Southwest Asia -- Editor's note: The Rock Solid Warrior program is a way to recognize and spotlight the Airmen of the 386th Air Expeditionary Wing for their positive impact and commitment to the mission.
I am Senior Airman Julieann Collins, a 386th Expeditionary Medical Group aerospace medical technician. I am deployed from the 88th Medical Group at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio.
As a medical technician I provide, supervise and manage patient care of beneficiaries to include flying and special operational duty personnel. As part of the nursing team, I use the nursing process to provide care for beneficiaries working in various units throughout the hospital or clinic. I am also trained to serve as a primary care management team leader or member.
The difference between working at home station and at a deployed location is at home station I work in the family health clinic with a structured schedule and patient panel. Here at The Rock we have an emergency room/clinic setting with no set schedules and the patients’ needs range from basic sick call-ailments to more urgent issues.
The main challenge I face is with the unpredictability of patient issues. In the deployed environment we have a large number of people seeking treatment or care for a wide variety of issues. I overcome this challenge by training and practicing the skills needed to stay prepared for any situation.
The best part of the medical mission in my opinion is taking care of the patients and seeing their condition improve or resolve altogether.
I joined the Air Force because I knew it would expose me to new experiences. It also offered a means to further my education and travel.