January 9, 2024 • 15 mins
Paramedicine offers an exciting and challenging career within the Emergency Medical Services field. Paramedics are vital members of the quick-response healthcare team, providing an advanced level of care in the pre-hospital environment under the direction of a physician. Paramedics prioritize patient needs and perform patient assessment, providing advanced life support in situations where trauma, respiratory, diabetic, behavioral, cardiac, allergic, poisoning, and childbirth emergencies might exist.
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Episode Transcript
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Grace Thompson (00:02):
You learn so much, not only about emergency medicine and
how to take care of a patient, but how to
be a good person.
Beau Witcher (00:08):
And so at the end of the day, we do
see things that the normal person wouldn't see, but it's
one of those few professions where we could actually do
something about it.
Steven Fearon (00:16):
If you graduate our program, I know exactly what kind
of clinician you are because we mold you into good professionals,
talented individuals.
Narrator (00:24):
98 seven Chatt Tech. Where 98.7% of our students earn
a career. On this episode, we'll be discussing the paramedicine
EMT and AEMT programs. We'll be hearing from instructors, a graduate,
a current student, and an employer for Metro Ambulance that
partners with Chattahoochee Tech. So let's get started and meet
our first instructor.
Ryan Dehnert (00:43):
My name is Ryan Dehnert, and I serve as the
program director for the EMS programs at Chattahoochee Technical College.
That includes EMT, advanced EMT, and paramedic. And then I
also serve as the lead paramedic instructor for our programs.
Narrator (00:55):
Ryan, can you talk about being in emergency medical services?
Ryan Dehnert (00:58):
Most of the time when people think EMS, emergency medical services,
they do oftentimes think ambulance. And I would say is
the bulk of where most students end up working. If
a person gets their EMT license. Again, readily available jobs
out there on ambulances all over the state and not
just in our state, but all over the nation, which
is nice. And so that's one of the perks about
getting this sort of a license level, is that wherever
(01:18):
a person decides to work, whether they work in a
rural setting or an urban setting, whether they're in Georgia
or they're in Kentucky or Oregon, whatever the case might be,
this is the sort of license that's going to give
them job opportunities wherever they go. That being said, ambulances
are all over the nation, but there are other places
that people work as well. Fire departments run roughly about 15%
of a fire department's call on average is fire calls.
(01:40):
The other 85% are usually either medical or trauma and nature.
And so fire departments are running a lot of injuries
and illness calls. And so it makes sense for fire
departments to be utilizing EMS licensed personnel. And so many
fire departments require that of the personnel that they be
at least EMTs, advanced EMTs, or even paramedics. And so
having this license will open up opportunities for working with
(02:02):
fire departments, also hospitals, sometimes EMTs, advanced EMTs may be
in like a tech sort of setting, maybe like a
patient care tech or an E.R. tech. If a person
is a paramedic, then there are opportunities to work. For instance,
in like an E.R., working alongside RNs and providing patient care.
More and more hospitals are recruiting paramedics to work in
that capacity. With some of the nursing shortages that have
(02:24):
been seen in different hospitals as well. In addition to that,
if a person has a paramedic license, there are a
number of critical care opportunities out there. So things like
rotary wing transport, working on a helicopter. I did that
for several years before taking the position here at the college.
I worked as a flight paramedic alongside with a flight nurse,
and so that's one opportunity. Also, there are fixed wing opportunities.
(02:45):
There's several companies in the area. When I say fixed wing,
talking about airplanes, that will take patients from state to
state or even from one country to another, and those
are going to be staffed usually by a paramedic, a nurse,
possibly a physician. So again, having that license level opens
up some pretty neat opportunities in that capacity as well.
