New Year's Eve on 7W

After completing the first phase of our clinical time December 1st, I took a few weeks off to rest and prepare for the Holidays. Unfortunately, when I looked more carefully at the work I need to finish by April 1st for the second phase, I realized I was starting to fall behind. Thus finds our brave hero walking into the Medic room at ten minutes to 4PM on December 31st for the eight hour tour leading into 2008.

I would have preferred not to be working, but this is medic school after all, and sacrifices have to be made. I should be counting my blessings since I was able to at least get up to see my grandparents and family over Christmas. I know at least one person who was doing tours over that holiday.

Prepared for the worst, I knew an ALS tour in Greenwich Village on New Year's Eve could turn into hours of responding to the "Unconscious," aka people who indulged on too much Champagne. Also, the possibility existed that we would spend the entire tour in the throng of partygoers chasing ghosts in the crowds at Times Square, a mere 30 blocks north from our assigned station.

Lady Luck seemed to be with us however and by 7PM, we were just starting to head to our first job for the "Internal Bleeding" of a 95 y/o women. Pretty uneventful call. It wasn't even too stinky considering her chief complaint was a GI bleed. I couldn't get the IV on my one attempt (also my first attempt in the field), but I think that was more luck (and not so great veins) than lack of skill on my part. In fact, after doing about fifty or so in the ER, I'm starting to feel more confident with sticking people. Her B.P. was pretty low and one of my preceptors got the line in the pt's other hand to start administering fluids on the way to the hospital.

Hours passed until we got our second job. This one was for the unconscious, but on arrival, the pt has already disappeared. Seems like there were some ghosts haunting the City after all. I actually don't mind chasing after phantom patients. I prefer to be working than idle (or as it was, studying my trauma textbook in the back of the rig), but it amazes me how many resources go into this one 911 call. For example, this was a street job, and more than likely, someone walked passed someone lying on the sidewalk. They then flipped out their cell phone, hit the magic buttons, and next thing you know, I'm on my way, along with another BLS ambulance, a FDNY engine company, and a police car going to another scene where everyone is gone by the time we get there. Oh well, this is the age we live in. Cell phones are everywhere and people have just enough scruples to call this an emergency, but not enough to walk over the person lying on the concrete, shake their shoulder, and find out if their alright.

Returning to the medic station, we find the street we're traveling down blocked by a fire engine. We weren't assigned to this job, but the firefighters wave us in. We call ourselves flagged down to dispatch and enter the nice, quiet restaurant. At least it was quiet until six firefighters, two Paramedics, one medic student, and two cops barge in.

The patient is a middle aged women. Cool, pale, diaphoretic. History of MIs and COPD. Appears weak, and slightly AMS. Bystanders report a near syncope as she was eating her dinner. FD has her on O2, so we make our quick, ninja-like exit with the stairchair to the back of our bus. I've noticed that the medics are staring to trust us students a little more, so I have the responsibility of hooking her up to the 12-Lead, and getting IV access. Both completed successfully (22-guage in the right AC! -- Woo hoo -- first line in the field!). Her rhythms look good and the field diagnosis is vasovagal near-syncope. we dish her off to the hospital without any problems and it's 11:00 PM.

No more jobs for the rest of the night, but a couple minutes to midnight we all start to gather on the sidewalk outside the ER. Nurses, doctors, staff, medics, and students stand at 7th Ave and 11th St. in Manhattan. We can just barely see the ball, but when the fireworks go off, we all cheer and hug each other. A few quick minutes of celebration and everyone soon returns to care for their patients.

What a great way to bring in 2008!