EMT Adventures (P, Solo)

It had been a while since Reizo had done some private training. He had been caught up in his work with his mother’s dumpling cart and patrol since his promotion to Chuunin, but he figured he would have to stay in shape somehow. Instead of going to the usual training grounds, however, Reizo decided to venture to the hospital. He had taken a vested interest in learning medical ninjutsu, and he thought that he might be able to provide some assistance, no matter how little, as a volunteer. He had been deliberating between ninjutsu and medical as potential specialties to continue to study, now that he was able to as a Chuunin, but he hadn’t yet reached a consensus. On the one hand, Ninjutsu was a powerful and versatile tool that could be used in virtually any situation. It would give him a large and diverse cast of options and jutsu to use, and would cover his range weakness as a Taijutsu specialist. On the other hand, it wouldn’t help him inflict greater damage, nor would it really bolster his strengths or help his allies too much. It was a more selfish pick.

Medical Ninjutsu, however, would increase his damage and utility at close range where he was already an expert at fighting. It could provide him and his team with a huge bonus of protection and healing, which were necessary for every team. After what happened when his team confronted Maku, Reizo could see that the team’s lack of Medical practice seriously harmed their chances of even surviving their encounter. In fact, it seemed as though they only survived because of Maku’s own mercy. Seeing his comrades in total suffering and mutilation had a profound effect on Reizo’s conscience. He felt so hopeless and unable to help; he hated the feeling and never wanted to feel that way ever again. He wanted to make sure he was never helpless and that he could protect everyone. Therefore, it made sense for him to try to invest more time into the medical arts.

And so, Reizo journeyed over to the hospital. He planned to volunteer his services as a mediocre healer and comforter. He was decked out in all of his shinobi equipment. He wore his usual uniform: his black athletic pants with the orange fire emblem emblazoned down his leg, his black shinobi sandals, a black T-shirt with his clan’s name printed vertically down his front, his flak vest, and his dark plum short-sleeved jacket all fresh and clean. He also donned his pair of tantos on his back in addition to his standard shinobi tools kept away in his two weapons pouches. The final touch, of course, was his black Kumogakure headband that he proudly displayed above his brow. It was a symbol and a reminder of all of his experiences since the Academy.

Upon arriving at the hospital, Reizo was greeted in the lobby by the receptionist. She seemed to be a little busy filling out paperwork, but the instant she noticed Reizo she dropped everything to address him. ”Are you here to visit someone? If so you’ll need to check-in and fill out some info on this sheet over here,” she would say, motioning toward one of many clipboards that rested on the counter just above and in front of her cluttered desk. The blonde Chuunin approached the desk, smiling, trying to appear as friendly as possible. ”Actually no, I’m here to volunteer,” he would specify, hoping he wasn’t getting in the way of her work and annoying her. ”A volunteer? We don’t get too many of those, but we’re glad to have you! It seems someone must’ve told all their friends, it’s been a bit more popular to volunteer lately. Just fill out this paperwork here and we’ll sign you in. I don’t think I’ve seen you around here before, at least as a medic, so if you have no prior experience we’ll have you undergo some training first. We have a private group session that runs hourly, so if you fill out the paperwork in the next 10 minutes we can slide you into the next one,” she said, clearly happy that more shinobi were investing into the medical arts. Reizo thanked her for the information and received the 10 pages of paperwork to fill out.

It was a little daunting at first, but it was apparent that it was just basic info that they wanted in order to properly vet him. The first page was the absolute basics: his name, address, gender, age, rank in the military, and other basic information. The following few pages asked more personal information: his blood type and any known genetic illnesses, any predispositions to diseases or allergies, if he had been tested for a variety of diseases, and if his parents carried any as well. He recognized most of the illnesses, but he didn’t know all of them so he bullshitted his way through a few of them. He was nearly 100% certain his family was completely clean of all diseases. The last few pages pertained to his intentions as to why he was volunteering, some personal ideological questions, and how he heard about the program. Once he had sifted through the paperwork, it was nearly the top of the hour at 1 pm, meaning Reizo wouldn’t have to wait long at all for the training session to begin. The blue-green eyed Chuunin submitted his papers to the receptionist. A few minutes would pass as she reviewed it and filed it away, and then she would get up to escort Reizo to the appropriate training room.

”Everything seems in order, right this way, please,” she would say as she stood up. Reizo would follow her down a hallway into a wing that was remote, far away from the actual action of the hospital. He would not be the first person to enter the room- there were a couple of other shinobi and civilians in the room as well. He was the only Chuunin, in the room, however. The other shinobi were mere Genin, and he couldn’t help but feel somewhat out of place. Still, he needed to learn the basics to advance and figure out his specialty. Only a couple of minutes after finding a seat in the small classroom that seemed designed for no more than 10 people, a woman wearing a nurse’s uniform and a Kumogakure headband would enter the room and introduce herself.

