Emergency jobs can bring a lot of pressure, but this student has learned the skills to handle it.
Junior Morgan Fletemeyer is a biology pre-med major who works as an emergency medical technician (EMT) at the Marion General Hospital. Some of her responsibilities include responding to 911 calls, driving an ambulance to the location of an emergency and bringing people to the hospital.
After graduation, Fletemeyer hopes to further her studies at a medical school to become a physician.
Fleyemeyer is also on the soccer team. Being able to schedule her days has helped her balance out her roles as a student, an EMT and an athlete.
“I always knew that I liked science and I have always loved science classes,” Fletemeyer said. “I don’t really know before college if there was anything that specifically made me want to do it. But as I gained more experience, just being an EMT, and the joy … from helping people, it just has made me want to be a doctor more.”
Fletemeyer applied to EMT school as an impulsive decision, she said.
She was surprised to receive 911 calls as a brand new EMT, and she believes that God placed her in a fast-paced role with tasks many people in the same field do not start out with.
Fletemeyer has enjoyed working with her team of EMTs. The people she works with have different backgrounds and different personalities. They learn from each other, and she gleans knowledge from those who have had an extensive background in the field.
“Everyone has different skill sets,” Fletemeyer said. “I think it’s important to be a good communicator in the ambulance,to understand what people need without them having to say it. And the main reason I wanted to work in Marion was because of the experience level of the people around me. It’s just like being a sponge and soaking up all the things that they have and all of their experience.”
One skill Fletemeyer has enjoyed developing in her job is problem solving. She and her team combine their knowledge to understand the situation and decide on a course of action to take when helping a patient.
Working as an EMT can be a stressful job, especially when a patient's life is at stake. Unfortunately, not every situation has the best outcome.
“I remember the first patient that I lost was (in) a really bad car accident,” Fletemeyer said. “And I think that it helps me that I have a Christian worldview. To be able to recognize the relationship I have between medicine and God and recognize my own limitations as a healthcare provider, because there’s only so much I can do for some people. And at the end of the day, medicine is a gift from God that he gave to me and the people I work with.”
The first patient Fletemeyer lost was also the first time that she had performed CPR on a patient. One of the toughest parts of the incident was having to inform the patient’s family.
Being at Taylor has helped Fletemeyer understand the overall picture of medicine and how to apply it to a lifestyle to serve God, his creation and others.
“I think being at Taylor has made me realize more and more that medicine is the thing I’m supposed to be doing, and it’s God’s call (in) my life.”
