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OMG, I'm a crap medic
I'm listening to music on my I-Pod in the cramped passage of the 18.25 train, when i hear/feel a thud. I turn around and see that a girl has collapsed. Being a medic, I take a step back and do...
...NOTHING!. That's right. I just stand there, frozen, a dumb look on my face, staring at the girl on the floor, willing her to open her eyes. Then she starts to jerk! I'm thinking " Oh noo she's having a fit" what do i do? what do I do? crap! Thankfully, she jerks for like 2 seconds, stops, and opens her eyes and looks around. I breathe a sigh of relief that she seems fine. She looks around, surprised to find herself on the floor and everyone staring down at her. She realizes that she passed out and apologises over and over again to us. In my mind i'm thinking " don't apologise, I feel like i should apologise. I'm the doctor of tomorrow and I could have well stood there dumbstruck while you had fits and do nothing". Makes me wonder, at what point do you become calm and in control of an emergency situation? sigh!
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In this case, you did the right things - first do no harm. She was clearly safe enough on the floor, so leave her be and see how things go.
You'll be fine!
I remember being on a tram in Athens when a boy passed out (presumably it was just too hot an he had not drank enough) and did not know if I should intervene or not as I could not speak any Greek past hello and thank you. Luckily the other Greek passengers knew what to do and the boy recovered well but I remember feeling mortification that I felt unable to do anything, mainly due to the language barrier.
In some ways medicine is like learning a language, and over time you learn it, and some people pick it up and feel more confident using it quicker than others. I wasn't the quickest or most confident but I got there in the end and you will too.