”Good afternoon new students. My name is Rin. I’m a Jounin, general surgeon, and one of the vice administrators of this hospital. Over the next hour I’ll be giving you a crash course on the basics of medicine, EMT services, and nursing. You don’t need any prior experience, nor do you need to know how to use chakra. These will be the basics for helping anyone who might need it. Any questions before we start? None? Good, then let’s get started,” the 30 some-odd year old would say, not even giving the group an opportunity to ask any questions should they have them. She seemed to be in a rush to work through the training session, so Reizo figured they might end a little early. This course itself seemed like it might be too basic – he already had an idea of how to bandage and nurse wounds and how to care for others who were injured. It was a part of his Academy studies and it was something he had practiced beforehand and was part of the reason he wanted to learn more. Although he was hoping he’d get to learn some new jutsu, it seemed this tutorial would really be a guide on ethics, first aid, and maybe CPR.

”First things first, you have to keep in mind some basic principles that you must abide by anytime you offer your services. You must always vow to respect your patient and your peers, and share any and all knowledge you have pertaining to a given condition when asked. When you provide treatment, you will do so only as much as necessary, as to not overdo it or not help enough. Remember that when you address your patient, you will do so with sympathy and warmth, rather than callousness and coldness, for warm words can help comfort the soul more than any surgery, medicine, or procedure,” she would elaborate. Reizo found this bit somewhat ironic considering the woman before them seemed pretty callous herself, but then again these students weren’t patients of hers, so he gave her the benefit of the doubt. She continued, ”Remember to respect your patients and their will. Always keep in mind that you are treating the person, not the ailment. While it is your responsibility to take care of the affliction, you have to always keep the patient at the forefront of all of your decisions. They have lives that are tied to families, finances, and possibly military positions, and thus they hold great importance and are invaluable to society, no matter their economic or military worth. And finally, you must do everything in your power to not only cure these afflictions, but to prevent them where they can be prevented all the same.”

These were all points made in common sense, Reizo thought, but it was still good to clarify them. It would cement them as concrete guidelines to follow in every case in the future. ”And of course… do no harm,” she would say, finally concluding her well-rehearsed speech. She would then form a single hand sign, and in a puff of smoke 6 mannequins would appear. These were all simply male torso practice dummies. Reizo made the connection that 1 was to be used for demonstration, while the others were to be distributed to the 5 trainees, himself included. ”Now that we’ve covered all of the moral bases, it’s time to get onto some basic first aid. The first thing I’m going to show you how to treat are cuts, but we’ll soon advance into stab wounds, asphyxiation, broken bones, internal bleeding, and choking,” the Jounin would say.

Reizo paid special attention to this portion of the training. He already knew quite a bit about treating wounds as part of his military training, but he felt he wasn’t completely aware of how to address all of the other potential ailments. For the next 20 minutes, the teacher would demonstrate how to solve each of the problems she mentioned. She showed how to properly wrap bandages, set bones, perform CPR, and make a tourniquet. The blonde Chuunin took mental notes, but unlike his civilian colleagues, he wouldn’t write anything down. It’s not like they were being tested, nor would he be able to review his notes on the battlefield. For the last half hour, she would stand back as each of the students practiced each of the drills she had demonstrated.

Reizo enjoyed being able to work on a test dummy. It was much less stressful than the real thing, which he had become so accustomed to wrapping and performing these first-aid basics on. It was almost therapeutic and relaxing to not have to worry that every move he made could have dire consequences. He easily advanced through all of the drills, as would be expected from the most experienced member of the group, and once he finished Rin requested that he assist the other trainees with their practice. He happily obliged and made idle conversation with the civilian and Genin that he helped.

When the hour concluded, Rin would dismiss all of them, handing them each a certificate of approval that showed that they had all completed the course and were qualified for CPR and first aid. As they exited the room, Rin would make one final comment, ”That’s all for the first part of your training. If you’re still interested, the next step is to volunteer as part of our EMT services. For those of you who are ninjas, you’ll get to learn some basic medical ninjutsu and possibly some more advanced ones. There’s an upcoming shift at 2:30 so you might want to hop in on that. If not, have a pleasant rest of your day,” she would say.

This seemed like a great opportunity to gain some actual field experience in a moderately less stressful environment, Reizo thought, and so he decided to sign up for the EMT volunteer corps.

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2068 words (additional posts to come)

Claiming:
Med Spec 2000 / 2000
+9 stat points (maxing out)

Approved