Nine eager students trickled into class at the Student Recreation Wellness Center on Dec. 2 for a three hour lecture that began at 9 a.m and ended at 12 p.m with a written test.
In an official flyer, it was advertised that students would be using a scenario-based approach, to develop critical thinking and problem-solving skills that drive better patient outcomes.
Students practiced breathing and cardiac emergency methods including CPR, AED and other obstructed airway techniques for adult, child and infant patients.
Mike Freeman, the aquatic and safety coordinator and former EMT, served as instructor for the class.
“In the beginning, we offer three classes but we noticed that people wouldn’t take the first two. They would wait till the end of the semester to take the classes,” Freeman said. “So after seeing that no one would show up in the beginning, we decided to only have one class at the end on a Saturday.”
The cost of the class ranged between $65 to $85. Students expressed different reasons on why they took the class such as putting it on their resume for job opportunities, EMT requirements or simply just because it seemed interesting.
With his unique teaching style, Freeman mixes pop culture references in his lessons to better connect with students.
“I try to find fun analogies that work for the group because since I’m a bit age-removed,” said Freeman. He references media such as Naruto, Breaking Bad and Spiderman as they have medical moments relevant to the lessons.
Students were paired off and became comfortable with practices like ventilation as well as utilizing bag valve masks.
In a repetitive cycle, students recreated the scene of assessing a situation by counting to 10, calling 911, checking for a pulse and then practicing ventilation with a bag valve mask on adult on infant manikins.
A highlight of the teaching was when Freeman instructed students to be comfortable with their voices.
“Because of the nature of what we are doing, we have to be loud,” Freeman said. “You need to be commanding in the situation.”
By the end of the course, students were more confident through the encouragement and repetitive nature of the tasks.
A lasting impression of the course was when Freeman emphasized the importance of having the skill set of basic life support.
“Do you believe in teleportation?” Freeman asked the class, “EMS can’t teleport. Some places you are going to be the only person to be dependent on.”