If you were asked what year in your life was the year that left the most significant impact, what year would it be?
For many of us this year, the first half of 2020, including myself, has been a year of anguish and sorrow.
My uncle, Miguel Menchu.
May his precious, kindest, loving soul rest in the heavens with all his angels. A father, husband, son, uncle, co-worker, and a friend to hundreds. We love and miss you so much Tio.
This universal epidemic has kept us in our homes and practicing social distancing for months. But cities like New York City found means like cheering, shouting, and beeping daily at 7pm to honor, thank, and acknowledge our frontline workers. Those who not only put their life at risk during the toughest times, but did everything in their power to take care of every single patient they were assigned to [thank you for serving my father]. These kinds of jobs are not for the selfish. But for the selfless. And my mission to thank and appreciate our nurses, doctors, those in the medical field, and our EMT workers has grown entirely.
My greatest gratitude and thanks to one of the most amazing friends anyone in the world could have for choosing one heck of a position. A position only meant for the mentally strongest. Your deep passion to aid our humans is utmost admirable.
Meet Stephanie Teodoro, 22
Ever since I was a little girl, I was infatuated with the altruistic nature of the healthcare field. I was inspired in pre-k by a very influential relationship I began with a dear friend. My best friend was disabled and had a nurse who took care of her every day. Seeing the daily functions of ventilation, oxygenation, suctioning, among others being performed sparked the most sincere interest in my heart.
As elementary as my mind was at that age, it brought me incredible joy to see my friend being taken care of. This experience showed me the beauty and nobility represented in the field of healthcare. It motivated me very early on to spend my life providing service to others.
As a young teen, heavily considering healthcare as a career led me to explore the possibility of obtaining an EMT (Emergency Medical Technician) certification. I became intrigued by the idea of working in high pressure situations to care for injured and ill people. I understood that this experience would adequately prepare me for my future. As a senior in high school in 2017, I became a state certified EMT and began to work in the field.
Working as an EMT gives you a first hand opportunity to truly test your ability to think quickly in high pressure situations. It tests your critical thinking as well as your physical strength and other qualities.
Through working as an EMT, I’ve also learned that you are given the opportunity to sympathize for vulnerable people who truly are in need of support. When individuals reach the point in which they need to call 911, it is never a good day for them, very simply put. Unfortunately, sometimes their troubles and sorrows are greater than what we may be equipped to solve — But small demonstrations of kindness and attention, and gestures that make people feel like they are heard and cared for can impact them in remarkable ways.
There comes a time when we exhaust the possible treatments within our scope of practice to relieve our patients’ afflictions; we see this quite often in patients with chronic issues, among others. After that, what remains is assuring them that we recognize their pain and are doing everything we can to help. In this, we employ empathy and make with which the patient feels they are cared for.
An appropriate example of this would be a teenage patient I had a few years ago. Feeling helpless and alone, he swallowed a bottle full of pills because his parents heavily disapproved of his sexuality. Although there weren’t many physical interventions we could take besides rapidly transporting him to the hospital, the support and emotional reassurance given to him by my crew made him feel like he was not alone. Uplifting words during this internal crisis comforted our patient in a very meaningful way.
Currently I am pursuing an education in dental medicine. Working in EMS has given me experience in patient care, which is a multifaceted element in medicine. It encompasses critical thinking, compassion, and patience, all of which are essential in achieving patients’ welfare. Performing in this line of work will make you feel both fulfilled and empowered, and so I recommend it for anybody with an interest in the health field.
