Name: 【TED】Jan Rader: In the opioid crisis, here's what it takes to save a life (In the opioid crisis, here's what it takes to save a life | Jan Rader)
Uploaded: 2019-01-22T22:03:27.000Z
Duration: 14 min 32 s
Description: Thousands of YouTube videos with English-Chinese subtitles! Now you can learn to understand native speakers, expand your vocabulary, and improve your pronunciation...

For the past 24 years, I have been a firefighter

As firefighters, my team and I are tasked with saving lives

from such disasters as car wrecks, house fires

and also life-threatening medical emergencies.

I am a woman leading a department in a male-dominated profession.

I decided to increase my medical knowledge and I received a nursing degree.

that the next big threat facing not only my city,

where you can ride in like the cavalry, as a firefighter,

put out the fire and leave, feeling like you have made a difference

The next big disaster in my city was and is the long, debilitating

and lethal disaster known as opioid addiction.

and we have replaced the name "addiction" with "substance use disorder."

of how significant this epidemic has become,

This is the job of my firefighters, as well as other agencies,

So, watching this epidemic unfold for several years,

For this disaster, we need to redefine our job as a first responder.

We need to be more than just the cavalry.

We need to do more than just save a life.

We need to find ways to rebuild that life.

And it's going to take a lot of people to do that.

And that is exactly what we are trying to do

Now, let me give you some insight as to what we do.

First, this is what happens when somebody overdoses.

Imagine you are somebody who is suffering from the brain disorder of addiction.

Maybe a friend or a family member calls 911.

you are awakened by five or six total strangers in uniform.

Now, would you not be defensive and angry?

those strangers gave you a dose of naloxone,

or what is better known as "dope sickness."

Dope sickness makes you feel absolutely horrible.

So not only did we, as strangers, wake you up,

So in turn, you, the patient, are not going to be very kind to us.

And you're going to refuse further medical treatment.

OK, well, then that's going to frustrate the heck out of us,

because you're ungrateful that we just saved your life.

What we are dealing with is a brain disorder

It convinces you that you don't have a problem.

So, this might have been not only the first time you've overdosed,

it might have been the third, fourth or fifth time

first responders do not receive much education

We're not trained how to deal with those suffering from substance use disorder.

I am trained to put out many different types of fires.

I am trained to save a life in the moment.

But I am not trained to deal with the intricate interaction

between first responders, the health care community,

and the wider community that is necessary to save a life long-term.

As a first responder, I consider myself the cavalry.

We want to swoop in, do our job and leave feeling satisfied

that we've made a difference in somebody's life.

when we're dealing with somebody with substance use disorder.

We deal with the same people over and over again,

At some point, I realized that it is up to us as first responders

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【TED】Jan Rader: In the opioid crisis, here's what it takes to save a life (In the opioid crisis, here's what it takes to save a life | Jan Rader)

fatigue

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