A colleague of mine teaches CPR and EMT classes and recently asked me to help out. Yesterday we taught CPR to a group of high school juniors involved in a local project called MedQuest. The students spend a week learning about and shadowing various medical professions, including EMS. We spent about 4 hours with them and I was pleasantly surprised to find out that several of the students had already had CPR and were interested in EMS. I was able to put in a plug for our local squads by telling them to be proactive...if you want to volunteer or work for your local squad, let them know. Even at age 16 or 17, there are some squads that will let you ride and use your skills up to your cert level, and at 18 you can move up to EMT or beyond. The squads rarely have the time for recruitment, but almost always have a need for additional members.
I also got to help out at a "final class before testing" EMT-B class last night. Sure, I was lured there by the promise of a barbeque (which was excellent!), but I ended up helping them practice practical stations and reviewing what they'd learned. What a great way to beef up those BLS skills as well as helping others in EMS. Here's some pics from that class, held in Georgia, VT.
(That's me with the NRB on. Love that high flow O2!!)
