Idaho High School Students Learn about EMS Careers
Sept. 26--TWIN FALLS -- It's a sweltering day and a 40-year-old man spends a few hours working outside.
He arrives at the emergency room with a rapid heart rate. All of a sudden, he loses consciousness.
This was one of the mock scenarios Thursday during the College of Southern Idaho's inaugural Health Occupation Day.
High school students took turns doing chest compressions on a dummy. Then, they checked for a pulse and learned how defibrillation works.
"This is a real quick thing," CSI registered nursing student Shalee Michie told students as they transitioned between roles. "We want to keep this patient alive."
In total, 127 Magic Valley high schoolers who are interested in health careers attended Thursday's event.
"Today is really a day to showcase our programs," said RoseAnna Holliday, CSI allied health instructor and department chairwoman.
Nearly all of the college's 17 health science programs participated.
Students transitioned between stations every 10 minutes outside the college's Health Sciences & Human Services building.
At one station, the mock scenario was a bombing. Injuries included shrapnel wounds, ruptured eardrums, a broken arm and collapsed lung.
Dr. Scott Holliday, an emergency room physician at St. Luke's Magic Valley, explained the steps in caring for patients at the scene and once whey arrive at the ER.
During one session, Lighthouse Christian School student Joey Manning, 18, volunteered to play the role of someone who was seriously injured.
After stabilizing his neck, CSI paramedic students lifted him onto a stretcher.
At another station, a woman had fake blood on her arm. CSI licensed practical nursing students taught teenagers how to clean the wounds.
Jerome High School students Rachel Cook, 17, and Karlee Ortega, 17, are both interested in health careers.
"We're expanding our knowledge so we can start narrowing down our options," Rachel said.
High school students can earn certified nursing assistant (CNA) or emergency medical technician (EMT) certifications through CSI's dual-credit program.
Median pay for nursing assistants was $24,400 per year in 2012, according to the U.S. Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics. For EMTs, median pay was $31,020 per year.
For both professions, the number of jobs is expected to climb more than 20 percent between 2012 and 2020.
And here in the Gem State, health science is among five college degree areas that will be in the highest demand by 2018, according to a May report from Idaho Business for Education.
For students, hands-on experiences provide a glimpse of different health careers, said Jan Hall, internship coordinator at Kimberly High School.
"It kind of makes it more real."
Copyright 2014 - The Times-News, Twin Falls, Idaho
