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Show PAGE 8 THE THUNDERBIRD MONDAY JANUARY 4, 1988 Emergency training begins next week BY RAJEEV LD Cu ij 5 O u ' BHA5I Today, the Emergency Medical Technician (EMT), is generally the first respondent to the sick and injured. It is his or her job to render assistance and to try and get the sick or injured person to the hospital. The EMT program is a state requirement for all people who work in the ambulance service in the state of Utah, said Robert Tuckett, who conducts the EMT program at SUSC. The program is statewide with standards set by the Utah Department of Health based on guidelines from the U.S. Department of Transportation. It is basically a volunteer system and is primarily concerned with helping people. The program in Iron County is totally from the fees students pay. This is a rt class and is being offered this winter begining Jan. 12 every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. It consists of 120 hours of training including 10 hours of hands-o- n practical experience. The program is affiliated with SUSC, and has been offered for college credit since 1984. It costs $250. It can be used as a prerequisite course for nursing or police science students who wish to understand care of the sick and injured. Most of the lectures are conducted by doctors, nurses and other qualified personnel who volunteer their services. The practical skills are taught by self-suppo- Army ROTC. Army Reserve Officers Training Corps on your resume says you have more than potential, ou have experience. Its the college elective that adds leadership training to your education. And that gives you the kind of decision-makin- g responsibility and experience most other graduates will have to wait years for. Whatever your major, find out more about the college elective that makes your college education more valuable. Talk to your Pofcssor of Military Science, todav Visit him in South Hall (the old Arts Building) between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. or call him pre-me- . d, qualified EMT instructors who work on a rotating basis. The state requires that there be one instructor for every six students for the practical training. There are four levels in the program, each level a little more advanced. You have to spend time in the system before you are allowed to advance. The levels are, EMT(1), which is the basic EMT who is qualified to ride on any ambulance in the state of Utah and to render first aid. The next level is EMT(2), for which you have to have been an EMT(l) for six months. They are permitted to administer IV solutions. Then the EMT(D) who must have been a basic EMT for a year, and has been trained to use the defibrilator on heart attack victims. Finally we have the EMT(P) who are just slightly less trained then paramedics. Utah already has the first two levels and is in the process of setting up a program to train EMT (D)'s. According to Tuckett this is likely to be the highest level here. EMT's also have to every two years to meet the state's requirements on specific subjects and to take both written and practical tests. The bulk of the financial support for the system comes from the county which operates the ambulances. Though the people are charged for the service, the system does not recoup all the costs it incurs, and the EMT's are only paid when they actually render medical aid. |