Vim & Vigor - Summer 2012 - Community Healthcare - (Page 54)

SPOTLIGHT ON: ST. MARY MEDICAL CENTER Paramedic/EMS training program puts passion into practice Lifesaving Careers W BY MARY FETSCH hen working as a paramedic, you have someone’s life in your hands,” Craig Morris says about the career he is passionate about. Morris’ full-time job is as an electrician at a local steel mill. But for more than 10 years, he supported his desire to help people through his service as an emergency medical technician (EMT) for Lake Station Emergency Medical Services (EMS). However, even that wasn’t enough. “As an EMT, I would see what the paramedics did, and how they saved lives,” says Morris. “I decided I wanted to take it to the next level and become a paramedic.” Fortunately for Morris, St. Mary Medical Center’s EMS Training Institute launched a new paramedic training program last fall that provides individuals with a complete curriculum of classroom, clinical and ﬁeld training to prepare for state and national certiﬁcation. The accelerated nine-month course offers an intense but comprehensive approach to learning and experiencing the techniques, terminology and psychological demands of becoming a paramedic. “This was a natural next step for us after establishing a successful EMS training program,” says Robert Boby, R.N., EMS manager at St. Mary Medical Center. “The course gives individuals a thorough knowledge of the physical and mental requirements needed to become a paramedic, and it’s a good introduction to the ﬁeld of emergency medicine.” “ ACCELERATED EDUCATION Students in the nine-month course will ﬁnish in about half the time of other paramedic training programs, which typically take 18 to 24 months to complete. While the training is more intense, Boby believes it offers signiﬁcant advantages for the students. “We are able to offer each learning module with corresponding ﬁeld and clinical work,” says Boby, who serves as an instructor along with Jessica Lawley, EMS educator. “What they learn in the classroom one day, they may be seeing or experiencing in the ﬁeld or in a clinical setting the next day. It becomes an enriching and more connected learning experience.” The accelerated course also offers individuals the option to ﬁt the program into their daily lives. “This ﬁts into my work schedule,” says Morris. “I work shifts at the mill, and I have to ask guys to trade shifts with me sometimes so I can be at class. The other programs out there take such a long period of time. With this course, I was able to say, ‘It’s only for nine months,’ and they agreed to help me out. Without them, I wouldn’t be able to do it.” Monica Combs, a mother of two, works as an EMT in her county. “For me, the accelerated program was h the EM S Tra inin g ion al cer tific ations throug edics see kin g state and nat Par am ds- on situ ations. al Center use sim ulated han Inst itute at St. Ma ry Me dic 54 Vim & Vigor · SUM M ER 2 012

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Vim & Vigor - Summer 2012 - Community Healthcare

Vim & Vigor - Summer 2012 - Community Healthcare
Vim & Vigor - Summer 2012 - Community Healthcare
Contents
Contents
Community Message
Community Message
A Tiny Miracle
A Tiny Miracle
Over the Rainbow
Over the Rainbow
Home Is Where Hartsfield Is
Home Is Where Hartsfield Is
Get RIPPED
Get RIPPED
The Breakfast Club
The Breakfast Club
Arthritis Answers
Arthritis Answers
A TV Guide to Radiology
A TV Guide to Radiology
Take Aim
Take Aim
It Might NOT Be Cancer
It Might NOT Be Cancer
Colin Firth
Colin Firth
Step Up to the Plate
Step Up to the Plate
Life After Cancer
Life After Cancer
Get Dad to the Doc
Get Dad to the Doc
Getting His Groove Back
Getting His Groove Back
SPOTLIGHT ON: Community Hospital
SPOTLIGHT ON: Community Hospital
SPOTLIGHT ON: St. Catherine Hospital
SPOTLIGHT ON: St. Catherine Hospital
SPOTLIGHT ON: St. Mary Medical Center
SPOTLIGHT ON: St. Mary Medical Center
Balancing Act
Balancing Act

Vim & Vigor - Summer 2012 - Community Healthcare