And then really anywhere where it could be hard to get,
(03:06):
let's just say an ambulance to quickly. So if you
think about a place like Six Flags, a number of
our students have gone and they've worked part time at
like Six Flags or Whitewater providing EMS care there. You know,
I met a guy one time who worked on an
oil rig and and that was where he worked. He
worked there for three weeks at a time, and then
he would be off for three weeks. And so really,
anywhere again, where it can be hard to get medical
care factories, you'll see EMS providers working there and then
(03:28):
also teaching. If a person, you know decides to move
down that pathway, there's lots of opportunity for education as well,
which is where obviously I have landed with my profession.
Beau Witcher (03:36):
Thanks, Ryan. My name is Beau Witcher. I'm a paramedic and
a firefighter with Cherokee County Fire. Um, I'm an alumni
and an employee with Chattahoochee Tech. I'm adjunct part time
paramedic and EMT instructor with Chattahoochee Tech, and that's me.
Narrator (03:51):
Let's talk about how long the EMT and EMT programs
are and what's the difference between them.
Beau Witcher (03:56):
So I've been through both Chattahoochee EMT program, which is
their EMT to advance EMT, which is a year long.
And then I did the paramedic program, which is a
year and a half long, and that gave me all
my my initial training for EMS to get started in
my career and start working for Bartow County as a paramedic,
working for their EMS service, and then moving over to
(04:19):
Cherokee County for their fire department as a paramedic and firefighter.
Narrator (04:22):
What's it like being in your line of work?
Beau Witcher (04:24):
EMS is I don't want to say it's a thankless
profession because we we get a lot of love from
the community, but it's one of the professions that is
very rewarding. We see people and in sometimes the worst
days of their lives in the worst ways possible. But
we get the training and the know how to take
care of them, to be there, to hold their hand,
(04:44):
to save their life, to give them the necessary treatments
that they need. And so at the end of the day,
we do see things that the normal person wouldn't see,
but it's one of those few professions where we could
actually do something about it. It's very rewarding.
Narrator (04:58):
That's interesting. Now let's meet our third instructor.
Steven Fearon (05:00):
My name is Steven Fearon. I'm the EMT AEMT instructor
at Chattahoochee Tech. I grew up in Flint, Michigan, right
in the center. Worked there for my first 3 or
4 years or so as an EMT paramedic, and finished
the rest of my career out as a paramedic on
an ambulance for a grand total of around 15 years here.
(05:23):
And I'm completing now my second year of teaching at
Chattahoochee Tech.
Narrator (05:27):
Let's talk about class size and what are they all about?
Steven Fearon (05:30):
EMS is broken down into three licensure for pre-hospital care EMT,
advanced EMT, and then paramedic. And I teach the first
of those two licensure. As far as class size we
have a seating size of about 30. I love teaching,
I always tell them fill the class up well, I'll
bring chairs and line them up in the hallway if
we have to. And we've yet to have to essentially
(05:52):
turn many people away. Usually it's only 1 or 2.
We'll go through the EMT program. Licensure is about two semesters.
And then a EMT, much like a advanced hat on
top of the EMT, is another semester after that.
Narrator (06:04):
So EMT is the first level and AEMT is next level.
What's the difference?
Steven Fearon (06:09):
That's correct. Basically you say, hey, I'm going to do
medical stuff, I want to get on an ambulance. I say, well,
you know, we can start you in an hour program.
And inside of we have two programs. One that's kind
of an expedited. So I can say within one side
of 4 or 6 months, depending on your choice, we
can put you in people's homes, taking care of them,
transporting them to the hospital. You say, great, I want more.
I want more responsibility. I want access to medications. I
(06:32):
want more interventions. I say, okay, will you make 1
or 2 choices? You can go on to an advanced
EMT program, which allows you more access and will only
take you several months to complete. You'll get more money
from the companies you work for, opens more doors, or
you can start a 12 to 16 month program, which
is paramedicine, which is going to give you substantially more
access to interventions. So to sum that up, you become
(06:55):
an EMT to get on an ambulance and then you
make a choice. Do you want to be an advanced
EMT or do you want to move on to paramedicine.
And that choice is made based often on life goals.
