There is a series of classes in the works at N.C . State that will provide students with advanced emergency response skills. Larry Brown, associate professor in physical education, is organizing the program in conjunction with the biological science department.

Responding to Emergencies, First Responder and Emergency Medical Technician-Basic are the first classes in this series. Their intention is to provide students with the skills needed to pass the State of North Carolina and the National Registry Emergency Technician basic exam.

The students who signed up for the class create a diverse group, both in school concentration and motivation.

Matt Cross, junior in business administration, is required to be EMT certified for his job as a Raleigh firefighter. However, he has plans to incorporate what he learned beyond his job and bring his skills to campus.

“I am going to be meeting with NCSU public safety on working with them to implement some sort of medical emergency notification system. As far as I know, no others have approached them about this, and I think it would be very beneficial to the University as a whole,” Cross said.

Robert Ward, sophomore in human biology and successfully certified EMT, took the class to see if he would be interested in pursuing a medical degree.

“I thought the class would be a good start, an intro into medicine to see if I like it,” Ward said.

Ward was already certified in CPR before he took the class, but he was interested in learning more.

“[We learned] basic life saving skills … I think everyone should be … CPR certified,” Ward said.

While he has no current plans to use his license, he is interested in working with Cross and campus public safety if that comes to fruition.

Blakely Bell, sophomore in education and psychology, took the class out of interest but enjoyed it enough to pursue the certification.

“Originally I was so afraid of emergency situations because I never knew what to do and the idea of being the one to handle a situation worried me. So, last year I took the First Responders class to gain a knowledge base and in a sense to face my fears, and I absolutely fell in love with it,” Bell said.

Bell currently plans to look into the military as a career, but she does not rule out continuing to work in EMS.

“After my ride-alongs it definitely sparked my interest. I am currently looking into volunteer opportunities with surrounding EMT stations as well as some back home,” Bell said.

The series of classes are open to anyone who can spare the credit hours. The class covers a wide variety of topics in emergency care from respiratory and cardiac emergencies and CPR to bleeding, shock and trauma management. The lab for the class involves hands-on training, and there is also an ambulance ride-along to experience first hand how a situation might be handled.

“We also learned a lot of skills that are applicable to other real word situations. I gained a better understanding of the importance of interpersonal communication and remaining objective in situations which others may judge based on physical appearance or any other factor,” Bell said.

These classes are taught by certified emergency medical service professionals and teachers. During the fall, Gene Lambert from Wake County EMS was the primary instructor.

The classes currently under development are EMT-Intermediate, Paramedic I and II and EMT Instructor I.