Joining St John Ambulance

So its been a busy few weeks since I was last typing away.

Im currently on annual leave from work and in the process of moving house.  It’s all a bit crazy! But I have got underway with doing many St John Ambulance duties as I’ve recently joined and I’m loving every minute of it. The other members are lovely and are more than helpful.  Got my uniform, been an observer on a few calls (as I’m still learning!)  and I’ve found a house, signed contract and started to get our stuff moved. 

Really have picked the worst time to go away as well so im trying to get everything done as best as I can.  My partner has resits these next coming weeks, I have a family wedding, the house move to sort and then getting everything sorted for uni.  Desperately trying to save money as well.

I don’t think it was ever going to be a stress free summer! But I am enjoying making the most of having time to myself with no deadlines over my head and no stressing about how to divide my time and my money!

But anyway.

St John Ambulance have been great.  I have found this great preparation for going back to university and brushing up on the basics.  I have done my TFA (Trainee First Aid) exam and passed J I have then had my police check and had the chance to observe on some patient transfer calls as well as helping the local trust with calls.  This has been a great way of getting to know how St John Ambulance operate and to keep my people skills fresh.  I have also been assisting in other exams by pretending to be a casualty. So far, I have had a stroke in the toilets, I have been an elderly lady with COPD, I have had a bleeding leg, a burnt arm, ive had shock, ive been blind, the list goes on! This is a great way to see how others deal with patients and how the training classes go within SJA.  It means when it comes to the time I have to do them I should be prepared!

Not everyone will pass.  I was a casualty to some people who were told to go and practice and brush up on their knowledge. Maybe it was nerves or maybe just lack of knowledge I’m not sure.  All I know is they needed to be calm, level headed and professional.  Referring to a colleague as a friend is never encouraging for the casualty.  But the knowledge that the higher members have is great.  Many of the members are involved in the healthcare industry anyway.  We have paramedics, doctors, nurses, student paramedics, student nurses, an undertaker, a shop assistant, a telephone operator… So it goes to show although we have many that have medical knowledge outside of SJA, some will be getting that from SJA itself.  SJA will allow me to learn the biology and the care that is needed when responding to an emergency call for example, and then university will teach me how that care is continued on.  So the 2 are linking up brilliantly. And the best thing about it is that all of St John Ambulance members are voluntary.   So you know that everyone has a passion and want to be there.  It is great to see that.  It does make me wonder why the likes of St John Ambulance, Red Cross etc do not get more good press.  Or even other health care professionals.  Every time a nurse or a hospital etc is in the news it always seems to be negative.  Which is a great pity as the work that goes on is astounding.  The work people put in, not just in work hours as well.  Many go above and beyond for their patients and this simply doesn’t seem to make it to the public domain as much as it should. 

Moving house is turning into a slight nightmare as I go away and I’m leaving my poor partner with the majority of the work to do.  But unfortunately (for him), a family wedding has to come first! The main thing is the packing and the paperwork.  It would be nice if I could have some Diet Coke men come along, pack it all up and I could sit back and relax, but a woman can dream!

I suppose this is just a testament of the things to come.  No one ever said becoming a nurse was easy and university will involve a lot of hard work and dedication but if you want something bad enough, you can achieve it. 

I am starting to get very excited now as I keep continuing to count down the days.  I just keep getting a little geekily excited at desk shopping and organising our study for keeping track of everything.  I have bought a couple of wall calendars from Amazon (others are available!) as well as a planner and some files.  Just need a few shelves or a unit to put them all on.  I am hoping to put a few photos on here once it is all done.   The study needs a lick of paint first though, and ive been told no fluffy decorations etc. as it will detract from the learning! (Humph)

But it is all starting to come together now!

I just need to do the horrible dreaded notice now and then hand that into work.  Unfortunately due to where I work I cannot stay on due to the hours etc.  I will really miss the place and I don’t want to leave, but I have to do what is best for me in the long run.