Regan has been taking an EMT course at Durham Tech this semester and is completing the clinicals now. That means she is working 12 hour shifts on an ambulance or in an ER and participating in the patient services. Pretty fascinating stuff. After just 3-4 month of class she can help a patient keep breathing or even restart their heart.
As she has progressed I've learned about the roles of the people working in ambulances and in the ER. It's actually surprisingly simple. Their job is to keep you from dying. Often, they aren't going to be curing the person or fixing whatever is wrong. They just focus on keeping you from getting worse. They do this until they can get the patient to an expert (specialist).
Sometimes that's what a leader needs to do when things start going wrong. Sometimes we don't have the knowledge or ability to fix everything that is going on BUT we need to stop things from getting worse. Then, we need to get an "expert" to help fix things. Often, it's not "How?" that we should be asking but "Who?" Good leaders know who to ask for help. They know they don't know all the "Hows".
So, next time you find yourself stuck, unable to cure the situation, ask yourself WHO you know that could help. Your patient is depending on you.
