For the second year, Collin College students from eight high schools participated in EMT Field Training Day activities at the college’s Public Safety Training Center in McKinney on Feb. 27 and March 5.
The reality-based scenarios reinforced the training that the students learned in their high school emergency medical technician classes taught by Collin College instructors. Participating school districts included Allen, Frisco, Lovejoy, McKinney, Plano, Princeton, Prosper, and Wylie.
Students rotated through three major scenarios, a simulated Mass Casualty Incident (MCI), an extrication exercise, and a medical scenario. Students acted as medics for all three scenarios.
During the MCI, groups of 15-18 EMT students were dispatched to the scene of a simulated mass shooting staged in the Public Safety Training Center’s Reality-Based Training Center. McKinney ISD high school students acted as patients, and the college’s simulation staff used moulage, the art of applying mock injuries, so the students could appear injured in a variety of ways.
The EMT students ran the call, responded to injuries, triaged patients, and maintained control of the scene as if it were a real incident. The EMT instructors were there to provide guidance throughout the simulation. After the simulation, the students debriefed to discuss what went well and where they could improve.
During the extrication exercise, students practiced controlling an “accident scene” and getting patients out of a damaged vehicle. The exercise required coordination between students and a knowledge of specific patient care techniques.
In the medical scenario, students responded to a medical call where they assessed a patient’s condition and determined the best course of treatment. This included hooking up patients to an EKG monitor and other ways of assisting paramedics when they arrive on the scene of a critical patient.
An EMS helicopter from PHI, Inc. landed during their lunch break. Students climbed into the helicopter to speak with a flight nurse and a paramedic about prehospital care.
Students like Prosper ISD senior David Tran, who wants to go into the medical field after high school, enjoyed the hands-on experience.
“I thought the EMT program would be a really good segue to get first-hand experience in the medical field, and I also wanted to see how well I would handle these types of situations,” Tran said. “I enjoyed being faced with that kind of challenge, and I’d like to see how that transfers to what I want to do after high school.”
Frisco ISD senior Mira Kovalsky said she also wants to pursue the health care field, specifically anesthesiology.
“I thought the EMT Program at Collin College would be a good experience, and I’ve actually come to really enjoy the class,” she said. “I’ve learned both medical knowledge and skills and assessment, so it has really turned out to be beneficial,” she said.
Leslie Teel, emergency medical services and health science professor, organized the EMT Field Training Day along with Greg Cox, the interim program coordinator of the Emergency Medical Services program at Collin College. Teel said the day is an opportunity for students to take what they’ve learned a step further.
“A big part of today is about bringing together all they’ve been learning all year long and applying it to real situations,” Teel said. “It’s one thing to talk about it, and it’s another doing it in a few isolated areas. Now, we’re putting them in situations where they’re the medics and they have to make the call. It puts a whole different perspective on things for them.”