Thursday, October 9, 1997
Lights & Sirens
UCLA’s ambulances are handled by a team of 15 students, who say
their jobs mature them quickly
By Michelle Navarro
Daily Bruin Contributor
9:30 a.m.
beep beep …
Dispatch: EMS1?
Heather: EMS1.
Dispatch: EMS1 respond to 10735 Wilshire Blvd., 87-year-old
female with a possible broken hip.
Heather: EMS1 roger.
Heather Kesler, an emergency medical technician (EMT), reaches
behind to grab a pair of latex medical examination gloves.
Approximately six minutes later, her partner Kristen Smith, turns
the ambulance into the driveway of a highrise apartment
complex.
Aware that the two beeps from the radio signified a code two –
not a "lights and sirens" call – the two EMTs calmly roll out the
gurney, and pick up the air-way bag and trauma box.
Upstairs, they enter the patient’s residence; the Los Angeles
Fire Department is already on the scene. One of them, seated
comfortably in a sofa, explains the history of the injured woman to
Kristen and Heather and mentions that she fell down after feeling
slightly dizzy.
"This is going to hurt for a minute," says one of the
firefighters – counting out, "One, two, three," as they carefully
slide the 87-year-old woman onto the gurney.
The patient moans in pain. More pillows and blankets are stuffed
around her. As the EMTs struggle to fit the gurney through the
narrow doorways, trying to minimize the woman’s pain, they reassure
the hovering relative. "We’ll take good care of her," they say.
Down in the lobby, Heather asks the patient to wiggle her toes.
The white socks, peeking out from the medical blankets, give a
little shake.
"How’s your hip?" Heather asks.
The patient gives a muffled reply: "Horrible."
In the ambulance, Kristen’s voice can be heard from the driver’s
side, communicating with someone on the radio. In the back, Heather
takes the patient’s vital signs.
The ambulance arrives at the UCLA emergency room and the patient
is admitted into a room by a doctor wearing a "Peanuts" shirt.
"So now it’s paperwork time," says Heather as she sits in a
chair outside the hospital room.
From 7 a.m. to 3 p.m., Kristen, a UCLA alumna and manager of the
UCLA emergency medical services (EMS), and Heather, a fourth-year
math student, are on call.
At the police station, they perform other tasks: filling out
police reports, and managing the front desk and lost and found,
while waiting for the call.
It can come at any moment and may be for anything from an "open
traffic accident" to a suicide. The majority of calls – 40.2
percent – are "medical" ones, while calls involving "fall" injuries
(like the one described above) come in second with 16.7
percent.
In suspense they wait for the next emergency to occur.
"Some people think it’s sick" that they wait for a call, Kristen
said. "It’s not. We don’t want people to be sick, it’s just that
we’re trained and we want to be able to do calls."
The truth is, EMTs go through extensive training and a rigorous
selection process.
In order to qualify, an applicant must be a full-time UCLA
student and have already attained California State EMT
Certification. The application process involves three separate
evaluations: one written, one physical and one practical.
One sample question from the written exam asks how many thoracic
vertebrae there are. (There are 12). Another asks to identify the
signs of hyperglycemia.
If all the exams are completed successfully, an interview may be
conducted.
Training also involves a heavy amount of classes and
simulations, as well as special sessions with a field training
officer.
The EMS was created in 1979, as a result of the expanding campus
and its growing need for emergency medical care. Currently, there
are 15 students on staff.
"The program is student-run," Kristen said. "(We) have a lot of
pressure and so many responsibilities. Granted, I’m the manager,
but I put responsibilities on a lot of people."
Heather believes it’s pressures like those that make a person
mature.
"You grow up a lot in this program. People put their lives in
your hands. All of that knowledge and experience raises your
maturity level and responsibility," Heather said.
According to Heather, being enrolled in 12 units of class and
working approximately 28 hours a week isn’t unmanageable. Actually,
she looks forward to work because of its "exciting" element.
"You never know what’s going to happen," Heather said. "You do
lots of simulations in training, so there’s some familiarity. But,
you never get the same call twice. The more you work, the more you
realize your ability as an EMT."
"Rewarding" is the term Kristen uses to describe her job.
"As a manager, I get to see the EMTs change, grow and mature. As
an EMT, I get to see patients and help them out. I see that the
training paid off. It’s rewarding in a lot of ways," Kristen
said.
The job isn’t without its emotional strains, however.
Confronting traumatic situations on a daily basis may take a toll
on the human spirit.
"It’s the hardest when you have to see the children that are
injured. When we’re going on 911 calls, you know it’s for a serious
type of injury," Kristen said.
"Afterwards, it can have an effect on you," she added. "We have
stress de-briefings where we talk about the call – if we’re having
bad dreams. When I got started, I saw about eight deaths and
suicides."
Heather said one way to handle the trauma was to keep a "focus
on what’s going on," and to always remember that they’ve been
trained to be there at such scenes.
But, there usually isn’t very much time to think about a
situation, given that the team aims to leave the scene after 10
minutes.
The entire EMS team participates in several outside social
activities to alleviate stress as well.
"Everyone really depends on everyone else, because nobody else
really knows what we’re going through," Heather said.
"We’re like a big family."