Over the course of my semester in Cape Town I have had the amazing opportunity to work with Western Cape METRO EMS, the public ambulance service that provides care to the country. Once a week I get to accompany two EMTs, Anthony and Christo, on a 12-hour shift. As an EMT with my University’s on-campus service, I usually don’t get to experience a wide variety of calls or patients (I’m usually dealing with college-aged students in either alcohol-related incidents or sports injuries). However, working with WCEMS, I have been able to experience so many situations, from heart attacks to strokes to seizures to stab wounds to nearly delivering a baby in the ambulance! As a public, free service, the guys and gals at WCEMS get to interact with patients from all walks of life. We have responded to calls in the townships as well as the fancy areas on the coast and everything in between.
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Nicole Itzkowitz
<p><span style="color: rgb(29, 29, 29); font-family: Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal; background-color: rgb(237, 237, 237);">Hi! My name is Nicole and I am a junior at the University of Rochester, originally from the suburbs of New York City. I am majoring in public health with minors in biology and studio arts. I love ethnic foods, Halloween, the color purple, strange artwork and marine animals. You can find me around campus volunteering as an EMT, planning on-campus concerts, or hanging out in Starbucks. My dream is to one day have a pet tortoise. I am excited to study public health in Cape Town next semester and share my experiences through photography!</span></p>
