An Ambulance Trip

0300pm. I was sleeping when I was informed by phone that I need to come to work early. I needed to accompany a patient that was going to be transferred to another hospital in Ras Al Khaimah, which is about 3-4 hours away from Al Ain. I came from a night shift that is why I was still sleeping, was supposed to come to work for a second night shift at 7pm only.

0415pm. Got up and got ready to come to work. Ate heavy dinner.

0520pm. Arrived in the hospital. Received endorsement from the nurse-in-charge of the patient – an ESRD patient complicated by a fractured humerus and femur post fall. The thing with this, I get a few seconds of endorsement, but then I am expected to know everything when asked in the other hospital.

Reading the file, I found out the patient was not Hep B positive as written on the medical report! He’s Hep C positive! Good I found that out, otherwise, I’ll be giving wrong information to the other hospital!

0600pm. Wheeled the patient to ER where the ambulance was waiting. To my surprise, I  will be alone with the transfer (I thought I’ll be with the EMS). I will just be with the driver. I had to figure out quickly how this techie stretcher works. We have a different one in our unit! Ambulance left our hospital.

Another surprise came to me when I reviewed the patient’s xray films. Written on the report that I will be submitting to the other hospital was that the patient was having a fractured LEFT humerus. Looking at the xrays, the fracture is on the RIGHT humerus! The xray report accompanying the films also says RIGHT humerus! Gosh, I will look so dumb when I reach the hospital there. Thanks to the people who prepared this medical report! I just made the corrections myself…

Inside the ambulance, the patient was stable. But then I had to figure out by myself how the equipments inside work. Although I have worked as an ambulance nurse before, I still felt that I need some kind of orientation about the stuffs found in this ambulance particularly. It was my first time to ride on this hospital’s ambulance, and this one’s kinda high-tech. Lots of machines, and buttons around me. 

Since I have accepted this job of accompanying a patient on a long trip, I was expected to know everything inside the vehicle and that was even without anybody teaching me. Haay… and I was supposed to save a life when an emergency inside the ambulance occurs! I just love this kind of job!

0900pm. After breezing through the traffic and a heavy rain, we were able to reach the hospital in Ras Al Khaimah safely, with the patient remaining stable. Thank God! I was received by some ER personnel who were mostly Malaysians and Filipinos.

0930pm. After the patient was endorsed to the nurse who’s going to look after the patient, the driver and I left the hospital and made our way back to Al Ain.

1230am. The ambulance brought me home directly to my flat. After staying inside the ambulance for almost six hours, I am just so thankful to be home and be back to a very comfortable and familiar place!