OJT

I am saddened by the circumstances which have brought me to Haiti, but I am thankful for the training I am receiving. I don’t think I could buy training like this anywhere. In 4 days, I have practiced splinting arms and legs, treating burns, treated gun shot wounds, cleaned and debrided numerous lacerations, and I even assisted in delivering a baby. I am glad I got my EMT certification, and I am thankful for the opportunity to expand my knowledge and skills here. Today I treated a gunshot wound, and I learned it is not like Hollywood--unless you can see the bullet, you will do more harm than good by pulling it out, so you just leave it in there. The patient who I cleaned and dressed the gunshot wounds for was so thankful he gave me a kiss on the cheek when I was done. Additionally, I met my bravest patient today. I had an 8 year old girl with a huge skin laceration on her left leg. So much of her skin is missing that she is going to need a skin graft. When I started removing her bandages, she stopped me and wanted to do it herself. She also helped me put clean bandages on again. If I had that much of my leg missing, I don’t think I would even be able to look at it, much less help clean it. I think she might become a doctor some day.