Shifts So Far

I am determined to at least somewhat keep up with this blog, so I thought I would generally describe what the past two weeks of shifts have been like.

There are two shifts open for the international volunteers: 7am-3 pm and 11 pm-7 am. They always want 4 volunteers in the morning and 3 at night, so we try to figure out a shift schedule that works for all 9 of us. I haven't decided yet which shift I like better. The morning shifts get lots of calls, but they are all boring and you are too busy to bond with the drivers (usually). I felt like I was taken more seriously on the night calls and had more learning opportunities, but for every night of 6 calls there are several nights of 1 or 2. I did all morning shifts this week, but I will try to do more night shifts next week and see if I get anything cool.

Most of the time, you are on an ambulance with a driver and another volunteer. The driver is the one in charge, and the volunteer is most likely very experienced and Israeli. The quality of the shift depends on two factors: the people you are with, and the calls you get. In terms of calls, we all quickly discovered that medic life is nowhere near as exciting as it may seem. 90% of the time, all one is required to do is take vitals and transport someone (usually elderly) to the hospital. Basically, we are glorified taxi drivers who can save you if your heart happens to stop beating on our watch. I've had one cool call, which I will describe later. Other than that, the most I ever get to do is take blood pressure and pulse.

The drivers can often be a challenge. Some speak English, but most don't. Almost all prefer to interact with the Israeli volunteers than with us. Unless one speaks up, it is easy to spend an entire 8 hour shift standing in the corner at calls and sitting in the ambulance, ignored and not doing anything. Luckily, I've been learning to really push and make my presence known. Success at the station is like success in any competitive social situation. You have to know when to be aggressive, when to speak up, when to ask and when to just act. You also need either the driver or the other volunteer to really like you. I had a great driver and a great volunteer today, so I got to take vitals for every patient and fill out forms. That might not sound like too much, but it actually meant alot to be trusted with doing even those small tasks.

Yesterday I had a tough volunteer to win over. The driver liked me, but most of the time the calls only require one volunteer. The other volunteer has to consciously hand over tasks to me that he could easily do himself- otherwise there is nothing for me to do. The volunteer on my ambulance was named Natalie, and she felt no need to involve me in any of the calls. I tried to take inititative at one point and started measuring pulse, and she proceeded to start measuring blood pressure on the same arm (thereby cutting off the pulse, and my attempted measurements). I stood up for myself though and asked if I could do more in the future. By the end of the day, she had warmed up to me and even encouraged me to take part in the calls.

I'll write about my one interesting call in the next post- hopefully, I will have more to write about in the future!