It’s rare for people of a young age to experience situations where the knowledge you have obtained applies to the solution of a problem. Last winter I was on a shift at Brandywine Ski Resort as a National Ski Patroller. The National Ski Patrol is a volunteer nonprofit organization that specializes in providing quality outdoor emergency care to anyone at local ski resorts. During my shift a skier had hit her head and needed medical attention. I was the first patroller on the scene. She complained about a headache and spoke very little English. I radioed in the injury and did my assessments while I waited for additional assistance. I was able to help the patient from my training as a ski patroller, but I was also able to partly connect with the patient because she spoke Mandarin Chinese and I had taken Mandarin for two years. Although having some experience with the language that the patient …show more content…
The training consisted of over one-hundred hours of classroom and practical education that taught everything a patroller needs to know in order to assist a patient in any scenario. The textbook, titled Outdoor Emergency Care, is over one-thousand pages and is required to read and be tested on for all patrollers. I’ve gotten to learn many first aid techniques that include treating for trauma, bandaging, splinting, backboarding, and transporting. The shifts as a Ski Patroller are a lot like a real job and require knowledge, punctuality, and yearlong commitment through refreshers and CPR training. I have also pursued above the requirements and become a NSP instructor, volunteering at the refresher courses and classes. Joining this organization helped me understand that I want to pursue a career in healthcare and continue to help people. The only pay I have received from the NSP, being a volunteer organization, is the ability to apply the knowledge to my life and further myself as an