Thursday, November 14, 1985/The Battalion/Pags 5
EMTs require lime, training, devotion
By KELLI THOMERSON
Reporter
4 Emergency! '
i The mention of that word might
injure up visions of an ambulance
lushing to the scene of an accident
and of seeing paramedics helping
the injured.
1 The Texas A&M Emergency Care
Team, headquartered in the A. P.
IJeutel Health Center, runs a 24-
■our ambulance service for on-cam-
pus and school-sponsored events,
and for anyone else who would like
to have the team at an event, says
Evnn Brown, president of TA-
IjlECT.
In order to be able to work in an
ambulance, an individual must go
nrough several stages of training,
Brown says.
H Those who have had no previous
|xperience take classes in cardiopul
monary resuscitation, standard first
aid and in emergency care atten
dance, he says.
;i| After written and practical exams,
the individual can become an emer
gency care attendant, which is the
Brst stage of certification by the
Texas Department of Health,
Bi own says.
I “If someone joins the team, he
■ fiends a semester as a probational
^THONYsTm member,” he says! “During that time
he is encouraged to participate in
sits in her home covering a full range of events, such
vis concerts, OPAS events, football
lames, road races and bonfire
•ir drinks.” I v< ^' ts •. , . .
/s always bt| During this time, the attendant is
one pet arouiHliir ver ' n S events unf er su (' ,ei v ‘ s ‘ l)l ''
V “They are supervised until the
lispatch captain feels they can han-
uncommon petlj die any situation that comes along,
named Benatar, and then they are on 24-hour dispo-
1 name was Rail sal," Brown says.
I After the probational semester,
have fun, but Bf S he attendant g oes through an ob-
Iferver-training period, he says.
I “They are put through a medic
my goals are to fore orientation, which is an ob-
, "I would like to; terver-training period,” Brown says,
nts learn as I can. “It is the first time they will actually
ys she wants to ride on an ambulance with a patient,
i and the visuall ' “They are taught what equipment
ithcomputen. does what, how to use thfcm, how to
assist the medics in charge and what
not to do.
Brown says. A trainee is called a
Medic III.
After being a Medic I for at least
one semester, the person can be
come an advanced life support
medic, classified as an EMT Special
Skills, and then an EMT paramedic,
he says.
“The advanced life support medic
can do basically what hospital au
thorities can do — initiation of intra
venous lines and use of medical anti-
shock trousers, for example,” Brown
says.
After
EMT paramedic
Photo by JON P. KARP
Senior Engineering Major Mike McNeill, Chief of Ambulance Oper
ations, checks equipment after a shift change.
“They are told if they don’t feel
comfortable doing it, stand back and
watch. It is almost like it is an ap
prenticeship.”
Afterward, the attendant goes
through a driver training session of
up to 20 hours for one semester, he
says.
“T hey learn how to drive again,”
Brown says. “They learn to drive the
ambulance, how to drive in emer
gency traffic, what’s expected of an
emergency vehicle and how to open
their eyes to what’s on the road in
stead of driving with the tunnelvi-
sion most drivers have.”
They are taught never to let the
vehicle get out of their control, he
says.
They also are told that if they
don’t feel comfortable going a cer
tain speed, then they should slow it
down, Brown says.
To be become a driver, an individ
ual must be a certified emergency
care attendant and pass several tests,
he says.
If an attendant wants to become
more than just an EMC, he can go
through classes to be a medic in
change or a Medic I, which is a mini
mum emergency medical technician,
passing
classes and the Texas Department of
Health tests, the person can be certi
fied a paramedic.
Above the EMT special skills and
paramedic classifications is the field
supervisor, who' makes policy deci
sions and controls crowds at events if
an accident occurs.
The head of the ambulance divi
sion is the ambulance chief, who has
a committee under him, Brown says.
Currently, TAMECT has two ad
vanced life support medics and two
people in paramedic training. The
job is time-consuming, and many
hours of volunteer time are given by
the team, Brown says.
“The average individual spends
around 25 hours a week on duty,” he
says.
“If you count everyone, which is
about 50 people, we clock in 18,000
hours a year.”
The team also conducts classes in
CPR and Standard First Aid for any
one who wants to offer the classes,
for example, dorms and other orga
nizations, he says.
The team has open membership
and accepts applications at the be
ginning of each semester.
“We look for people who are lead
ers and work well with people,” he
says.
“Because we actually get to see
who we’re working with, we get im
mediate feedback.
“We do have to do things quickly
and efficiently, but never can that in
fringe upon the treatment of that
_ patient as a human being.”
cut here 1
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Nov. 18 & 19, Dec. 2 & 3
College Station Hilton
Pre-register by phone: 693-8178
Ticket deferral and 10% insurance discount
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S J\jj[ iis. d^Wa-S
J^ovcnher Itth
Dallas has highest crime rate of large U.S. cities
Associated Press
DALLAS — A dramatic jump in
roperty theft offenses helped give
alias the highest crime rate of any
ier program in Uig^e country’s 20 largest cities dur-
ugbt it would be.it • ^ f irst ' s j x months of 1985, po-
art here,' Fleitass. u ° ; f i
be involved becau|! _
of the period.” |
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II the holescrealti
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The city had 63.1 crimes per
1,000 residents from January to
June, compared to 62.4 crimes in
Detroit for the same period, FBI sta
tistics showed. Police blamed the
large number of reported property
crimes for the No. I ranking overall.
But FBI crime index reports com
piled by the police planning and re
search division show that Dallas
ranks ninth in violent crime, with 6.5
offenses per 1,000 people. In re
ported property crimes, the city was
first in thefts, second in burglaries
and ninth in auto thefts.
“We think it’s extremely signifi
cant that violent crime ... represents
only about 10 percent of all major
crime in Dallas,” police spokesman
Ed Spencer said.
In overall crime statistics, San An
tonio ranked fourth, while Houston
was No. 10.
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What Do You Think?
Dead Week: No classes so that we can study?
I *
Q-Drop: Should it be lengthened?
Pass/Fail: Should more classes be offered?
P.E.: Should it be required?
Call Student Government
845-3051
let US know WHAT YOU THINK!!
tt:-
Academic Affairs Committee
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