Leadership

Yesterday was a great day. I went on a long drive up to the Skykomish fire department, just pass Stevens Pass. It was about a 2 hour drive up from Ellensburg. We first went to one fire station where we had a brief class on head trauma so we could be prepared for the ski season. This department is responsible for the pass and the roads in and around the area which can become very dangerous with ice. We have to be prepared for more 'trauma' cases vs. 'medical' cases. We had a little bit of a meet and greet with the volunteer firefighters up there and then went to the main department where we would be sleeping and living.

It seems like a great place. The volunteers made it clear that they will be letting us do pretty much as much work as we are comfortable with. I feel confident in my abilities, but I also know that I'm about the least experienced person there. We got to jump in their rigs so we know where all the equipment we might need is. I can tell that the first time out is going to be STRESSFUL, haha... I am excited though. It is almost unrealistic getting in the ambulances and seeing all this stuff. I am still trying to accept the reality that I have all the equipment available to me. I have to accept the fact that in an emergency I'm in charge. Even if I'm not completely sure, I have to look 100% confident so that the patient is confident. Imagine if I told a patient that I've never done something before! If they are really scared, they could actually go into shock and that would be HORRIBLE! I almost have to switch into a 'leader' mode. I really change when this happens and I love it! It comes completely naturally to me when I do switch, though.

My goal is to become a captain of a fire department or station. They are ultimately responsible for their team, but they also get to be in the action with their team. If you become a chief, you have to do a lot of paperwork and you see less action in general. I might want this when I get older, but definitely not for most of my career. The biggest thing I enjoy about being a leader is putting your team first. One of the things that bugs me so much about retail is how the managers are so stuck-up. My last boss, Scott, was actually a great guy. He even came in on the 4th of July to support the people working that day. Most managers would think that they earned their day off, etc. But Scott came in and struggled through it with us. I guess this follows the "don't tell your team to do anything that you wouldn't do yourself" motto, and I respect him for that.

I was going to go more in depth about my views on leadership, but I was having trouble actually explaining it. Anyways... I am very excited to go on my first call and have my first patient. I gotta put my 'leader cap' on and get to it! I'm thinking about doing another post literally right after this tonight, but we'll see i guess haha...

Later,
Daniel