Dealing with emotional events on placement

I always look forward to going on placement, and I am sure other student paramedics will say the same. While driving to station, I gain a sense of excitement for the day ahead and wonder what sorts of patients I will get to assist. Most days tend to be fine—some days exciting—but then there are the occasional days which make you stop and think.

Having spent 4 years out on placement, I have dealt with some highly emotional events and all of them are very different. I find it can be difficult to initially deduct if a patient's circumstances are going to be challenging on the initial information given by the Emergency Operations Centre (EOC), so I prepare as best I can and ensure I am ready to help the patient. After all, they are my priority until more help arrives or I hand over their care. These thought-provoking patient encounters have ranged from trauma to elderly fallers, and I find my feelings come to light when the patient interaction has ended. During this reflection, I start to focus on the positive and negative aspects of what happened—though I sometimes concentrate on the negative aspects more, and can get easily lost in thought.