Because EMS is a very launching pad career. You can
launch into fire police. There are bridge programs to turn
your degree into a nursing degree without having to retake
sciences and the like, but what you're really trying to
(07:16):
decide is, do I want the responsibility? Right? Because as
an AEMT, you are largely an orphan. If you're not
working EMT, EMT truck, you're working with a paramedic, and
the paramedic is making a very strong leadership decisions and
is taking a substantial amount of responsibility on patient care
and the like.
Narrator (07:36):
Aaaah. Gotcha. What's a typical day in the classroom look like?
Steven Fearon (07:38):
In our program? You know, we break it down most
days into a half and half experience where we're lecturing
from 830 to noon. You go to lunch, come back,
and then we finish out the day until five, doing
simulated lab experiences where we're really practicing stuff, and there
is a lot of didactic portions to it. Put very simply,
(07:58):
even if you're very charming, if you don't know the numbers,
if you don't know normal blood pressures, if you don't
know doses, you know you're going to really struggle and
potentially hurt people. So the both of those aspects, it's
an interesting dynamic where you need a person who can
both communicate and be a leader, as well as retain
a lot of information.
Narrator (08:16):
Now that we've met our instructors and learned about the programs,
let's talk with the graduate and a current student.
Kianna Fournier (08:20):
I'm Kianna Fournier. I graduated Chatt Tech's AEMT program back in
May of this past 2023 year currently working for Cherokee
Fire Department.
Narrator (08:30):
How was your experience in the EMT program?
Kianna Fournier (08:32):
I really enjoyed going through Chatt Tech's program. It really aids
your learning and your studying and everything. Just like you
get 50% you're doing lecture and the other 50% you're
doing lab time. So you really get a bunch of
hands on as well as book stuff. You know, the
(08:52):
teachers are great. The adjuncts that are down there really
like just set up the entire experience of, like, you're
in a real life scenario working on an actual patient.
We have different lab rooms that just help set mock
scenarios up that really you wouldn't get doing it out
(09:13):
like on an online program or anything like that. So
you really get that stress inhibitor and everything and learn
how to deal with that.
Narrator (09:22):
What's your story about enrolling in the program?
Kianna Fournier (09:24):
I looked at other programs and none of them really
seemed very none of them really jumped out at me.
I knew several people that went through Chatt Tech's AEMT program,
and they all said great, amazing things about it. I'm
really glad that I did choose this route. You know,
one of the things when I was looking was like,
(09:45):
what can I go through the quickest time to get
me the same outcome? And the more I looked into
it and did my own research on like EMS and
stuff like that, I was like, well, maybe it's not
the best thing to just rush in and go through
a program that. You say three months because you just
don't get that experience of that hands on portion as
(10:07):
well as the book time portion. You know, you also
the students that you're going through with it, like you're
going through it together and you really bond with, you know,
the people around you because you're all going through the
same thing and like going through that same experience and whatnot,
and you're able to help each other and open up
new doors of like seeing things, different ways and just
(10:30):
you're constantly learning every day. You're like, you're a sponge
and just soaking all the information in. So it's really great.
Narrator (10:37):
And what are your thoughts about the instructors?
Kianna Fournier (10:39):
I think they're awesome. Oh, you have Ryan Dehnert down
there and King and Fearon and they all really they're
always a click of a button on your phone. You know,
if you need anything, if you need help, you know,
if you need help studying, if you need help with
your clinicals, anything of the sort, they're always there. They
really get to know you and your the amount of
(11:01):
time you're there, you're spending and everything. So it's really awesome.
And you know, there's a level of compassion and just
understanding and they really invest in you as much as
you invest in the program.
Narrator (11:15):
Thanks, Kianna. And now let's meet a current student.
Grace Thompson (11:17):
I am, uh, Grace Thompson. I'm in the Chattahoochee Tech
EMT program.
Narrator (11:23):
Grace, what sparked your interest in the program?
