aren ’ t able to self-pace and focus will find it difficult to keep up with the pace of the program because of the amount of outside work required . For that reason , the EMT program is only designed for students truly interested in the medical field and willing to put in the work .
“ It ’ s a very rigorous program , and it ’ s not easy ,” he said . “ It takes all four of the pathway courses that they have taken and wraps them into one course . They ’ re doing communications . They ’ re doing medical terminology . They ’ re doing anatomy and physiology . They ’ re doing all the healthcare stuff that puts all of that together .”
On top of the required 60 hours of observation , students must participate in the class , including all its coursework . They also have to finish the online portion of the course outside of school hours . After completing all requirements , students still have to take a 70- to 120-question national board exam , which evaluates a student ’ s knowledge of content . The test is computer adaptive , meaning the questions are increased or decreased in frequency depending on the student ’ s understanding of a certain topic . Only after all this will a student receive an official EMT certification from the National Registry .
Despite the massive amount of work that goes into the program , both Dr . Huff and his students believe Eaton ’ s new certification option to be a worthwhile venture . Rather than taking a course somewhere such as Tarrant County College , Northwest ISD is providing students with a free , yearlong course that gives beneficial trauma training . According to Dr . Huff , only three students out of the 22 students in the program are planning to become EMTs or paramedics . Even if those other 19 students don ’ t become EMTs , the program still teaches information that can be useful in any medical field .
“ You never know in health care what ’ s going to happen and the level of response you are going to have to give ,” Dr . Huff said . “ So , this really drives home the need to understand how everything works and how all of the physiology of the body comes together and changes in ways that you might recognize . You may have your own clinic , but you don ’ t know that your patient isn ’ t going to show up and have some sort of an issue . Now you ’ ve had some sort of experience to be able to help . The bottom line is , when they get out [ of the program ], they should be fully equipped to save someone ’ s life .” n
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