But don't let it fool ya about what's inside."
Well that is if he was singing about my EMT-B book and not a scrumptious and oh-so-tasty and inviting bottle of wine. Mmmm... wine...
Right, a post. Luckily for me, having moved in the last 6 months eliminated the need for the icky-icky dance when I reached into my bookshelf to pull out the well-worn and slightly out dated book. I even went as far as to pull out the workbook that matches. It took a day or two, but I finally mustered the courage to crack open the workbook and take the final test. I was cruising right along, answering questions and circling ones I knew I was guessing at when I realized I was guessing a little more often than I should. Of course I felt a twinge of shame, but that twinge became a swift kick to the backside when I tallied the results and realized... I failed.
I have been trying to rationalize the reason why I would fail so miserably and really the only reason is I need to brush up on the material regardless of a recert test. Of course with my brain, the thought process doesn't stop there and coincidentally, neither does the need for refreshing and learning.
I was reading through the Medical/Legal and Ethical Issues chapter and ran across these little ditties...
"To be an effective EMT-B, you must maintain your skills and knowledge. This includes practicing until you have obtained confidence and mastery of the skills. After that, continuing education and re certification are necessary to maintain mastery. Every patient deserves the best care."
Whoa.
This little paragraph is probably skimmed over by most as they eagerly read through the chapter waiting for the "good stuff" to start appearing on the pages before them. I think every chapter should start with this sentence. And yes, I believe it is that important.
How many of us complain about the old guy that phones it in at trainings and recerts declaring they have seen it all and therefore know it all? Or how about the person who after years on the department, still doesn't have the confidence in the most basic skills. We aren't talking, "Hey, I'm not positive about this BP, can you check for me?" The look of sheer terror when you ask to put the 3-lead on, the frantic opening of every cabinet looking for the NRB. Yeah, I know you are nodding your head right now or maybe you are thinking, 'crap, that's me'. Right now, I feel like that is me and that makes me sad. Of course, there are times I have those moments where I swear my cranium just dutch ovened my grey matter and I couldn't recite your ABC's if I was offered a million dollars to do so. Hell, I have had more than my fair share of those in every day life as well as in EMS.
I am trying really hard not to be the person that can just skate through the exam and settle with a passing grade. I want to own that test. I want to walk out of the building fist pumping. I want to be the person who verifies, learns and grows. I want to have the knowledge beyond X=Y because the book told me so. I want to be great.
I think I can do that. No, wait. I KNOW I can do that. I just have to remember to keep my nose in the books.
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