Sarah Jones
Reporter
The Emergency Medical Services (EMS) department has a new ambulance simulator to use in training EMS personnel. The simulator was bought this year and it used to familiarize students with the conditions that paramedics and EMT workers face when treating patients in the confined space of the ambulance.
“It is so cool – it looks like someone just parked the back of an ambulance into our room,” said Kristin Spencer, EMS program director. “This really helps students get acclimated to the ambulance environment and how challenging it is to provide patient care in a steel box.”
“The real working environment for a student, what I call our office, is the back of an ambulance,” said Ike Isenhower, traditional paramedic program teacher. The simulator recreates that working environment to scale allowing students the opportunity to learn the strengths and limitations of their mobile “office.” The simulator is stocked with items that the students need in their training and the students also have several life size and weighted mannequins to use as patients.
The funds for the simulator, approximately $40,000, where made available through a grant, explains Isenhower. Because the medical field is always growing and changing, the EMS program participants needs to be kept updated on how all the new and different kinds of medical technology works, said Isenhower. Grant money allows the EMS department to purchase the technology and equipment they need to train students properly.
“Crowder has a good program,” said Grayson Carter, paramedic student, comparing the courses provided by Crowder favorably to other schools including OTC.
All of the students in the paramedic class are licensed EMS workers as that is a prerequisite to taking the course. Most of the students have jobs in the EMS field and are using the training that Crowder provides to further their careers and learn more about their profession.
“We have one of the biggest paramedic programs in the state,” said Isenhower. He adds that a shortage of trained paramedics has created demand for skilled workers. The EMS department also overs a hybrid class that allows students to learn from home and come into class for their hands on training and clinical work.
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