| Jan. 26, 2005
MGHS School of EMT offering
Medical First Responder/EMT classes in March
The School of Emergency
Medical Technology at
Marquette General Health System will again offer a Medical First
Responder /EMT Program beginning
in early March.
Medical First Responders (MFR), the initial level in pre-hospital care, are
responsible for emergency first aid and basic life support of the patient prior
to the arrival of an ambulance.
The MFR course is scheduled to begin on Tuesday, March 8, with a completion
date of May 24. Four-hour classes will be held Tuesday and Thursday evenings,
along with one Saturday session on April 30. The Saturday class will begin
at 9 a.m., and will have a six- and eight-hour block.
The course will be teleconferenced to the following locations: Bay Mills, Helen
Newberry Joy Hospital, Portage Health System in Hancock, MGHS, Keweenaw Memorial
Hospital in Laurium, Ontonagon Memorial Hospital, and Baraga County Memorial
in L’Anse.
The cost of the MFR course is $325, which includes books. National registry
fees and state license fees are the responsibility of the student. Applications
will be accepted until Feb. 15.
Medical First Responders who successfully complete Marquette General Hospital’s
School of Emergency Medical Technology are trained at a higher standard than
what’s required by the National Standard Curriculum and the State of
Michigan.
During the 110-hour program, students will be trained on how to deal with emergencies.
Some of the situations include motor vehicle accidents, falls, chest pain,
cardiac arrests, difficulty breathing, abdominal problems, uncontrolled bleeding,
pediatric emergencies and childbirth.
Students will be trained in a wide variety of medical skills and equipment,
including airway control, backboards, spinal immobilization, oxygen therapy,
patient assessment and splinting.
The program consists of clinical and didactic hours. The clinical portion includes
rotations in pre-hospital and in-hospital settings such as EMS, Emergency Department,
Intensive Care Unit, Operating Room, Respiratory Therapy, etc. The didactic
portion will offer quizzes, homework, lectures, and a written and practical
exam after each module.
Upon successful completion of these requirements, students will be tested by
the National Registry of Emergency Medical Technicians to be eligible for Michigan
licensure.
“The students will be tested on their didactic knowledge, as well as their
practical skills,” said School of EMT Program Director Dennis Karuzas. “Once
this has been completed, the student will be issued a State of Michigan license.”
The National Registry certification is also valid in approximately 40 other
states, Karuzas added.
MGHS, with the assistance of a Rural Health Initiative Grant and U.P. EMS Corporation,
formed the School of Emergency Medical Technology in June 2001. Its goal is
to provide high-quality EMS education that is accessible to rural communities
throughout the Upper Peninsula.
An EMT program will follow the MFR program. This program is an abbreviated
version of the standard EMT curriculum. An MFR course is a prerequisite of
the EMT course.
For more information, or to inquire about teleconference sites, contact Karuzas
(djkaruzas@mgh.org) or Cheryl Koppinger (cjkoppinger@mgh.org) at 1-800-562-9753,
ext. 9753, or 225-7590.
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