We had a student with us for the past two weeks. It was her first ever time on a real working ambulance so she had a more than a few 'firsts'.

She saw her first dead body.

She drove for the first time with the blue lights and sirens.

She used the radio for the first time, talking to Control.

She spoke to her first patient, calmed her first scared patient.

She met her first alcoholic (who was nice) and her second alcoholic (who wasn't).

She got cut out of her first car, holding the neck of the driver who'd crashed it.

She filled in her first accident report form (neither her fault, nor connected with the previous point).

She took her first 'real' blood pressure, her first blood sugar reading, her first pulse and listened to her first chest.

She carried her first patient down a couple of flights of stairs.

She filled up and paid for her first tank of diesel.

She dealt with her first case of domestic violence, and her first heart attack.

She also ganged up with my crewmate and bullied me like an expert - but I'm used to having that effect on women.

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I sometimes forget, having seen most things, done most things and gotten bored of most things; how interesting this job can be. Sometimes it helps to look through the eyes of a student to see that we do have a job where every day contains a story.

It's very easy to get disillusioned with the job, I know I have - but when you are teaching someone, the tricks and tips that they don't teach in school - the ways to look at patients, the ways to talk to them to ease their fears, the ways to not get burnt out too quickly - well, then you get a chance to take a step back and realise what it is you enjoy about the job.

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Blogging should be more regular now as I've attacked my old computer with a screwdriver and now have a (much slower) working machine. If you've sent me an email in the past month you should be getting a reply soon.