I was dead nervous about starting training my newbie, probably more nervous than I was about being a newbie myself (way back when, when ambulances were horses and carts…) It’s silly really, because I don’t get nervous about teaching people to do CPR on their relatives over the phone, so why should I get nervous about teaching someone to do their job? Anyway, there wasn’t really anything to be nervous about as my trainee is doing very well and is a pleasure to teach. Phew! Training is not that hard, although I do catch myself sounding a bit like my driving instructor at times, and occasionally catch myself uttering a banned phrase like “ambulance” every now and again, at which point I have to slap myself in the face and tell her to pretend she didn’t hear me.
It is probably as good practice for me as it is for her. By the end of the 10 shifts I will have totally eliminated all my bad habits.
Computers went down for “planned maintenance” for a few hours this morning, which always creates a bit of controlled mayhem. All the tickets have to be handwritten and people are appointed to run backwards and forwards between call taking and dispatch with them. The ambulance service worked for years just fine without computers, but for someone like me who arrived long after the computers did, losing the ability to see exactly where the ambulance is, the prompts for the triage questions and other facilities is quite unnerving. I hope it didn’t put my trainee off. At least she got to see how Control works on paper whilst she was still training, and not be plunged in at the deep end when she is signed off.
I have to write a school report style thing on her tomorrow. I’m quite looking forward to this. I might dig out my own school reports to assist… “Newbie must not talk in class… Newbie should pay more attention in Geography…” okay, maybe not.