Grace Thompson (11:25):
I enrolled so that I could become an EMT. I
had seen lots of EMTs in action, and I thought
that was such a wonderful job. And I did some
research and found Chattahoochee Tech. And their program is wonderful.
And here I am.
Narrator (11:40):
Can you talk about your experience in the classroom?
Grace Thompson (11:42):
It was very intense, but it was all worth it.
We have class two days a week all day, and
then we have clinicals along with that. But it is
such an enjoyable class that I've never I've never not
enjoyed a moment of it.
Narrator (11:55):
What would you say to someone contemplating enrolling?
Grace Thompson (11:57):
I would just say it's a lot of a lot
of hard work, but it is so worth it. The
people that you get to interact with are amazing. You
learn so much, not only about emergency medicine and how
to take care of a patient, but how to be
a good person, how to connect with people, how to
be a good leader and a good follower, how to
(12:18):
just help people in the worst days. Even if emergency
medicine isn't your favorite thing, you will come to love
the profession just through interacting with people.
Narrator (12:28):
Of course, when students graduate, they need a job. Let's
talk with an employer that partners with Chattahoochee Tech.
Lisa Birkinbine (12:33):
My name is Lisa Birkinbine . I'm the manager of
clinical and educational services at Metro Atlanta Ambulance Service, have
been on Chattahoochee Tech's EMS advisory board for many years, but
I've served as the employer representative, and I also get
to help schedule the student clinicals. So they ride with
us while they're in school and I do all that scheduling.
Narrator (12:56):
Can you tell us more about Metro Ambulance Service?
Lisa Birkinbine (12:58):
So Metro Atlanta is a large For-Profit private email service
that services Cobb County, Bartow County, and Paulding County for
911 as long as several of the Metro Atlanta area
hospitals for inter facility service. We employ close to 700
licensed EMS folks and provide both emergency and non-emergency transport.
(13:21):
We employ EMTs at all different levels, so we'll use
you from the EMT level up to the paramedic level.
We have spots for everybody.
Narrator (13:29):
What do you think about hiring Chatt Tech graduates?
Lisa Birkinbine (13:31):
Um, we have found that over the years they have
always been well prepared, well educated, great entry level providers.
It's very rare that I'll have someone who went to
Chattahoochee Tech that is not ready to hit the ground running,
both when they come for rides and when they come
on as new employees. So I do a lot of
the onboarding here. And so Chattahoochee Tech students are usually
(13:52):
some of my favorites because they're familiar with the way
that we run. They're also familiar with the way that
we document. And it makes the transition from school to
employee a really easy one.
Narrator (14:02):
You said you have close to 700 employees. Out of curiosity,
how many have come from Chatt Tech?
Lisa Birkinbine (14:07):
We've had a fair amount of Chattahoochee Tech graduates come
to us. But I do know that at times we've
had almost full orientation classes of 12 or 15 people
that are all from Chattahoochee Tech that we've brought on
at the same time, like right after a licensing period.
And that's really exciting to see, because then they all
know each other and they all get to start the
job together.
Narrator (14:28):
Instructor Fearon, I want to give you the last words.
Steven Fearon (14:30):
I remember interviewing here for the position of instructor at
Chatt Tech, and just being blown away by the amount
of rooms and facilities, the ambulance simulator, the dummies that
can simulate breathing and cyanosis of the lips, the different
lung conditions. They can simulate blood pressure. I was absolutely
blown away by the capability of the lab space, and
(14:53):
then blown away by the consideration of the instructors. When
you come through Chatt ech, you are absolutely emmersed in the field,
when HR departments from various ambulance services call me, they
will ask, hey, this person went to Chatt Tech, what do
you think about them? You know, if you graduate our program,
I know exactly what kind of clinician you are because
(15:14):
we mold you into good professionals, talented individuals. And you
were just given so much exposure here.
