I am about halfway through my EMT-basic class. It has been like trying to take a sip of water out of a fire hose. I start my clinicals in 2 weeks. I am doing 2 L&D, 2 ER, a cardiac cath lab rotation and 2 MICU (24-hour) ride-outs. When the class started, there were 32 people in the class, now we are down to 19 and the instructor says she expects to graduate maybe 16 of us. My class grade is a fairly high A. We also have to test on basic skills for National Registry. The first round of testing was this past Saturday. I passed all 5 of the skill stations. Only 8 more to go. Going in one on one with the part-time instructors (most are at least 5 years younger than me) and verbalizing every step was nerve wracking. I figure that the gut wrenching experience(s) can only be good for me in the long run.
The thought of it being just me and a patient in the back of the truck (and am supposed to know what I’m doing) is intimidating to me right now. Hopefully, as I get more knowledge and skills under my belt, it’ll get better. They say you feel very alone the first time you deliver a baby by yourself…
Anyway, hope everybody has a great day. I am off to study more on soft-tissue trauma. The book has some really good color photos. My wife refuses to even touch my book. 
Clay
Hi there,
No matter how sick the patient, remember your ABCs. 
Delivering a baby is one of the most fun things that you can do. You won’t feel alone, you are going to be thrilled.
No one is going to put more responsibility on your shoulders than you are ready to handle. I never thought that I would be able to open a chest but when the time came, I did it and the patient lived and is doing well. You will be OK, just think back to what you have learned. Remember as a first responder, you don’t have to be able to treat many of these conditions, you just need to get them stable enough for transport. I am sure that you will do fine.
Natalie 