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EMT-Paramedic Training Class Scores 100 percent pass rate
on National Registry exams
Perfect on the first try.
The most recent group of students to complete Emergency Medical Technician -Paramedic Training Academy at Ohio University Lancaster can claim that distinction as the entire class passed the written and practical National Registry Exam Cognitive Battery on their first attempt. Students represented fire and medic departments and units in Fairfield and surrounding counties.
Mike Smith and Maryann Lape, coordinators of the program, said the June graduates were an exceptional group.
“Small numbers, big results,” Smith said. “The students were eager to participate in class and they set up study groups and invited others in the class to join their groups.”
Students’ training included three four-hour nights each week and one weekend each month for nine months -- nearly 1,300 hours in class. They also received 400 hours of clinical experience at Fairfield Medical Center, Lancaster Fire Department, Grandview Heights Fire Department and Grant Medical Center’s Trauma Unit.
“The training is a huge time commitment: class, clinicals, studying,” Smith said. “It’s two year’s worth of college education in nine months,” he added. Instructors monitor the hours to assure that the students receive sufficient experience. According to Smith, the group’s level of experience surpassed previous classes.
“This group started more IVs than any other class and more advanced airway insertions in surgery under supervision,” Smith said.
The EMT-P curriculum includes courses in anatomy and physiology, the role of the paramedic, patient assessment, trauma, airway management, and cardiac care.
Recent graduate Erika Seager was training for a career in law enforcement when she and her mother, a registered nurse and medic, came upon an accident and stopped to help. That was a turning point in her life. While the class was challenging, Seager noted that the students worked well together.
“The small class was an advantage,” Seager said. “We had more one-on-one time.”
“I’ve been on a couple of medic runs, and I didn’t hesitate,” she added. “The hands-on part flowed really well.” Seager now works full time at Mid Ohio Ambulance and part time at two fire departments, as well as being a volunteer.
Now in its fifth year, the local EMT-Paramedic Training Academy has been re-certified by the State of Ohio, Department of Public Safety, EMS.
Instructors in the program include Jeffrey Bevan, Sharon Boll, Chris Evrard, Joe Farmer, Steve Maffin, Slade Schultz, Brian Smith, Michael Smith, and Ruth Varner. Thomas Vajen, M.D., is the program’s medical director.
To qualify for acceptance into the program, students must be certified in EMT – Basic, for which training also is offered at the Lancaster Campus, pass an exam and complete the interview process. The next EMT – Paramedic course commences September 7.
Anyone interested in either class should contact Maryann Lape at 654.6711, ext. 249, or via e-mail at lape@ohio.edu.
PHOTO: An EMT-P student is assisted by a proctor during the practical portion of the National Registry Exam.
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