Narrator (15:22):
Chatt Tech. The College of Real World Training and how our communities
are stronger and better, thanks to the thousands of Chatt
Tech graduates in our local workforce. For more information about
the paramedicine EMT program at Chattahoochee Tech, visit Chattahoochee Tech EDU.
Thanks for listening to 98 seven Chatt Tech, where 98.7% of
our students earn a career.
You learn so much, not only about emergency medicine and
how to take care of a patient, but how to
be a good person.
Beau Witcher (00:08):
And so at the end of the day, we do
see things that the normal person wouldn't see, but it's
one of those few professions where we could actually do
something about it.
Steven Fearon (00:16):
If you graduate our program, I know exactly what kind
of clinician you are because we mold you into good professionals,
talented individuals.
Narrator (00:24):
98 seven Chatt Tech. Where 98.7% of our students earn
a career. On this episode, we'll be discussing the paramedicine
EMT and AEMT programs. We'll be hearing from instructors, a graduate,
a current student, and an employer for Metro Ambulance that
partners with Chattahoochee Tech. So let's get started and meet
our first instructor.
Ryan Dehnert (00:43):
My name is Ryan Dehnert, and I serve as the
program director for the EMS programs at Chattahoochee Technical College.
That includes EMT, advanced EMT, and paramedic. And then I
also serve as the lead paramedic instructor for our programs.
Narrator (00:55):
Ryan, can you talk about being in emergency medical services?
Ryan Dehnert (00:58):
Most of the time when people think EMS, emergency medical services,
they do oftentimes think ambulance. And I would say is
the bulk of where most students end up working. If
a person gets their EMT license. Again, readily available jobs
out there on ambulances all over the state and not
just in our state, but all over the nation, which
is nice. And so that's one of the perks about
getting this sort of a license level, is that wherever
(01:18):
a person decides to work, whether they work in a
rural setting or an urban setting, whether they're in Georgia
or they're in Kentucky or Oregon, whatever the case might be,
this is the sort of license that's going to give
them job opportunities wherever they go. That being said, ambulances
are all over the nation, but there are other places
that people work as well. Fire departments run roughly about 15%
of a fire department's call on average is fire calls.
(01:40):
The other 85% are usually either medical or trauma and nature.
And so fire departments are running a lot of injuries
and illness calls. And so it makes sense for fire
departments to be utilizing EMS licensed personnel. And so many
fire departments require that of the personnel that they be
at least EMTs, advanced EMTs, or even paramedics. And so
having this license will open up opportunities for working with
(02:02):
fire departments, also hospitals, sometimes EMTs, advanced EMTs may be
in like a tech sort of setting, maybe like a
patient care tech or an E.R. tech. If a person
is a paramedic, then there are opportunities to work. For instance,
in like an E.R., working alongside RNs and providing patient care.
More and more hospitals are recruiting paramedics to work in
that capacity. With some of the nursing shortages that have
(02:24):
been seen in different hospitals as well. In addition to that,
if a person has a paramedic license, there are a
number of critical care opportunities out there. So things like
rotary wing transport, working on a helicopter. I did that
for several years before taking the position here at the college.
I worked as a flight paramedic alongside with a flight nurse,
and so that's one opportunity. Also, there are fixed wing opportunities.
(02:45):
There's several companies in the area. When I say fixed wing,
talking about airplanes, that will take patients from state to
state or even from one country to another, and those
are going to be staffed usually by a paramedic, a nurse,
possibly a physician. So again, having that license level opens
up some pretty neat opportunities in that capacity as well.
And then really anywhere where it could be hard to get,
(03:06):
let's just say an ambulance to quickly. So if you
think about a place like Six Flags, a number of
our students have gone and they've worked part time at
like Six Flags or Whitewater providing EMS care there. You know,
I met a guy one time who worked on an
oil rig and and that was where he worked. He
worked there for three weeks at a time, and then
he would be off for three weeks. And so really,
anywhere again, where it can be hard to get medical
care factories, you'll see EMS providers working there and then
(03:28):
also teaching. If a person, you know decides to move
down that pathway, there's lots of opportunity for education as well,
which is where obviously I have landed with my profession.
