Tomorrow I will be volunteering all day at the SFPA Conference The ABCs of Emergency Medicine.

The only bummer is that it is 12:30am right now, and I have to be there ready to go at 7am, which means a cool 5:30am wake up call for me (factors in time to shower in the am and then a major cushion of time to deal with unreliable SF Muni bus system to get there). Blergh. However, when the director of the SFPA asks you to volunteer, you clear your schedule and do what it takes to volunteer!

One thing I am learning as an newbie EMT is that there are about a zillion ways to get involved in EMS. Perhaps because EMS is a relatively new branch of medicine, there seems to be this incredible abundance of opportunities for those want the exposure. One aspect in particular which I am hoping to get involved with in the near future is the research side of things. I find it fascinating how quickly EMS protocols develop and change- again, because it is such a new field, there is so much room for development. For example, ALREADY (and I have only been out of school 5 months!) the protocols that I learned for tourniquet application have updated and completely changed. Crazy, right? With any luck in the next few months I’ll be able to network my way into SF General’s trauma research center, or somewhere similar.

The nice thing about “working” the conference is the chance to see all these incredible speakers for free! The SFPA seems to put on at least one or two great lectures each month, tomorrow’s conference being the biggest. It seems like a few of the presentations will be over my head (more geared towards CCT nurses, etc), however there are a bunch of lectures which I am psyched to observe.

Here is what Linus thinks of me spending my day at the conference:

Also, off topic, but check out Earl’s new haircut! Doesn’t he look handsome?

G’night!

straightjacket?

Earl came home from work yesterday to find me in what could be called “a state.” You know how when you have SO MUCH to do, but you can’t get going? When you can’t get any traction to start? That was me… paralyzed and overwhelmed and frustrated.

Before we had decided to move to SF, I was feeling pretty good about the plan here in NYC. I’d found and registered for a wonderful therapy dog training class at St. Vincents. It started in March, and basically was $50 (the rest of the class subsidized by the hospital). You went every Saturday over four weeks, and at the end of the training are certified to do therapy work in St. Vincents. I had spoken on the phone to the director, who was helpful and kind. It was also the most straightforward program I found.

I was also set to start my EMT training in November 2nd at a program on Sundays in the Bronx. Literally, the day before we sat down and had a talk about moving, I had my registration all filled out, check in the envelope, sitting and waiting to be mailed. The only reason I held off from sending it out was because we decided to wait and see what the offers were in SF. It’s an odd feeling now, looking at the unmailed envelope sitting here in front of me.

Yesterday, looking for similar programs in the bay area found me striking out, again and again. Some EMT programs I had already missed the deadline for and weren’t starting again until June. Others I was overqualified for and only took people with GEDs. Another one started January 6th, and sounded perfect, but you have to be there to sign up in person, IN TWO DAYS. Many others seem to require First Responder Certification before you can even sign up for the EMT training. Garrrrgh. I guess I should just wrap my head around the fact that going into any medical profession is all about hoop-jumping and I should just strap on my Nikes and get ready to leap when they say jump. I’m used to finance, where nobody really cared about certifications as long as you were working your ass off and making the company money.

Next, while searching for a therapy dog training program in SF, I was getting nowhere just as fast. It seems like a lot of dog training organizations offer classes, but really they’re just a front to make money, not really help you get qualified to work in hospitals. I ran into similar problems- the class had just started, or we had missed the signup. I left messages and sent emails to almost every Bay-area group on this list and have yet to hear back from anyone. The requirements for each program seem completely different. Some require extensive classes, others just observations, some want to meet and greet your dog, and others require formalized seminars or testing. All seem to require handler medical background checks and shots, another hoop which I already jumped through in order to start volunteering at Manhattan Eye Ear and Throat Hospital in September.

The therapy dog infrastructure is poor at best. From what I have gathered in my research, there are two competing main organizations, the Delta Society and Therapy Dog International. TDI does not work with local affiliates and discourages overlap, whereas Delta Society will pair you up with a local training group. Then there are a bunch of smaller programs (like the St. Vincents one I was so excited about in NYC) which aren’t affiliated with either, and have their own qualification process. Finally, there are the non-affiliated “training programs” you have to look out for which just seem designed to just take your money while you attend expensive training programs and never actually certify or place you for any real hospital work. All of this muddlement seems designed to discourage the well-intentioned potential volunteer who has some free time, a kind and friendly dog, and a will to enrich the health and lives of patients.