Today was my last day volunteering in the ER (although not my last day of volunteering - my ER time has to stop because of the schedule conflict with my pending Calculus class), and what a day it was.
I'm not sure if a Code Orange (disaster code) was actually called. I think it wasn't while I was there, but may have been just after I left. What happened is two of DC's subway trains collided during rush hour, just when I showed up to work. At least six people died, and several dozen were injured. I think George Washington took most, but several found their way to Georgetown by ambulance or helicopter. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/31495088/ns/us_news-life/
Exciting isn't necessarily the right word. It's not pleasant when a huge accident occurs and people get seriously injured. But it's an immense change of pace from "life as normal" in the ER, where most of the cases consist of people who don't necessarily belong there. It's like a switch flips, and everyone takes it up a gear. People were called in from all over the hospital, rooms were cleared out, corridors were packed, and the injuries were severe. People in neck braces lined the walls, and some people were wailing in pain.
It's certainly not good - but at the same time it's the atmosphere I always thought I'd enjoy working in, trying to fix things in a point by point order. It's good to find out that I actually do enjoy it, rather than just abstractly thinking I can cope with it. And the odds of something like this happening during my few months of volunteer time were fairly small. It was a surprise to have it come up on my last day.
In other news, I bought the book for my Calculus course ($173 for a book? seriously?). It's the same author/book that I used in my first (dropped) first-year undergraduate course (albeit two editions later). I'm not sure if that's a good sign or not, but I'll pretend it is, though. The book has some pre-calculus diagnostic tests in this edition. I plan to do those before the first day of classes, to kick of my pre-pre-studying. They look like they'll be pretty helpful in specifically pointing out the areas I'm weak in. I also got a stylish AU notebook and t-shirt, so I can pretend I'm an undergrad again.
