No gag reflex and naturally lubricated...

Quote of the night #1: “I should let you guys practice your tubing skills on me because I can have big things in my mouth and have no gag reflex”.

Quote of the night #2: “I usually don’t have a problem with lubrication!”.

Pharmacology and drug math quiz last night followed by a lab of ETT for adults; ETT for kids; IV fluid replacement, IV bolus, IV Drip, SQ and IM injections (poor orange!) and more stabbing of infant tibias with an IO needle. I was very nervous going into the quiz as there was a LOT of important (I think) information they could have pounded us with, along with knowledge I felt was likely not useful (e.g., do I really need to know the difference between a tincture and spirit?). More on the quiz below. First the Weirdness…

Lab happens in stations, where small groups go from station to station being taught the skills and then practicing them. I was with three other people. One of these other people is a young lady (late teens / early 20’s). Extroverted and funny, she is definitely on the flirty side of things (towards all males) and has moments of immaturity. Last night she stepped WAY past the flirty side into space I am at a loss to qualify. As we get to the ETT station, she says, loud enough for all to hear, quote of the night #1 listed above. Now this COULD have been said in innocence, but the tone and smile on her face were certainly suggestive that she was being purposeful. Any confusion as to whether she was trying to draw attention to herself ended as she was trying to slide an ETT into the trachea of a dummy and was having a hard time. The instructor said, in all earnestness and without a hint of double meaning, “try lubricating the tip first and it will slide right in”. Without skipping a beat, and with a devilish smile and tone, she utters quote of the night #2 listed above. Everyone just looked at her. What do you say to these comments? I am not a prude. I like word play and am more than happy to play the pervert in the right company and setting. However, we were in a professional setting and interacting with colleagues and instructors who will be evaluating our skills later in the course. I was at a loss for words (doesn’t happen much as you can tell by the length of the post…).

Back to the quiz…Short version is that is was 50 points and very straightforward (i.e., it contained the big ideas and the drug math they said would be covered. I finished the quiz feeling like I did well (turns out I got a 100), and was shocked to see someone in lab who had been crying (I assumed due to her experience with the quiz). After lab our instructor had a little “this is where some of us come to realize being a medic is not for us” lecture. Not bullying, not harsh, just matter-of-fact and resigned. A far cry from the “get with the program” hazing speech in my basic class last spring. Wednesday’s lecture on medical assessment has been moved so that we can spend another 3.5 hours on drug math in an attempt to get everyone up to speed. The instructor indicated this was the last shot at remediation before people would be asked to leave the course. There were some very nervous looking faces leaving last night…

DJ