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EMT Basic class to be offered in Rocky Ford
Otero Junior College will be offering a 15-week course in Emergency Medical
Technician-Basic (EMT-B) training in Rocky Ford starting on August 22. The class
will meet every Monday and Thursday evening from August 22 to December 15 from 6
to 10 p.m. at the Gobin Building. The class will also meet one Saturday a month
from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Three years ago, OJC received certification from the Colorado Department for
Public Health and Environment to become an official EMS-Division training center.
Over that three year time period, the program has trained 140 EMT Basic students
and 13 EMT Intermediate students. In an effort to offer EMT training to as many
area residents as possible, OJC has held classes at locations in Las Animas, La
Junta, Ordway, Fowler, and Manzanola. The class that is scheduled to start on
August 22 will be the first class offered in Rocky Ford since the program began.
Throughout the 15-week course, students will follow a curriculum that will
prepare them to take the Colorado EMT-Basic written certification exam and the
Colorado EMT-Basic practical exam. Both exams are given at OJC at no charge.
Students who complete the required coursework and pass the exams will qualify to
be registered through the National Registry of Emergency Medical Technicians as
a Certified EMT Basic. This certification is valid throughout most of the United
States.
According to Brandon Chambers, lead instructor for the upcoming course, the
curriculum will focus on preparing students to have competency skills in six
different areas. Those skills begin with patient assessment and then progress to
the management, immobilization, and administration skills that an EMT-Basic
might be called upon to perform in an emergency situation.
The Colorado Department of Labor predicts that the demand for emergency medical
technicians and paramedics in Colorado will grow by 4.9 percent a year through
2012. The agency reports that the average hourly wage for those with an EMT
certification is close to $15.00 an hour. Employment opportunities, most
commonly associated with EMT Basic positions in metro areas, include working for
ambulance services, fire departments, and hospitals. Rural areas; however, often
utilize those with EMT certifications as volunteers for rural fire departments
and ambulance services.
Heather Dittburner, is one such volunteer. Dittburner has been a volunteer with
the La Junta Rural Fire Department since 2001. She is now certified as an EMT
Intermediate, a higher level certification that allows her to do Advanced Life
Support (ALS) procedures on the scene. “I have been working as an EMT for five
years and I don’t think I could ever stop working in this profession,” said
Dittburner. “Most of us who have trained and are working in the field, have a
passion for the work that is hard to explain to other people. When the call
comes in to respond to a scene, a whole different level of energy takes over.
Your mind begins to systematically assess the situation and all the training you
have had becomes instinctive action and reaction,” she explained.
Dittburner, a graduate of the Otero Junior College EMT Intermediate program in
2004, will be an assistant instructor for the fall class to be held in Rocky
Ford. She has had an additional 40 hours of training to certify her to teach in
the program. “One area that I will concentrate on is providing a lot of hands-on
experiences for the students. They will get to role-play numerous scenarios, so
that they will have some experience and know how to respond to many different
situations that they may encounter as a new EMT,” she said.
Dittburner is a wife, and mother of three, an employee of the Arkansas Valley
Regional Medical Center’s radiology department, and a nursing student at OJC.
Dittburner says her goal is to become a Registered Nurse and eventually a
paramedic. “I want to learn as much as possible about emergency medicine. I love
it…and it’s really hard to explain just why,” she said.
Other former students, who are now working as EMTs, echo Dittburner’s
description of the profession. Margaret Koch, who recently completed the OJC
practical nursing program, went through EMT Basic training two years ago. In
addition to working for the AVRMC and continuing her education to become a
Registered Nurse, Koch volunteers with the La Junta Fire Department where she is
on-call about 50 hours a month. “Some people have wondered why I enjoy this high
action, intensive trauma work. I guess I’m just an ‘adrenaline junkie’ because
when the calls come in, my heart begins to race with anticipation. I love
applying what I’ve learned in school to the real situation,” said Koch.
For more information about the upcoming EMT-Basic course, contact Rocky Mueller
at 719-384-6846 or stop by the OJC Student Service Office at 20th and San Juan
Avenue in La Junta. Fall Semester starts on August 22 at OJC. August 22 is also
the first day of class for the EMT-Basic course.
PHOTO CAPTION: Heather Dittburner, a graduate
of the OJC EMT program, will be an assistant instructor for the EMT Basic class
to be held this fall in Rocky Ford. In addition to the academic curriculum
Dittburner, and lead instructor Brandon Chambers, will be providing students
with many hands-on experiences in the class to prepare them for scenarios they
will encounter once they become certified EMTs.
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