By Jennifer Eder
Two EMTs rush to the scene where a 17-year-old boy has collapsed while on a run.
His pulse is racing. His lips are turning blue. He is wheezing and beginning to panic.
The EMTs quickly strap an oxygen mask onto the teenager, administer an inhaler, lift him onto a stretcher and into an ambulance before transporting him to GW Hospital.
Thankfully, the 17-year-old asthmatic boy was just acting as part of a scenario drill in GW’s EMT-Basic Clinical Summer Program. The six-week course is the first summer program in the D.C. area aimed at high school students and college freshmen or sophomores interested in a health care career.
The students have learned how to assess various conditions, such as cardiac-related emergencies and spinal cord injuries, and how to provide emergency medical care to victims of sudden illness. In addition to lectures from GW faculty and current first responders, students receive hands-on clinical experience in GW’s Simulation Lab on the sixth floor of the GW Hospital. Seven students are enrolled in the program.
“Having the opportunity to train students who are interested in careers in the health field is exciting. At GW, we embrace the opportunity to expose young students to professions in medicine and the health sciences, so that they can direct their studies toward attaining their goal of becoming health care providers,” said Margaret Plack, senior associate dean of the Health Sciences Programs in the School of Medicine and Health Sciences.
On the first day of class, each student received a blood pressure cuff and a stethoscope. They were also all certified in CPR. Since then they have been acting out various scenarios three days a week to test their knowledge. Students have learned how to splint broken arms, bandage wounds, move patients onto backboards and safely fasten neck braces.
“I really feel like I’ve gotten my feet wet in medicine,” said 17-year-old Jeremy Cohn, a rising senior at Sidwell Friends School, who hopes to be a doctor one day.
In addition to their classroom instruction and training inside the Simulation Lab, each student will shadow a team from the Bethesda-Chevy Chase Rescue Squad during an eight-hour shift.
Students also have the opportunity to earn four hours of college credit.
“It gives them an edge for getting into medical school by showing that they’ve had exposure to patient care,” said Michael Ward, director of the Emergency Health Services Program at GW and a retired paramedic with Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department, who is also running the summer program.
The students are preparing to take the National Registry of Emergency Medical Technician (NREMT) EMT-Basic certification two-part exam. The first part is a practical exam during which they will demonstrate their skills at GW on Aug. 19. The second component is a cognitive computer-based exam.
Nineteen-year-old Nick Romagnoli, a sophomore at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City, hopes to work as an EMT this fall.
“This is the best way to see patients,” said Mr. Romagnoli, who is studying exercise science. “First responders are the foundation of medicine.”
The university also offers EMT classes in the fall and spring for GW students. Mr. Ward said he hopes to grow the summer program for high school and college students next year.
“I believe this course will provide a marvelous first step for students who wish to enter careers in health care delivery,” said Robert Shesser, professor and chair of the Department of Emergency Medicine. “This program will expose these students to the assessment of critically ill or injured patients and provide a first-hand look at the challenges and opportunities that arise within a career as a health care professional.”