Tanner Morgan 4B

Mentor Assessment #2
Date: March 22, 2019

Topic: Emergency Medicine

Spring break this past week was a great opportunity to get some good exposure to the fire
department. The Saturday we got out, I was able to attend a concert and see how the fire
department operated there and how they coordinate big events like this. On Monday, I was able
to attend a continued education (CE) session, where they had a cardiologist come in and discuss
different ECG patterns and upcoming technologies in cardiology. Lastly, on Wednesday, I was
able to ride on the squad car and see what all they do and follow them around that day. Overall,
spring break was a great time for me to gain exposure and learn about how the fire department
operated in many different areas.
These three different events that I attended were able to show me major parts of the fire
department that I really can not find out about without being there. At the concert, I was able to
see how the department operated to make sure everyone was safe and received medical care if
they needed it. They had a box in the top level of the stadium that had cameras of the
surrounding streets and they were able to change traffic patterns if they needed to. I was also able
to stay in the first aid room most of the time and was able to see what happened there and see
how the hazmat equipment operated. On Monday, I attended a CE session where they had a
cardiologist as a guest speaker who talked about different ECG patterns to recognize, which I
barely understood, but once he started introducing new inventions in the field, my interest was
peaked. On the ride out on Wednesday, I was able to see what exactly the squad car was
responsible for, they mostly responded to serious medical emergencies. The first call that I went
on was really the most important to me, here I was able to watch the paramedic intubate a
patient, I was even pulled aside later and given a thorough explanation on how it works.
The concert was important for me to attend because it was my chance to see how the fire
department operated to keep everyone safe my monitoring them and run the first aid station at
the same time. The CE session was a chance for me to see what continued education was all
about and possibly gain a better understanding of ECGs and cardiology in general, I was also
able to hear Dr. Gamber discuss changes that he made to the department’s protocol. Lastly, the
ride out with on the squad car gave me knowledge on what the squad car did and what kind of
calls it went on, the events that I was able to witness on the calls were also great opportunities to
learn different methods of treatment and how to do important procedures. All of these events
were important for me to witness because this is crucial knowledge that I will need going into
this field and will put me a step ahead of the rest by providing real-life scenarios.
As previously stated, the things I was able to see this past week can give me the
opportunity to get ahead in my classes. The concert gave me the opportunity to see how the
department operated outside the station so going forward, I already have a general idea of what
happens. The CE session was able to teach me about different patterns to look for while studying
Tanner Morgan 4B

an ECG, this could also put me ahead in my classes since I already have a basic knowledge of
how to read one. Lastly, the most important thing I learned on the ride out was how to intubate a
patient, this is a very important skill to learn going into this field since it is so commonly used.
All of these things that I was able to learn amount to a lot in just one week, as I go, Chief
Vetterik gives me more and more opportunities to see what all goes on and encourages me to
learn and do my best.