Obligated to Go Beyond
By Grace Maeda
Each time Boushra Belkhir arrives at her shift, she never knows exactly what will happen. Yet, Boushra returns time after time because she is certain of one thing: she is doing something bigger than herself.
“There’s such a need for EMTs right now, because people are scared.” Boushra explains. “I felt an obligation. I’m a certified EMT — how can I not do something?”
The demand for emergency medical technicians soared during the pandemic. COVID-19 patients need transporting, while medical emergencies never cease. For Boushra, stepping up to provide her service as an EMT was only natural.
Boushra works up to four 12-hour shifts a week, all while preparing for dental school, studying for classes, and running on the Marist Cross Country and Track and Field teams. Her phone is constantly ringing because her station can always use more help. Located in Rhinebeck, the station works closely with Vassar Brothers Medical Center and Northern Dutchess Hospital. However, Boushra's station receives calls sending her to Albany or locally in Poughkeepsie.
With every shift, there’s a degree of uncertainty, but Boushra can always expect 12 hours of physically-taxing labor. Most shifts include 12 hours of administering medical services and providing COVID-19 transports. Boushra and her teammates are often in very close contact with COVID-positive patients: lifting them into ambulances, checking vital signs, and providing oxygen.
“When you get a call to a COVID-positive case, it makes the case a lot more challenging.” Suiting up essentially in a hazmat suit, Boushra ties her hair back, puts on goggles and a N95 mask, then tops it off with a face shield before providing medical care.
Illustration by Sydney Kysar
Boushra’s strength truly goes well beyond her small runner’s physique. Not only is she lifting patients but she’s also providing emotional support. Many of Boushra’s patients are elderly, feeling disheartened, lonely, and forgotten. “I make sure that the time I do spend with the patient really counts. I’m not just asking their medical history or what they’re allergic to.” Boushra always asks what makes them excited, and with a simple question, she sees their eyes light up. “Showing them that someone cares goes a long way.” Because of her kindness, Boushra’s patients will often ask if they can send her a thank you gift to her house or request that the next time they need a lift to the hospital, it’ll be Boushra who shows up. “It reassures you that what you’re doing makes a difference.”
Even when she’s exhausted, Boushra thinks back on her calls and remembers why she just pulled an all-nighter or why she is rising before the sun.
“What I do does have an impact and that does make going to work a lot easier, even though it really is hard. I feel like what I’m doing does matter.”
With every call, there is an opportunity to make a difference. There are so many people aching with loneliness and in need of compassion. Boushra remembers helping a young woman only a few years older than herself, who had attempted suicide for the third time. During their ninety-minute transport, the patient opened up to Boushra and asked for advice. “I would have never had the opportunity to talk to his girl if I was not an EMT.”
From a very young age, Boushra’s parents encouraged her and her siblings to become health professionals. “I was constantly told, ‘You need to do something that will be beyond you.’” Both of Boushra’s parents were born in Algeria and came to the United States in their early twenties. It is extremely difficult to be granted access to the United States from Algeria. Boushra's parents encouraged their children to seize the opportunities that some people only dream of. “They always made sure we knew how much of a privilege we had and that we needed to take that opportunity of the education we could attain and really make the most of it — impact the most people possible.”
Although Boushra is currently an EMT, she will be going on to dental school in the Fall of 2021. Witnessing firsthand the lack of preventative care for Algerian citizens inspired Boushra to act and directly address this issue. In her uncle’s dentist’s office, Boushra saw patient after patient coming in for extractions, stemming from health disparities that result from living in a developing country. “It’s all coming to fruition for me — what really drew me the most to this career. I want to mitigate these disparities in some capacity. It might start from a small scope but become overarching in time.”
While studying Biomedical Sciences at Marist, Boushra was inspired to become an EMT by a fellow classmate on a research trip in Peru: “I think in order to be a great health professional, you can't be so localized in what your profession is. The body is a whole system.” After spending many hours in different dental offices, Boushra wanted to be where she will be exposed to the largest variety of medical conditions.
Boushra became a certified EMT the summer after her sophomore year; however, she was not entirely sure she was ever going to be able to be a practicing EMT. Boushra was just short on time as a three-season athlete, working two jobs on-campus, and determined to start the first pre-dental club at Marist.
“I had my certification for a while and then the pandemic hit.” This was the moment for Boushra to do something beyond herself. “Being that I can help, I feel it’s an obligation of mine to do whatever I can.”
FOR THE RECORD UNCUT
OBJECT PHOTOGRAPHY
Photography by Bobby Oliver
For this year’s project, we asked our Changemakers to bring items that had meaning to them to the shoot.
“A stethoscope is one of the most important tools in an EMT arsenal. Allowing us the ability to listen and monitor the patient's heart and lungs. I selected the stethoscope as one of my items because it’s one of the most defining parts of my EMT uniform. Putting it on transcends me to a whole new level of responsibility, leadership, and selflessness. It often serves comfort to the patient, ensuring them that we are there to help. Being an EMT is an intense experience, especially at the height of the pandemic. As a first responder, you are immersed in the unvarnished truths about the lives all around you: crime, birth, death, tragedy, violence, madness, addiction, aging, and so on. And you do so not just in a safe, secondhand manner in an emergency room, but out where it happens, as it happens, in people's homes, in the twisted wreckage, or roadsides. Being an EMT is not only a part-time job but has been a life-changing experience. This experience emphasized good self-discipline, the importance of partnership, professionalism, and empathy.
My spikes are just as much a part of my uniform as my Marist singlet. Putting on my spikes before a race is like putting on armor before a war, flooding my body with feelings of demand, excitement, and fear. When I put myself on the line in a race with nothing but my uniform and spikes and expose myself to the unknown, it challenges me in ways few things do. It teaches me about myself. Forces me to dig deep and question how bad do I really want it. It tells me today is the day to make it all count, every warmup, every cooldown, every workout, every lift, and core circuit. Asking whether or not today I show up. Every pair has its stories, filled with victories and defeats. But every pair has taught me so much about myself. So I lace up my spikes double knot, triple knot them, and trust that I am ready. Running has always played a huge role in my life and the lessons, of hard work, perseverance, determination, and dedication, that I’ve learned from it have transpired into all facets of my life.
I did this plastic tooth filling my freshman year at an NYU pre-dental convention. This was one of the things that solidified that I wanted to pursue this profession in Dentistry. I placed this model tooth on my desk shelf to keep it as a reminder of what I was working toward. This little plastic tooth model kept me focused on working hard and getting through all the obstacles that came with being a bio-med major and applying to dental school. Its been four years since that convention and I am now nearing the end of my undergrad career at Marist, and will be attending Touro College of Dental Medicine in early July. I am very excited to embark on a new chapter in my life.”