What I Really Learned About Advanced Life Support

Today the Lord taught me a lesson about His goodness. It was an uncomfortable lesson, but oh so good!

Today and tomorrow I am attending a certification course called PALS. It stands for "Pediatric Advanced Life Support". Basically, it is like CPR certification on steroids. We learn about the algorithms to use in respiratory distress, respiratory failure, cardiac failure, and shock. We also learn about providing not only basic life support (that would be your CPR and oxygen, etc...), but also initiating advanced life support (intubation). Anyway, it's pretty intimidating and there is a LOT of stuff to know. And I've only been a RN for 9 months. It's not like I have experienced a lot of situations like this. I've been involved in 2 actual codes, as well as 3 respiratory distress situations, but that's not a ton of experience.

There are about 20 people taking the course (some for the first time, some for re-certification). We were broken up into 3 groups and we rotated to different learning stations. One of the nurses I work with (who graduated nursing school with me) and I were in the same group. There were three others in the group: a very intelligent ER doctor, an experienced ER nurse, and a paramedic who works on a helicopter (you have to be experienced and quite good to get a job on a helicopter). Talk about intimidating!! Those three guys work code situations ALL THE TIME!! It's what they do. My knowledge base is so much lower than theirs. There were so many questions I would want to ask, but it was intimidating because I felt stupid to ask "simple" questions in front of these stellar practitioners.

On my way home I got to thinking about how scared I was to let the others know how inexperienced I feel. Then it hit me: the Lord is wisdom, and knowledge, and understanding. He knows all things. He understands every single, minute detail of every little teeny thing on the planet. Even though He knows how wise He is (and how silly and inexperienced I am), I never feel afraid to come to Him with my needs and my problems and my questions. The Lord loves His children and He loves to hear our needs. He doesn't look down on me for needing Him. What a blessed life support He is. Or maybe I have it all backwards. Maybe He's not life support, maybe He is life itself.

"For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are - yet was without sin. Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need." Hebrews 4:15-16