Going back after an extended absence

[SSG G-man]

I have not been able to run a call in about 3 months and it looks like another three months before I will be able to go back. I broke my arm in May and had to have some major surgery on it. I had thought I was going back soon, and was worried about getting back in the saddle. Now that my wait will be even longer, I am very worried about what will have happened to my skills by the time I get in the box again.

Has anyone ever gone through this? If so how did you handle going back? A few friends have said they think its like riding a bike, it will all come back to me. I am hoping that having done the basics the same way all the time it will be like my military training and will come back when I need it.

Thoughts? Thanks.

Sarge.

[Kaisu]

I was out of commission for 8 months due to an acl reconstruction. It sucked big time. It does come back, but not easily. You have to want it. The skills are there - maybe not quite as quick but if they were good before they will be there. What goes is your confidence and that is not a bad thing. Things that you didnt even think about before you think about now. Dont let an injury stop you. If you want it, you can have it back. Good luck.

[spenac]

I recently had about 3 months no IV starts. Then when started again it almost seemed like I had never done one. I had trouble feeling it, trouble blowing them etc. But didn't take long to get back in the groove of it.

[SSG G-man]

Well, EMT-B's here don't do IVs. I am worried about missing tings and forgetting steps. I plan on pulling out my EMT text book and protocols and study for a while before I get back in the box.

Sarge

[Doczilla]

Take this opportunity to hit the books. Perhaps it's time to pick up some new skills?

- Try an ACLS class (you won't be able to intubate, but at least this may help give you a good grounding in it).

- Take AMLS or APLS. Even if you're not an ALS provider, the classes give you a good "general approach" to really sick folks, and reinforce the assessment skills on these patients.

- Spend some time observing in an ER or hospital. Seek out some of the areas that might scare you, like pediatrics or OB. If you have a children's specialty hospital nearby, spend time shadowing one of the peds ED docs.

- Start studying EKGs. I'd recommend Garcia and Holz's book 12 Lead ECG: The Art of Interpretation.

- Try your local community college or other school for some classes on anatomy and physiology. You can never study too much of this.

Too bad you're not in paramedic school. This physical downtime would be a great opportunity to be in class.

Make sure that your physical skills are up to the task before you go back. Have someone at your agency run you through scenarios with backboarding, AED, oxygen application, etc. Common sense may be permanent, but physical skills are perishable.

Since you are a volunteer at an ambulance squad, there is probably no shortage of projects to be done. What about writing some scenarios for practice? Classroom training? I find that preparing a lecture on a topic forces me to read a lot about it and distill it into useful info. Maybe your squad could use some prepared lectures like this to use during your convalescence or give at a later date.

'zilla

[mrmeaner]

Too bad you're not in paramedic school. This physical downtime would be a great opportunity to be in class.

'zilla

Yep, nothing promotes studying like a lack of options!

[Dustdevil]

I've been through this a couple of times, and it's never really been a problem for me. I was out of EMS for three years after "the big one" that broke my neck. I was out of EMS and nursing for five years doing other work right before deploying out here, and it took me less than a month to feel right back in the saddle.

I'd say the biggest factor for you will probably be how solid your experience was before the accident. If things were second nature to you before, they will be again with just a little exposure again. If not -- and such is the nature of the volly biz -- then this could be a significant setback for you.

[SSG G-man]

Well, dust it was getting to be second nature. I separated from my wife last October and had been living at the station. From OCT to FEB I was averaging about 40 calls a month. That dropped a bit from March to May because I met someone. For the calendar year from 1 July 06 to 30 June 07 I ran 227 calls. How do I know the exact number? I was given an award at our banquet last weekend for the most EMS calls.

I probably would have had more, but our station added a paid ALS crew in late November, so there were calls I would have run before that I did not go on because the ALS crew took them. I did run some calls with the ALS crew, if there was no one to drive me as a BLS crew, or if there were enough folks around to staff the second unit.

Because of the injury I am not allowed to live in the station until I am cleared again, and I am now living about 40 miles from the station. (only about 10 minutes from where I work). This does not make hanging out there easy. I also have the girlfriend, seeing the kids, the Job, the attempts to make extra cash, and the Master Degree I will begin working on at the end of the month.

I still read several publications and try to keep up on things, I visit this and other websites to enhance my knowledge.

I just want to get back on the box with out feeling like I did on my first call as an EMT!!

SARGE

[nyemtcc]

just keep brushing up with books and talking with people in the field your skills wont go away. just because you cant use them doesnt mean u cant read up on your skills.

[Madrik]

Not sure how old this post is, but I've had always things come up while I was on call as a student. I've only been on 3 calls total while other students were like, up to 60 or so.

I will be get goin soon but what purposly want to be a 4th crew so I can keep my skills sharp since I still consider myself a student. Also, look at things in the street, imagine something happening that you'd be called to and go through your protocal in your mind as you imagining it happening.