In Which Ms. Typist Jets off for FEMA School

Well this is it, my chickadees. I’m off to FEMA Mass Casualty training in the wee hours of tomorrow morning, so you won’t have me to kick around for a week. My colleague who went to the FEMA compound ahead of me for teacher training recently sent me a selfie of her posing with a fireman, which prompted professional buzzkill Mr. Typist to immediately lay down the law: I am expressly forbidden from taking selfies with firemen and “accidently” setting my dorm room on fire in a bid to be rescued by said firemen. In my pre-defense, all I’m saying is that microwave popcorn is tricky, and I can’t be held responsible for the vagaries of dorm room microwave timers.

I did my pre-test for the program yesterday and passed, so that made me happy. I may be the only one who actually did the pre-class homework, and I am hoping that gets me some brownie points with the instructors and buys me a little grace if I completely freak the eff out during the live simulations. I don’t think I will, though. In the meantime, I am in for a long flight, a long bus ride from Georgia to Alabama, and a long evening of induction, followed by many long days of classes. The operative word here is “long.” I’m nervous and excited, but most of all, happy to anticipate that when the worst hits the Seattle area, this training may help me be somewhat of an asset, or least not a liability. When I get back, I will have many tales to tell and hopefully, a class video to share.

In the meantime, here is a short video that illustrates an overview the training. I’m not on the medical/clinical side of things, so I don’t know what role I will be playing during the simulations, but I’ll tell you all about it when I get back. Wish me luck!



--Kristen McHenry