This past March, I began volunteering with the Red Cross First Aid Service Team, or FAST for short. This is a team of individuals, both in and out of the medical field, who train to provide basic first aid to individuals at large events around Columbus. I received a certification in First Aid with BLS and Administration of Emergency Oxygen. FAST has become a home to me because everyone has been so welcoming and always willing to teach me new skills.
I was really excited to start this volunteer work because it would give me the opportunity to develop basic skills to working with patients. I was able to get my first experience of this nature on my third event, at the Ohio State Event. This event was quite full with about 60,000 people in attendance, so it was a pretty busy day. At halftime, a dad carried his child into the first aid room and claimed that she had fallen and possibly hit her head, and she was acting different. The mood in the room instantly shifted from a fun, relaxed zone to serious business once there was a suspected head injury. Along with the FAST responders, EMS is on scene if needed. My team member did an initial evaluation of the patient while I worked to comfort the dad and get the paperwork filled out with him. We decided at the end of the visit, that we should probably send the patient to the hospital for further treatment because of the severity of head injuries. This experience was very valuable to me, and showed that I can help even when my job is to get the paperwork filled out and comfort the family. After this experience, I have been even more motivated to get into the hospital work setting.