Beau Witcher (03:36):
Thanks, Ryan. My name is Beau Witcher. I'm a paramedic and
a firefighter with Cherokee County Fire. Um, I'm an alumni
and an employee with Chattahoochee Tech. I'm adjunct part time
paramedic and EMT instructor with Chattahoochee Tech, and that's me.
Narrator (03:51):
Let's talk about how long the EMT and EMT programs
are and what's the difference between them.
Beau Witcher (03:56):
So I've been through both Chattahoochee EMT program, which is
their EMT to advance EMT, which is a year long.
And then I did the paramedic program, which is a
year and a half long, and that gave me all
my my initial training for EMS to get started in
my career and start working for Bartow County as a paramedic,
working for their EMS service, and then moving over to
(04:19):
Cherokee County for their fire department as a paramedic and firefighter.
Narrator (04:22):
What's it like being in your line of work?
Beau Witcher (04:24):
EMS is I don't want to say it's a thankless
profession because we we get a lot of love from
the community, but it's one of the professions that is
very rewarding. We see people and in sometimes the worst
days of their lives in the worst ways possible. But
we get the training and the know how to take
care of them, to be there, to hold their hand,
(04:44):
to save their life, to give them the necessary treatments
that they need. And so at the end of the day,
we do see things that the normal person wouldn't see,
but it's one of those few professions where we could
actually do something about it. It's very rewarding.
Narrator (04:58):
That's interesting. Now let's meet our third instructor.
Steven Fearon (05:00):
My name is Steven Fearon. I'm the EMT AEMT instructor
at Chattahoochee Tech. I grew up in Flint, Michigan, right
in the center. Worked there for my first 3 or
4 years or so as an EMT paramedic, and finished
the rest of my career out as a paramedic on
an ambulance for a grand total of around 15 years here.
(05:23):
And I'm completing now my second year of teaching at
Chattahoochee Tech.
Narrator (05:27):
Let's talk about class size and what are they all about?
Steven Fearon (05:30):
EMS is broken down into three licensure for pre-hospital care EMT,
advanced EMT, and then paramedic. And I teach the first
of those two licensure. As far as class size we
have a seating size of about 30. I love teaching,
I always tell them fill the class up well, I'll
bring chairs and line them up in the hallway if
we have to. And we've yet to have to essentially
(05:52):
turn many people away. Usually it's only 1 or 2.
We'll go through the EMT program. Licensure is about two semesters.
And then a EMT, much like a advanced hat on
top of the EMT, is another semester after that.
Narrator (06:04):
So EMT is the first level and AEMT is next level.
What's the difference?
Steven Fearon (06:09):
That's correct. Basically you say, hey, I'm going to do
medical stuff, I want to get on an ambulance. I say, well,
you know, we can start you in an hour program.
And inside of we have two programs. One that's kind
of an expedited. So I can say within one side
of 4 or 6 months, depending on your choice, we
can put you in people's homes, taking care of them,
transporting them to the hospital. You say, great, I want more.
I want more responsibility. I want access to medications. I
(06:32):
want more interventions. I say, okay, will you make 1
or 2 choices? You can go on to an advanced
EMT program, which allows you more access and will only
take you several months to complete. You'll get more money
from the companies you work for, opens more doors, or
you can start a 12 to 16 month program, which
is paramedicine, which is going to give you substantially more
access to interventions. So to sum that up, you become
(06:55):
an EMT to get on an ambulance and then you
make a choice. Do you want to be an advanced
EMT or do you want to move on to paramedicine.
And that choice is made based often on life goals.
Because EMS is a very launching pad career. You can
launch into fire police. There are bridge programs to turn
your degree into a nursing degree without having to retake
sciences and the like, but what you're really trying to
(07:16):
decide is, do I want the responsibility? Right? Because as
an AEMT, you are largely an orphan. If you're not
working EMT, EMT truck, you're working with a paramedic, and
the paramedic is making a very strong leadership decisions and
is taking a substantial amount of responsibility on patient care
and the like.
