On moving forward

As of today, I've been working in the ER as a tech for a year and four months. I've been in the hospital setting in general for two years. In the tech position, I feel as though I'm a professional part of a team. The ER is a tight-knit group, where one person can make a huge difference in the work atmosphere, patient flow, and overall dynamics. In this exclusive group, I'm the employee with the least required education. I have no license, or registered title, or even certification (unless registered nurse aide counts). Yet, I am responsible for making sure everything flows smoothly. I order and coordinate labs, radiography, and respiratory therapy. I clean and lay down fresh linens, and stock each of the nine rooms. I track down and page doctors for the ER doctor. I gather records, send records, and otherwise obtain information if a situation demands it. I perform all EKGs in the department, and all "Stat" EKGs in the hospital itself (and my EKG interpretation skills are better than some of the nurses). I help nurses as directed, and, if I'm finished with my current tasks, I check in patients and run vital signs. I perform compressions when a patient is in cardiac arrest, and run to calls to help subdue aggressive patients. I irrigate lacerations in preparation of suturing, and I dress wounds as required.

This paragraph wasn't to brag (well, maybe a little), but to illustrate the training and experience I get from this job alone. As I get more in depth in the medical field, I am drawn towards expanding my scope of practice. To that aim, I've begun the first few steps. I'll be starting prerequisite classes this winter for Physician Assistant school. The schools I'm looking at require a certain number of experience hours. By the time I finish the classes, I should be a fairly competitive applicant, assuming I keep my GPA up. It's good to have a goal again, and it's strange how quickly two years have passed.