Damien Walsh

One of the most useful pieces of advice I ever heard, came from an Emergency Room Physician. I was a young Corpsman. While dealing with a teenager-as I recall-who was involved in a horrible auto accident, and just clinging to life, a nurse was starting to go into an observable tail-spin of frantic thinking. In the middle of it all, the Dr. paused, placed his hand firmly on the nurses hand, looking her right in the eyes, and very calmly said “It’s his emergency, not yours.” There was an instant re-set for everyone in the room. The Dr. knew that if we allowed their emergency to become our emergency, that mistakes would be made, and things would be rushed, or even forgotten. He knew that the only way you could be at your best, and offer the patient the most, was to let it remain their emergency, while you calmly effectively and efficiently went about doing what you could to save their life. I used that mindset the rest of my days as a Navy Corpsman, and continue to, this very day. Let that concept permeate you on a deep level. It’s a life changer.