twice a week your life is ultimately ruled by your pager.
I began volunteering for Hamilton College Emergency Medical Service (HCEMS) at the beginning of this semester. Currently, 22 students volunteer for HCEMS, all of whom are New York State certified at the EMT-basic level. This required a semester-long course taken two nights a week (and usually an additional Saturday class) in addition to our regular Hamilton classes. Our office is connected to the Health Center where Diann Lynch, a registered nurse and also certified EMT-basic, acts as our coordinator.
At Hamilton there is an EMT on call 24/7, except during breaks. During the school week, each of us has one or more shifts, either a day shift, from noon to 10 p.m., or the night shift, from 10 p.m. to noon the next day. On weekends, the day shift is shortened to 7 p.m., at which point the night shift EMTs go on for a 15 hour shift. I am frequently asked if we are allowed to sleep at night, to which I respond, "As long as I answer my page for a call almost immediately, I can sleep as much as I want." Each of us usually has one or two shifts during the week, and then we rotate weekend shifts. I really enjoy this system, because at least one to two weekend nights a month I am able to get a new experience.
Though we do not run an ambulance service, all emergency medical calls that occur on campus are handled first through HCEMS. When someone needs a transport to the hospital, we call the ambulance. The benefit to having our own state-certified EMS service, as Diann Lynch points out, is that we cut down response time to calls, ensuring that patients receive care as soon as possible. Currently, our response time is three minutes, whereas other EMS services can take 15 minutes or more to arrive.
"Hamilton is its own little community with some 1,500 students who are on campus 24/7 and more than 2,000 people on campus any given day. This is about the size of some small towns. If we can provide care as quickly as possible to keep our community safe and healthy, and we have the students willing to volunteer their time, I think it is our obligation to do so," said Lynch. Bates College, Amherst College and New York University are among others that also have emergency medical services.
Generally, an EMT's job is to treat patients on arrival and assess where further care should be sought, either by calling an ambulance for patient transport or advising the patient to seek further medical care, with which we assist them. EMTs are trained to handle basic life support, which means we are capable of treating most injuries and emergencies until more advanced life support arrives, if it is required. We know, to some degree, how to treat patients with heart attacks, respiratory distress, respiratory arrest, fractured bones, frostbite, allegoric reactions, intoxications, strokes, signs of shock and many other ailments. (Though it is generally assumed that EMTs on our campus handle only intoxications, the majority of our calls are not alcohol-related. )
Students choose to volunteer for HCEMS for various reasons. Some want to boost their medical school resumes. Others want an exciting and unpredictable experience to break up their regular schedule. Some, like sophomore Emma Trucks, wanted an experience that would expose them to the medical profession before they made the decision to enter that field. All of us have different interests and majors. Some are chemistry and biology majors (pre-med required courses), while others take Russian studies and history. However, one common trait of all HCEMS members is our drive to help other students on campus. We truly care what happens to our fellow students And though people may become angry or embarrassed when we arrive, our main goal is to ensure that our fellow students receive the best possible care and end up safe and healthy. As a more seasoned member of the service, Emma Trucks expressed similar views, "I enjoy it very much, though when it is freezing cold and 3 a.m., I can get a little frustrated. Still, it is nice to see I helped someone through what is probably one of the worst days of their life," she said.
When I first started going on calls, I was terrified about making the smallest error, even if the call required minimal emergency care. Luckily, within HCEMS there is plenty of support from veteran EMTs, who have spent a year or more taking calls and are comfortable taking them over. Slowly, I began to realize that my training was equal to that of any other EMT-B, including the ambulance drivers. After this I became comfortable fielding calls, administering treatment and documenting everything about the call. With this realization, my feeling when my page sounded changed from worry ("Oh my God, am I going to be able to treat this patient correctly") to exhilaration ("I can't wait to help this person"). The adrenaline rush that accompanies the beeping still remains. I love getting calls and I now look forward to my shifts.
While I feel there are many upsides to being an EMT, the experience can be upsetting at times, especially when our patients do not trust our medical knowledge. Certainly we do not have as much training as an ER doctor or an advanced life support EMT, but our training is identical to most other emergency responders, even those who have an ambulance service, especially if the call requires only basic life support.
Although it is usually easy for me to brush aside anger by patients, because I understand they are scared or frustrated, it bothers me when patients ignore our advice because they do not believe we are real EMTs. Our only service is to the patient, and not to the college, the health center or campus safety, and therefore any advice we give patients is based on some medical training and experience with the emergency medical system. If we are ever uncertain about any of our advice, we inform the patient of our opinion, but then also provide them with other options. Ultimately, we want to ensure the patient receives the best care possible as effectively as possible.
Though this is only my third month as an EMT, it has been an enlivening experience for me. I look forward to going on call each week and spending some part of my day helping my fellow schoolmates. At times the experience can be frustrating, but on the whole, this has been one of the most positive experiences I have had on campus. Though some students question why I would give up a Saturday night to take care of people, I could not imagine a better way to spend those nights.
-- by Ryan Seewald '10