Narrator (07:36):
Aaaah. Gotcha. What's a typical day in the classroom look like?
Steven Fearon (07:38):
In our program? You know, we break it down most
days into a half and half experience where we're lecturing
from 830 to noon. You go to lunch, come back,
and then we finish out the day until five, doing
simulated lab experiences where we're really practicing stuff, and there
is a lot of didactic portions to it. Put very simply,
(07:58):
even if you're very charming, if you don't know the numbers,
if you don't know normal blood pressures, if you don't
know doses, you know you're going to really struggle and
potentially hurt people. So the both of those aspects, it's
an interesting dynamic where you need a person who can
both communicate and be a leader, as well as retain
a lot of information.
Narrator (08:16):
Now that we've met our instructors and learned about the programs,
let's talk with the graduate and a current student.
Kianna Fournier (08:20):
I'm Kianna Fournier. I graduated Chatt Tech's AEMT program back in
May of this past 2023 year currently working for Cherokee
Fire Department.
Narrator (08:30):
How was your experience in the EMT program?
Kianna Fournier (08:32):
I really enjoyed going through Chatt Tech's program. It really aids
your learning and your studying and everything. Just like you
get 50% you're doing lecture and the other 50% you're
doing lab time. So you really get a bunch of
hands on as well as book stuff. You know, the
(08:52):
teachers are great. The adjuncts that are down there really
like just set up the entire experience of, like, you're
in a real life scenario working on an actual patient.
We have different lab rooms that just help set mock
scenarios up that really you wouldn't get doing it out
(09:13):
like on an online program or anything like that. So
you really get that stress inhibitor and everything and learn
how to deal with that.
Narrator (09:22):
What's your story about enrolling in the program?
Kianna Fournier (09:24):
I looked at other programs and none of them really
seemed very none of them really jumped out at me.
I knew several people that went through Chatt Tech's AEMT program,
and they all said great, amazing things about it. I'm
really glad that I did choose this route. You know,
one of the things when I was looking was like,
(09:45):
what can I go through the quickest time to get
me the same outcome? And the more I looked into
it and did my own research on like EMS and
stuff like that, I was like, well, maybe it's not
the best thing to just rush in and go through
a program that. You say three months because you just
don't get that experience of that hands on portion as
(10:07):
well as the book time portion. You know, you also
the students that you're going through with it, like you're
going through it together and you really bond with, you know,
the people around you because you're all going through the
same thing and like going through that same experience and whatnot,
and you're able to help each other and open up
new doors of like seeing things, different ways and just
(10:30):
you're constantly learning every day. You're like, you're a sponge
and just soaking all the information in. So it's really great.
Narrator (10:37):
And what are your thoughts about the instructors?
Kianna Fournier (10:39):
I think they're awesome. Oh, you have Ryan Dehnert down
there and King and Fearon and they all really they're
always a click of a button on your phone. You know,
if you need anything, if you need help, you know,
if you need help studying, if you need help with
your clinicals, anything of the sort, they're always there. They
really get to know you and your the amount of
(11:01):
time you're there, you're spending and everything. So it's really awesome.
And you know, there's a level of compassion and just
understanding and they really invest in you as much as
you invest in the program.
Narrator (11:15):
Thanks, Kianna. And now let's meet a current student.
Grace Thompson (11:17):
I am, uh, Grace Thompson. I'm in the Chattahoochee Tech
EMT program.
Narrator (11:23):
Grace, what sparked your interest in the program?
Grace Thompson (11:25):
I enrolled so that I could become an EMT. I
had seen lots of EMTs in action, and I thought
that was such a wonderful job. And I did some
research and found Chattahoochee Tech. And their program is wonderful.
And here I am.
Narrator (11:40):
Can you talk about your experience in the classroom?
