
Can you pinpoint the exact moment you knew you wanted to be a healthcare professional? I can.
Let me set the scene. It was freshman year at Villanova (Go Cats!) and I was in my first biology lab. Our professor was giving us a lab safety orientation. It could't have been more boring. I felt my eyes glazing over and I had to stifle a yawn. It had been a long day. Suddenly, I was snapped out of my soporific state.
BAM. A girl in my lab had just collapsed. We all quickly surrounded her and she started to have a seizure. She was thrashing violently on the floor and foaming at the mouth. Everyone was freaked out and paralyzed with fear. There were probably 50 students in the lab and one professor and not a single person had any clue what to do for this poor girl. The professor quickly called the on-campus EMS service called VEMS (Villanova EMS). They responded within minutes and walked into the lab with a large medical bag and stretcher.
I will never forget the crew calmly taking over the scene, directing everyone away from the seizing student, and confidently providing the emergency medical care she required. The student stopped seizing shortly after the EMS crew arrived and she was transported to the hospital without incident. Fortunately, she recovered fully.
However, I was left with a profound feeling. I NEVER wanted to feel that out of control and unable to respond to a medical emergency again. I felt completely impotent and vowed to do everything in my power to prevent that feeling from occurring again. That same semester I became an Emergency Medical Technician (EMT-B) at Villanova. I then joined VEMS and volunteered there during the rest of my collegiate career. I also worked as an EMT for a transport ambulance company and my local fire department. My love of Emergency Medicine was born.
When I went to medical school I still kept an open mind to other specialities. In fact, after my first three rotations I convinced myself that I was going to be an internist, Ob/Gyn, and then a general surgeon. It was then that I realized I love the variety that Emergency Medicine provided (not to mention the adrenaline) and it was clear that the only profession for me was EM.
When did you decide that you wanted to dedicate your life to taking care of others? I would love to hear your story.
Thanks for reading about mine,
Phil