Pathways to Success

Garden Spot High School

Kendra Halpin – EMT Internship

This school year I was given the opportunity to have an internship with the New Holland EMS station. In the second semester, I was able to continue my experiences with the crew. The second semester brought on a new aspect to my internship, however.

Although My internship experience for the second semester was abruptly cut short, I was still able to make the best of it. My usual day at the station started off with a trip out for breakfast. Our favorite place to go was always Squire Side because of the coffee they had. However, when that got closed down me and my other crew members found a little restaurant in Garden Spot Village that quickly became our new favorite breakfast place. While at breakfast we got to catch up with some of the residents at Garden Spot Village that we used to see in squire. This made my one crew member, Laura, very happy because she loves talking to the elderly. Breakfast is an everyday occurrence in the station. It allows us to have some time to relax and get ready for a day, potentially, full of calls.

After breakfast, there are many things that I would be doing back at the station. I do a lot of homework during the downtime at the station. When working as an EMT, you never know what a day holds or when you are going to have time to fill out reports for previous calls. Other tasks that I would do while not on a call was errands. There is a lot of errands that EMTs have to do to help keep a station running smoothly. Some examples of such errands are getting gas, going to the post office, and grocery shopping for the station. New Holland EMS recently took over the management of the Leola EMS station as well. This means that we have two stations to focus on instead of only one. When a call comes in, we have to quickly stop what we are doing and respond. There have been many times where we have been at breakfast have had to leave in the middle of eating for a call. It is very interesting seeing all the working parts of an emergency situation. Inside an ambulance, there are 3-4 sets of working hands all doing different tasks to help a patient. Some of these tasks include driving, recording information form the patient, starting IVs, supplying oxygen, and operation AED and EKG machines. On calls, I do whatever I can to help whether it be giving the patient oxygen or help fill out personal information about the patient. Whatever the crew chief and other crew members ask me to help with is what I do.

One new aspect of my internship this semester is the EMT certification class. Because of my involvement with the EMS station in the first semester, I decided to pursue becoming an EMT part-time. Becoming an EMT is not my ultimate goal going forward in life, however, I see it as a great part-time job to have available through college. This also will help my experience levels for my future career as I am entering the medical field. My mentor, Darrell Fisher, was able to enroll me in the 2020 EMT certification class. This experience has been awesome for me. The class allowed me to take on more responsibility on calls while at my internship as well.

Overall, having the opportunity to participate in an internship this year has been a blessing. It has helped to create a clear path for my future even more so than I already had. I have learned so much from my mentor and all the other crew members I have crossed paths with over this year.

emsemtmedical

jhackman • May 9, 2020


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