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Rest in peace David Miller
Oct. 26th, 2024 09:53 pmDavid Miller was the first superintendent of the first St John Ambulance division I ever joined, when I was a student at UNSW.
At the time, I was an 18 year old with a soon to be expired "provide first aid" certificate i had initially paid $160 for when I was 16 so I could put down "first aid course" as a thing I did for the Duke of Edinburgh bronze award.
3 years later, it was up for renewal and I had barely used my first aid course and was looking to apply to medicine and that seemed silly - so I thought, I could join a division, get some real experience, and maybe also not have to pay for renewal ($160 seemed like a lot of money when I was 18 some how, -- it seemed less when I was 16).
I came to division, did the bare minimum for the 3 years I was there. It took me 2 years to get out of provisional. I was getting a bit annoyed I had my hands tied behind my back doing paperwork and other boring things for so long because I was so damn .... slow to complete all the stuff. At one point about a year in, David Miller personally called me via phone to ask if I was still "going to do it" and if so, to like, you know, do it. Because it was taking too long.
I wonder if ever super would even bother to chase people up like that. At the time it made an impression on me.
Eventually, I managed to finish it all and become a full member. I think the last thing I had to do was wash my hands in front of someone who could sign me off. Finally! I could treat patients, give paracetamol without like, running it by someone else. In fact, now I could sign other people off.
However that was promptly right before graduation and I was explaining to Davids wife, Viv, that actually now I was going to do nursing anyway (and nurses are treated a little differently in SJA, which is like. Good and bad. Like your professional skills are recognised so you don't have to jump through a billion hoops but we have to remmeber the hospital is a totally different environment to a first aid post).
I remember viv saying to me "oh I wanted to be a nurse back in the day but I wasn't allowed because I was too short" (she's probably 4"9).
I also remember asking David for a reference once and he blankly said to me "it would be a pretty plain one confirming details. I wouldn't be able to give you much more than that" and it reminded me that I really had to work on what I had to offer to a person (like the superintendent) before I could ask for a reference. So I took that honest review on board when I moved to my adult division post graduation - and worked my butt off for my next super, and made she I got a great reference for what then was my dream job application (you know that dream job you think about when your doing the hard slog in your first degree... and then your second - that one)
It's such a time when your career hasn't taken off yet, but like your right on the precipice. It's not a feeling I think people who didn't study for a particular profession would understand. So for example, i don't think my mother would understand that feeling of applying for, and interviewing for, and then needing references for a job that is your literal dream job.
Anyways. I earned that reference and Carmel knows how to give a glowing one and I know she gave it. So Thanks to David's lackluster review of me, I improved myself.
I remember in the last division meeting with him, that he was showing people how to put in a gaudels - on him, while he stayed awake. Awfully uncomfortable but he really wanted to instill confidence in non clinical people about performing very clinical tasks that are life saving- using equipment. I can imagine if your an office worker and your at a duty and you think someone needs a gaudels to protect their airway, how daunting it can be to insert it on someone when you'd never done it before.
I'm an old hand now, having inserted it into ICU patients to do gaudels suction (on like, long term ex-ventilated patients who we are trying to prevent returning to intubation).
Anyways. He was a champ of a guy. Funeral is on WED at 9045am and I hope to make it. Not sure why he passed away but I hope it was old age. He wasn't a spring Chicken back in 2009. And its 2024 now.
Wow I don't have an SJA tag. Considering I've been doing it since 2007 (the first 2 years probie, 1 year lost because I didn't tick a box, and this year I'm thinking sabbatical due to kiddies. ) Time to make one.
RIP David Miller.
At the time, I was an 18 year old with a soon to be expired "provide first aid" certificate i had initially paid $160 for when I was 16 so I could put down "first aid course" as a thing I did for the Duke of Edinburgh bronze award.
3 years later, it was up for renewal and I had barely used my first aid course and was looking to apply to medicine and that seemed silly - so I thought, I could join a division, get some real experience, and maybe also not have to pay for renewal ($160 seemed like a lot of money when I was 18 some how, -- it seemed less when I was 16).
I came to division, did the bare minimum for the 3 years I was there. It took me 2 years to get out of provisional. I was getting a bit annoyed I had my hands tied behind my back doing paperwork and other boring things for so long because I was so damn .... slow to complete all the stuff. At one point about a year in, David Miller personally called me via phone to ask if I was still "going to do it" and if so, to like, you know, do it. Because it was taking too long.
I wonder if ever super would even bother to chase people up like that. At the time it made an impression on me.
Eventually, I managed to finish it all and become a full member. I think the last thing I had to do was wash my hands in front of someone who could sign me off. Finally! I could treat patients, give paracetamol without like, running it by someone else. In fact, now I could sign other people off.
However that was promptly right before graduation and I was explaining to Davids wife, Viv, that actually now I was going to do nursing anyway (and nurses are treated a little differently in SJA, which is like. Good and bad. Like your professional skills are recognised so you don't have to jump through a billion hoops but we have to remmeber the hospital is a totally different environment to a first aid post).
I remember viv saying to me "oh I wanted to be a nurse back in the day but I wasn't allowed because I was too short" (she's probably 4"9).
I also remember asking David for a reference once and he blankly said to me "it would be a pretty plain one confirming details. I wouldn't be able to give you much more than that" and it reminded me that I really had to work on what I had to offer to a person (like the superintendent) before I could ask for a reference. So I took that honest review on board when I moved to my adult division post graduation - and worked my butt off for my next super, and made she I got a great reference for what then was my dream job application (you know that dream job you think about when your doing the hard slog in your first degree... and then your second - that one)
It's such a time when your career hasn't taken off yet, but like your right on the precipice. It's not a feeling I think people who didn't study for a particular profession would understand. So for example, i don't think my mother would understand that feeling of applying for, and interviewing for, and then needing references for a job that is your literal dream job.
Anyways. I earned that reference and Carmel knows how to give a glowing one and I know she gave it. So Thanks to David's lackluster review of me, I improved myself.
I remember in the last division meeting with him, that he was showing people how to put in a gaudels - on him, while he stayed awake. Awfully uncomfortable but he really wanted to instill confidence in non clinical people about performing very clinical tasks that are life saving- using equipment. I can imagine if your an office worker and your at a duty and you think someone needs a gaudels to protect their airway, how daunting it can be to insert it on someone when you'd never done it before.
I'm an old hand now, having inserted it into ICU patients to do gaudels suction (on like, long term ex-ventilated patients who we are trying to prevent returning to intubation).
Anyways. He was a champ of a guy. Funeral is on WED at 9045am and I hope to make it. Not sure why he passed away but I hope it was old age. He wasn't a spring Chicken back in 2009. And its 2024 now.
Wow I don't have an SJA tag. Considering I've been doing it since 2007 (the first 2 years probie, 1 year lost because I didn't tick a box, and this year I'm thinking sabbatical due to kiddies. ) Time to make one.
RIP David Miller.
