Extreme Medical Services: Medical Care On The Fringes Of Humanity Read Free

where it went through town. They got some pretty terrific car accidents there which would test his skills and problem-solving abilities as he tried to extricate the victims from the twisted wreckage.
        He was sure of one thing. He didn’t want one of the outlying stations in suburban areas, where they were working on implementing some community paramedic and integrated health programs. These paramedics made house calls and didn’t even get to transport most of their patients to the hospital. He’d done his rotations there and learned the importance of helping patients with chronic disease and minor problems stay out of the hospital. He knew that these stations were part of the new health care reform that was shifting high health care costs to the savings of prevention, but where was the fun in that? There was no glory in helping a diabetic patient keep his blood sugar even from day to day, was there?
        Dean looked out at the crowd from the stage in the auditorium where he and all his classmates were lined up. They wore their light blue uniform shirts and navy cargo pants with the pockets for all the gear they would carry. He was average height at 5’ 11” with short cut brown hair. He was thin and thought he looked good in his new uniform. He prided himself on being pretty fit, though not as muscle-bound as his classmate Jeff Jones. He looked as if he could lift a car off a trapped patient all by himself. Dean had achieved his goal of being first in his class, getting top marks not only in his National Registry test but also on his grade point average and his clinical rotation scores. Even in the boring parts, like the community paramedic stations, he’d paid attention and tried to learn something from the medics he figured had washed up there at the end of their careers.
        The Elk City deputy fire chief who was chief of EMS was now standing up addressing the group of paramedics. He was talking about their call to serve the community, congratulating the family members and guests of the class for their support during their studies. Dean didn’t have anyone out there in the crowd, so he didn’t care about what the chief had to say about support. He’d done this on his own, and he was proud of it. His mother had wished him luck but was disappointed in him not going to regular college to find what she thought of as a real job. His father, well he was never around enough to say anything worthwhile or supportive anyway. So Dean was standing there waiting for the chief to finish so the reception could begin, and they could all find out where their assignments would be. He’d ended up requesting Station 1 downtown because that was where he’d get the best calls and all the good trauma patients.
         Deputy Chief Decker wound down the speech. He turned to look at the row of newly minted paramedics standing behind him and asked the crowd to give them a round of applause for their choice to be servants to their community. The applause was enthusiastic since this was the end of the ceremony. A few of the folks out in the audience even whistled and cheered. Then Dean was walking off the stage in a line with his classmates and into the reception outside in the cafeteria and student lounge. He chatted with a few of his classmates. Jill Manning told him she was hoping to get assigned to one of the community paramedic shifts and he wasn’t surprised. Everyone knew that she eventually wanted to continue her education in healthcare and become a nurse practitioner some day. It suited her. She’d never really bought into the adrenaline rush that most of them wanted in this business of emergency medical services (EMS).
        Dean wandered around, making small talk with the few people who would talk with him. He filled up his cup with some more punch from the refreshment table. His primary instructor, Mike Farver moved around the room with a collection of big manilla envelopes, talking to each of the students in turn