On Saturday and Sunday last week, Ming Hui and I went for the second part of our YEP Leadership training conducted by Blossom. It was held at Ubin, where we had to stayover for a whole night. I will be posting up the pictures after this!
Overall, I would say that the leadership training has been a real eye-opener. I feel especially strongly on this, because I myself have never assumed such a big leadership role in my entire life. Possibly it is because of my lack of confidence in myself as a leader in previous years that made me decide not to assume any leadership responsibilities.
However, I decided to grab the opportunity to co-lead in Project Waterloo because I've decided for myself that this is something I would like to try out. I realised over the years that I've slowly been regained more confidence in myself and my abilities, and although I am still lacking in many areas, at least I know I am trying.
Being a leader, as I soon found out from the camp, is not easy at all. Some people are born leaders. Others, like myself, will have to put in more effort. For example, the feedback I received from the camp will be useful because such simulations have made me truly realise the enormity of our responsibilities. It is more than making sure that everything is going according to plan; it is the realisation that we (me and Minghui) are responsible for the lives of our participants.
How I realised this was during the traumatic Emergency Evacuation simulation, where two casualties (played by Yingyi and Chit Chin) had to be rescued. Chit Chin was 'bleeding profusely' almost dying, and Yingyi was supposed to play the role of the irritating girl with the tummyache who refuses to be helped and keeps on screaming away.
The truth was, when the simulation started, I was at a loss amidst all the chaos. Yingyi played her role too well, screaming away like nobody's business, and truthfully, the screams were so jarring they were almost painful and way too realistic. I stayed back to oversee her whilst Minghui went to help the other fella.
THE GIRL DID NOT WANT TO BE HELPED. Every question asked was answered with a scream. It did not help either that the first aider was at a loss too. It was then and there that as a leader, I realised that I should be more decisive and snappy at making decisions - to take control of the situation and to ensure that the participants are given the medical attention that they need. To make the proper calls when necessary and to ensure that overenthusiastic bystanders do not get into the way of the medical attention that is required to be given. These are just some things that books on leadership cannot teach you.
Here are other things that we learnt from the simulation:
- Bystanders who have nothing to do should be shooed away. Otherwise, give them a role to do beforehand e.g. runners.
- Have other team mates in charge of roles such as telecom (to call up the relevant parties like ISOS, transport etc) and observer (to take down the evaluations of the patient by the first aider as records for future use).
- EAP map should be prepared so that the protocol during emergencies are known by the other members, and the leader can immediately refer to it in the event of an emergency
- Contact numbers of relevant parties should also be included in the EAP for fast and easy reference
- The leader must scold people when necessary to ensure that he is in control of the situation.
- The Epipen can be used to prolong the life of an anaphylactic patient,until help arrives
- ISOS hotline can be called in the event that the first aider cannot manage, as they will be able to provide sound advice when required. Leaders should practise calling ISOS hotline pre-trip.
- Provide the insurance number to ISOS so that they can determine if there will be reimbursements for any medical services utilised.
- Certain places such as TTSH Traveller's Clinic and NUH international clinic will be able to provide advice on jabs required for each specific country.
- Doing RAMS (Risk Assessment & Management System) will prevent the need to face an emergency evacuation scenario.
Other things I learnt:
RAMS is a good methodology to assess the risks on-site and take the necessary actions to prevent risks.
Step 1: Identify the risks.
Step 2: Evaluate and assess the risks by drawing a chart with four quadrants. For the quadrant with high severity (if occured) and high likelihood, it cannot be Tolerated
Step 3: Manage the risks through the 4 Ts: Tolerate, Transfer, Treat or Terminate
Also a duty of care list should be crafted so that we can be better prepared for the trip.
During my facilitation session as well, I learnt that it is important for both leaders to sync and provide a short and sweet summary that would stick in the minds of participants. Negative feedback, no matter how painful to hear, should be seen positively as they are good learning points for personal growth :)
Participants can be made to use an object or a photo to describe how they feel about their YEP venue.
All in all, the trip was a fulfilling one. I discovered more about the other leaders during the segment titled Learning Journey where we each had to share a significant event in our lives through a drawing.
Ubin was a shocker when we first arrived due to the poor maintenance of the place where we stayed (an Ubin villager's). However, I managed to get used to it and got to know some cute animals as well. One experience that I will always remember is the loud noise of the rain hitting the zinc roof of our building, and the rain slowly drizzling down the holey roof.
I was afraid the roof would collapse! :p