Grace Thompson (11:42):
It was very intense, but it was all worth it.
We have class two days a week all day, and
then we have clinicals along with that. But it is
such an enjoyable class that I've never I've never not
enjoyed a moment of it.
Narrator (11:55):
What would you say to someone contemplating enrolling?
Grace Thompson (11:57):
I would just say it's a lot of a lot
of hard work, but it is so worth it. The
people that you get to interact with are amazing. You
learn so much, not only about emergency medicine and how
to take care of a patient, but how to be
a good person, how to connect with people, how to
be a good leader and a good follower, how to
(12:18):
just help people in the worst days. Even if emergency
medicine isn't your favorite thing, you will come to love
the profession just through interacting with people.
Narrator (12:28):
Of course, when students graduate, they need a job. Let's
talk with an employer that partners with Chattahoochee Tech.
Lisa Birkinbine (12:33):
My name is Lisa Birkinbine . I'm the manager of
clinical and educational services at Metro Atlanta Ambulance Service, have
been on Chattahoochee Tech's EMS advisory board for many years, but
I've served as the employer representative, and I also get
to help schedule the student clinicals. So they ride with
us while they're in school and I do all that scheduling.
Narrator (12:56):
Can you tell us more about Metro Ambulance Service?
Lisa Birkinbine (12:58):
So Metro Atlanta is a large For-Profit private email service
that services Cobb County, Bartow County, and Paulding County for
911 as long as several of the Metro Atlanta area
hospitals for inter facility service. We employ close to 700
licensed EMS folks and provide both emergency and non-emergency transport.
(13:21):
We employ EMTs at all different levels, so we'll use
you from the EMT level up to the paramedic level.
We have spots for everybody.
Narrator (13:29):
What do you think about hiring Chatt Tech graduates?
Lisa Birkinbine (13:31):
Um, we have found that over the years they have
always been well prepared, well educated, great entry level providers.
It's very rare that I'll have someone who went to
Chattahoochee Tech that is not ready to hit the ground running,
both when they come for rides and when they come
on as new employees. So I do a lot of
the onboarding here. And so Chattahoochee Tech students are usually
(13:52):
some of my favorites because they're familiar with the way
that we run. They're also familiar with the way that
we document. And it makes the transition from school to
employee a really easy one.
Narrator (14:02):
You said you have close to 700 employees. Out of curiosity,
how many have come from Chatt Tech?
Lisa Birkinbine (14:07):
We've had a fair amount of Chattahoochee Tech graduates come
to us. But I do know that at times we've
had almost full orientation classes of 12 or 15 people
that are all from Chattahoochee Tech that we've brought on
at the same time, like right after a licensing period.
And that's really exciting to see, because then they all
know each other and they all get to start the
job together.
Narrator (14:28):
Instructor Fearon, I want to give you the last words.
Steven Fearon (14:30):
I remember interviewing here for the position of instructor at
Chatt Tech, and just being blown away by the amount
of rooms and facilities, the ambulance simulator, the dummies that
can simulate breathing and cyanosis of the lips, the different
lung conditions. They can simulate blood pressure. I was absolutely
blown away by the capability of the lab space, and
(14:53):
then blown away by the consideration of the instructors. When
you come through Chatt ech, you are absolutely emmersed in the field,
when HR departments from various ambulance services call me, they
will ask, hey, this person went to Chatt Tech, what do
you think about them? You know, if you graduate our program,
I know exactly what kind of clinician you are because
(15:14):
we mold you into good professionals, talented individuals. And you
were just given so much exposure here.
Narrator (15:22):
Chatt Tech. The College of Real World Training and how our communities
are stronger and better, thanks to the thousands of Chatt
Tech graduates in our local workforce. For more information about
the paramedicine EMT program at Chattahoochee Tech, visit Chattahoochee Tech EDU.
Thanks for listening to 98 seven Chatt Tech, where 98.7% of
our students earn a career.
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