A Day in the Life of an EMT-Lindsay Sirkin

Masa - Journeys to Israel and the Opportunity to Serve
by Rabbi Joshua Hoffman

At Valley Beth Shalom, we're traveling to Israel to connect with our heritage, our spiritual legacy, and our Israeli 'family.'  More than climbing Masada and rafting down the Jordan river, we are proud to share that many of our recent college graduates return to Israel from these experiences and serve in the vibrant and dynamic society there.

Through Masa, or Career Israel, these innovative spirits embark upon a six month or year long work study program.  Participants teach in schools, work in social service agencies, and even ride along in ambulances as EMTs.  Our community shares with great pride in the service of Lindsay Sirkin, daughter of Steve and our celebrated ECC teacher Aileen Sirkin. Lindsay is currently undergoing her training as an emergency medical technician and works for Magen David Adom, the ambulance service of Israel.

In January, the Masa program highlighted Lindsay for her outgoing spirit and superior dedication to her work as an EMT.  Over the years, Lindsay has been a shining example of Jewish communal leadership and experience at Camp Alonim and in her college Hillel. As you enjoy the article below we hope you join the entire Valley Beth Shalom community in kvelling in her recent success.

If you or your college graduate is looking for an unforgettable chance to deepen a connection to Israel, we hope you will consider participating in a Masa/Career Israel program in the coming year.  For more information, feel free to contact Rabbi Joshua Hoffman jhoffman@vbs.org, (818) 530-4003  Mazal Tov Lindsay and the Sirkin family!

A Day in the Life of an EMT-Lindsay Sirkin
Lindsay is interning with Magen David Adom as an Emergency Medical Technician 

Hey all, Lindsay Sirkin here.  A little about me.  I have lived in beautiful Southern California in the great city of Los Angeles for my entire life.  I just graduated this past spring from UCLA with a B.S. in Biology, and knew I wanted to return to Israel for an extended period of time and have the opportunity to travel afterwards. With a vast amount of internships in the medical field, I chose to come on Career Israel. The internship I chose was to work as an EMT for Magen David Adom, the ambulance service in Israel. I want to pursue a career in healthcare when I return home and this internship has provided me with unforgettable hands on experience.

My work at MDA has been an incredible experience so far and has really allowed me to immerse myself into the Israeli culture. I am always excited to go to work every morning, even though I am up at 5:30 am. I also constantly want to talk about my work to anyone who wants to listen. I get to travel around different parts of Tel Aviv and I am exposed to many different kinds of medical cases every single day. Additionally, my internship is one of the few where a lot of Hebrew is spoken daily, either with patients or members of my ambulance team. A joke with the international volunteers is that the best ulpan in Israel is working at MDA and I have to say my Hebrew has improved tremendously since I began working here.

A typical day at MDA is usually 8 hours straight, averaging about 3-6 cases each shift and lots of visits to the ER.  As a member of the team, I typically take vital signs, check blood glucose levels, assist in bandaging patients and set up the ECG monitor. Though I have had many interesting cases at my time at MDA, one of the most memorable cases happened when I was on the Natan, the yellow mobile intensive care unit. On the ambulance, it was just a driver, paramedic and I and we were called to a car accident on the Ayalon freeway. When we arrived, there was an older woman with a bad head wound. Without even thinking, I grabbed all the back-boarding supplies from the ambulance and brought it out. Our entire team, with some help from a police officer, successfully back boarded her and rushed her to the ambulance. In Hebrew, I was asked to bandage the wound with a “tachboshet ishit” or personal bandage, while the paramedic started an IV. Then, I assisted in setting up the blood pressure and ECG, used to monitor her heart, as the ambulance drove quickly to Ichilov Hospital. Once we arrived at the hospital, she was brought to the trauma room where the doctors took over. We found out later that day that the trauma treatment was successful and the woman was going to be ok.

There are no words to describe how incredible this opportunity has been to work for Magen David Adom. I now have a community of Israeli friends, training as an EMT and experience I will never forget. I hope to return in the near future to Israel and volunteer again at my station.