I had about nine clinical shifts in the ED when I was in emt school. I had dealt with bloody compound fractures, ear drainages, sutures, you name it. Nothing really seemed to phase me or make me lightheaded until this one shift. A lady came in with a badly dislocated ankle, which was swollen to the size of a softball. I thought, no big deal, and helped in transferring her from the gurney to the bed, and all the fun stuff emt students are asked to do. Then the orthopedic surgeon walked in the room, and the ED Tech who was helping me told me to stay in and watch when he reset the bones. Thats when all my troubles started. The way he was moving her leg, it was like it wasn't even a limb, but like a piece of steel that needed to be bent back in place. The sounds and the force he was using, just all at once made me feel faint. And for the first time, (and only, so far) I felt like I was going to pass out. All the nurses looked at me, and were like, you need to sit down. It was so embarrassing because it was a simple procedure, there were no open wounds or anything, which people normally will fall faint to. We laughed it off later, but still to this day I hope that I will become used to it and not have to feel that way again.
