Students in the EMT/Paramedicine Program at Albany Technical College will now be trained in a special ambulance simulator. The paramedicine ambulance was installed recently in the lab area, room 124, located in the Charles B. Gillespie Center for Emergency Responders building.

This technology gives instructors the ability to step away and watch students through video monitors as they practice their skills. In conjunction with the simulator, a special patient medical mannequin is equipped with a microphone and a speaker. Instructors can speak through the mannequin and observe students’ actions without being physically present in the simulator. By using this method, it places the focus of the training on the patient, like it would be in a real situation.

“This really gives us the ability to have the students get out of this truck like they were going out on a call, pick up the patient, bring them back, and go through all of the motions. It makes it more realistic,” said Thad Minick, Paramedicine Instructor at Albany Technical College.  Albany Tech faculty said this new teaching tool has become an integrated part of every class taught and is being used almost daily.

Training in traumatic injuries, medical emergencies, or patient lifting and moving can all be evaluated. It
can also help with basic day-to-day EMS operations of checking the truck and equipment.  “This is a better set up because of the liability and the insurance cost of having an ambulance for training. From a student safety issue standpoint, the simulator is stable. It’s indoors so we don’t have to worry about the weather. We can use it year-round across all of our classes and it is functional just like an ambulance that you would call to your house,” said Tracie Naylor-Griffin, Program Chair for Paramedicine Technology at Albany Technical College.

People’s lives often depend on the quick reaction and competent care of emergency medical technicians and paramedics. Incidents as varied as automobile accidents, heart attacks, slips and falls, childbirth, and gunshot wounds require immediate medical attention. EMTs and paramedics provide this vital service as they care for and transport the sick or injured to a medical facility.

In an emergency, EMTs and paramedics are typically dispatched by a 911 operator to the scene, where they often work with police and firefighters. Once they arrive, EMTs and paramedics assess the nature of the patient’s condition, while trying to determine whether the patient has any pre-existing medical conditions. Following protocols and guidelines, they provide emergency care and transport the patient to a medical facility.

Across the nation, EMTs and paramedics held about 248,000 jobs in 2016. The median annual wage for EMTs and paramedics was $33,380 in May 2017. The lowest 10 percent earned less than $21,880, and the highest 10 percent earned more than $56,990.