Many college students pick up part time work wherever they can, and most of the time it’s not very exciting or glamorous. Chippewa Falls High School senior Lindsey Nelson has a different plan.
“I will definitely work as an EMT,” Nelson said. “I plan on going to college in Milwaukee and they always need EMTs there. I can work part-time while in school and full-time in the summer."
Nelson is working toward an EMT (Emergency Medical Technician) license through a class at Chippewa Valley Technical College’s Emergency Services Education Center in Eau Claire. She is one of 19 high school seniors from Chippewa Falls, Bloomer, Eau Claire and Fall Creek high schools enrolled in the class, which meets Tuesday nights and one Saturday a month.
“This is an EMT basic class for the state of Wisconsin,” CVTC instructor Kassondra Mero said. “When they finish, they will be able to get a state license as a basic EMT and by finishing the class they can take the national EMT registry exam.”
The class was made possible by a $111,000 Wisconsin Fast Forward Blueprint for Prosperity High School Pupil Workforce Training Programs grant. It is part of a larger statewide effort to engage high school students in college-level classes to increase their college success rate. The program also provides them with industry-recognized certificates that increase their employment prospects.
“By becoming licensed EMTs, they will be eligible to be hired for jobs that pay $35,000 a year,” Mero said.
Students in Mero’s class, though, are thinking bigger and longer-term.
“All of the students in the class have expressed an interest in careers in health care,” Mero said. “They have an understanding of how this is going to impact their careers. This puts them leaps and bounds ahead of others because they will be able to get real life experience at the age of 18.”
Some participating students want to be firefighters or paramedics; others want to be doctors or nurses, said Chris McHenry, CVTC Emergency Medical Services program director. “They don’t have to wait until after they graduate to be introduced to the profession,” he said.
‘Cool opportunity’
Nelson hopes the program leads to bigger and better things.
“I thought this would be a cool opportunity to see what I wanted to do when I got older,” said Nelson, who plans to attend UW-Milwaukee and to become a physician’s assistant. “Now that I’ve taken this class, I’m pretty sure I want to go into the medical field.”
Musselman said he feels the class has done him good whether he ever works as an EMT or not.
“It gives me the skills I need if an emergency comes up,” he said.
The class provides credit toward students’ high school graduation and earns them five credits at CVTC. Those credits are transferrable to other colleges with which CVTC has agreements.
Hard work
Participating students learn that the chance to get a jump on their careers doesn’t come easily. Mero said the first hour of the class typically consists of teacher-led instruction, followed by two hours of hands-on work in which students practice various scenarios. The knowledge level needed for EMT work is significant, she said.
“When you get to medical emergencies and the pharmacology, you have to memorize all of that, along with the doses and effects,” Mero said. “At test time, they get a blank piece of paper and they have to write down all they know about that medication.”
Students in the class are used to college-level work through other CVTC dual-credit classes and advanced placement courses.
“It’s time-consuming and rather hard, but it’s a lot like medical terminology,” said Musselman, referring to a college-level class many high school students take.
Real situations
Students said they are well aware that someday it will not be a medical mannequin or a fellow student playing a patient, but a real situation in which someone is facing a medical crisis. They are preparing for such instances.
“I think I’m ready for it,” Nelson said. “I saw a basketball player tear up a knee and it was a wake-up call, having to respond to someone in pain. But I’ll be ready for it.”
McHenry noted that the class benefits the community as well, as many students will work as EMTs in their home towns, at least for a time.
“Across the state, we are seeing a lack of volunteers, especially the ability to fill needs at volunteer services in smaller communities,” McHenry said. “The state has been looking for ways like this to increase volunteerism in communities.”
The class goes through May 2017. McHenry said plans are being made to continue it in future years.
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