The Deep End of the Pool: A Reflection on the EMS Educator ’s Role in Teaching Emotional Coping Skills

My heart is in my stomach and there’s a lump in my throat. I just clicked the “end” button on my phone after receiving a call from a recent EMT student of mine. He called to tell me that he’s been using the training that I taught him in class. There was a hitch in his voice and a gravelly bottom to his tone. “I got dumped in the deep end of the pool,” he told me. I was surprised to hear from him because he had just called me the previous week to tell me about his first day off of orientation. He’d run a 3-year-old cardiac arrest on his very first day, and he wanted to talk about it. I let him speak and listened to the emotions behind his words. I asked him about what resources were available to him at his new workplace. I asked him if his boss had talked with him, his supervisors, and his partners. I assured him that his feelings and thoughts were normal. I gave him the same talk I’ve given time and time again to sea of ever-changing faces. You’re human. You have the right to feel your emotions. You have the right to heal. You are the most important person. The Color of No More Blood He listened to me while I talked the talk: Exercise.  Critical incident stress debriefing. Counseling. Watch for changes to everyday activities. Acute. Cumulative. Delayed. Warning signs. My own ghosts appeared around me as I went through the motions. The 5-pound baby. “The lions are coming to get me.” The color of no more blood. The not-person. Praying in the small roo...
Source: JEMS Operations - Category: Emergency Medicine Authors: Tags: Training Operations Source Type: news