Organization handles online EMT certification gaps
When Kelvin Nguyen was a senior in high school, he obtained his Emergency Medical Technician certification after nine months of in-person training that consisted of ride-alongs, shifts at hospitals and training with dummies. Nguyen went through the normal application process. He was able to apply what he learned in the classroom to real life situations.
But, with the onset of the pandemic, the certification process changed drastically. When schools moved to an online format because of safety issues surrounding the pandemic, the EMT certification process also changed to an online format. Although EMTs who obtained their certification during the pandemic learned the same information as past EMTs, such as Nguyen, they missed parts of the training, such as working with dummies and running through emergency medical scenarios in real life.
“There’s one thing to learn how to treat a broken finger and there’s another thing to actually see a broken finger and know how to do it,” Nguyen said. “It takes a lot of mental focus to actually do that, and if you haven’t been exposed to that some people would freeze up.”
The Emergency Medical Services of the University of Southern California is a student-run organization that trains USC students to become EMTs, while also providing medical services to students and the surrounding campus community. During USC-sponsored events, including football tailgates and concerts, student EMTs are available on standby to provide first aid. Although EMSC members already obtained their EMT certification, the organization supplies constant training to EMTs to help them maintain their skills.
“We have [our active members] go through skills training,” said Nguyen, EMSC’s director of finance. “We give our members a scenario of a patient that we would see on campus, and it is their job to determine what’s wrong with that patient and to provide the proper treatment.”
New members don’t require more training than others, but they do need more practical experience in order to boost their confidence because they were never able to physically practice what they learned during their online EMT certification, Ferrero said. But for other EMSC members who work as EMTs outside of USC, they have more experience.
However, challenges with training EMSC’s newest members — those who were completely new to the field and those who were trained by an outside party — surfaced during the pandemic.
Nicholas Cortez, a junior majoring in human biology, joined EMSC as a probationary member this semester, meaning that in order to remain in the program, he must avoid getting three strikes. Strikes are accumulated by failing a test or failing to show up to weekly meetings. Prior to joining, Cortez obtained his certification in Orange County, but he is currently undergoing more training with EMSC.
Cortez said he completed most of his certification process on Zoom, but for the final exam, he had to go to a testing site where he worked with dummies. He said he underwent practical exams where he was asked how we would approach different medical scenarios.
“I got my certification super recently, so I got it just before this summer,” Cortez said. “This is sort of my first step as an EMT, and I’m planning on using this experience to work in the future as an EMT.”
Christina Ferrero, a junior majoring in human biology, serves as the organization’s director of training. With her EMT certification done completely in person, Ferrero worked to determine ways to best emulate her training in an online setting for new members that joined during the pandemic.
“In terms of training considerations, it has been a bit of a challenge trying to help people gain those skills that would normally be attained in person in an online setting,” Ferrero said. “It’s not the same, not being able to actually touch your patient. That’s such an important part of being able to provide good care.”
Ferrero said the inability to learn and practice necessary skills in person “affected students quite a bit.”
“I’m not sure that there’s necessarily any lapse in EMT knowledge that can be obtained in the classroom, but when you haven’t had the ability to talk to patients and gain those in-person skills, there’s a big confidence issue that presents itself,” Ferrero said.
Although students who completed EMT online training missed the in-person experience, Nguyen said the lack of in-person training did not make the new members worse.
“They all know the knowledge in which it takes to become an EMT, and because of our application process and how rigorous it is, we made sure that we could put trust in them treating a patient on campus, even if they haven’t done that in a while or they haven’t done it at all,” Nguyen said.
While the online certification process created some issues, Ferrero said EMSC is ensuring its EMTs are up to the test by putting them through an intensive application process and additional training.
“Most of these people haven’t done EMT stuff in a year and a half, some of these people may have never even utilized their certification,” Ferrero said. “So we actually conducted pre-employment testing for all of our members and [are] making sure that they retained those skills and are ready to go back into the field.”
Throughout Cortez’s probationary membership period, he is required to attend weekly meetings where he is put through scenario-based training and examinations that ensure he retains his EMT training.
“[The organization] stresses that it’s about the time commitment of a two-unit course,” Cortez said. “It’s super easy to forget what you learn in your course because there’s so much you’re learning in so little time so they really want to make sure you know everything.”
As EMSC transitions from virtual training, the organization looks to continue addressing the issues created by the online certification of their newest members.
“That’s a big role of EMSC,” Ferrero said. “We want to be able to boost your confidence as a healthcare provider because you know what to do. You just need the practice and the training.”