Friday, December 10:
Rampart
Patient left in the capable hands of the emergency medical staff, drug box restocked, the three paramedics left for the squad. Johnny started to radio dispatch, but Roy stopped him. "Wait a minute," Roy said, driving to the far end of the parking lot. They all got out of the squad again.
"Look at me." Johnny briefly touched David's shoulder to gain his attention. "Look at me. I know you're scared. It's okay that you're scared. It's good that you're scared. I guarantee that you'll never make this particular mistake again. You're going to be a good paramedic. You make a mistake. You fix it. You learn from it. You move on. You do better next time. You don't quit. Understand? You don't quit. Don't throw it all away on one mistake." Johnny paused as he truly heard the words coming out of his mouth.
"Do you still make mistakes?" asked David, still shaken by the enormity of what had almost happened.
"Hell, yes. I try not to, but I'm not perfect."
"Did you ever shock a heartbeat?" he asked miserably.
"No, but I've made plenty of other mistakes. We all make mistakes. That's partly why we don't work alone. The only real failure is if you quit. Forgive yourself and move on."
"I shocked a heartbeat when I was a rookie," Roy added. "I know how easy it is to panic when you see a heart attack collapse like that with V-Tach. But like Johnny said, I learned from it. I've never done it again. I probably never will. We think you're going to make it, David. Prove us right."
David exhaled in a shaky breath, scrubbed his hand over his face, and managed a weak smile. "I'll try. Thank you."
Johnny appeared lost in thought. 'Forgive yourself and move on.' Feeling Roy's questioning gaze, he flashed his eyebrows and grinned at his partner before turning back to the squad.
Rampart Meeting Room
Brice had just concluded his explanations to the five doctors on the testing board.
Dr. Brackett looked at the four other doctors. "Are there any more questions you'd like to ask?" Upon receiving a negative response, Dr. Brackett nodded to Brice. "We want to thank you for coming here today. You've given us a few things to consider. I'll call you when we have reached a decision."
Brice inclined his head toward the doctors and gathered up his notes. "Thank you for this hearing."
After Brice had left, Dr. Brackett said to the room at large, "Well?"
"Well, I would not have thought to interpret those questions that way, but what he said did make sense. I think we have to reconsider his exam."
"If we're going to do that, we should reconsider all the exams for those who failed."
"Evidently we need to rewrite some of the questions."
"I think we should rethink the certification process. Instead of having a pass or fail cut-off point, I think we need to accommodate a range of scores with conditional certification. And we probably should incorporate more skills exams as well."
"I think we also need to reconsider the waiting period for re-taking the exam."
Dr. Brackett held up his hand. "These are all very good and valid points to consider, gentlemen. But the main question right now is what to do about Brice."
A lengthy discussion ensued, the outcome of which was that Brice would be reinstated as a certified paramedic.