Seaford students learn to save a life

At Seaford High School, students aren’t just learning math and science. They’re also learning how to save lives.

This school year, the high school introduced an emergency medical technician certification program offered to seniors that will teach them patient care through lifelike training exercises and help them prepare for a variety of emergency scenarios. The course is a partnership with the Nassau County Emergency Medical Services Academy, whose instructors prepare students who are interested in careers in medical services.

For Seaford High seniors Alexandra Podesta and Daniella Stek, the EMT program provides a great opportunity for them to get a couple of steps ahead in their career training.

“I feel like I’m already preparing myself in the right direction for all the nursing classes I’m going to be taking in college.” Stek said.

Stek has wanted to become a nurse since she was young. Growing up, she was obsessed with watching nursing shows on television, and she describes herself as a selfless person. She plans to major in nursing in college, and says the EMT program is a great way to get ready.

“I like to help others,” she said. “If I see someone that needs assistance, then that’s my first instinct, to take care of others.”

According to Stek, students are taught everything that an EMT does. They learn how to approach a patient, how to identify vital signs and how to provide aid to someone who is experiencing cardiac arrest.

“I think it’s a really good opportunity for some students,” Podesta said of the course.

For Podesta, becoming a nurse was a clear path to take, because her family has a tradition of volunteering with fire departments. Her father is a firefighter, and her mother was an EMT.

“I just saw them helping people,” Podesta said of her parents, “and I always wanted to do that.”

The program is divided into two classes. One focuses on direct instruction, and students in the other class apply what they learn through hands-on experience with medical equipment. They learn to use oxygen delivery devices such as bag valve masks and nasal cannula, and practice on child and adult mannequins. Working with the equipment helps them develop the crucial skills EMTs use.

According to the high school’s assistant principal, Alex Mantay, the course provides a great foundation for a career in the medical field.

“You come out of high school with an EMT certification,” Mantay said. “If you’re going to be a nurse, it’s an incredible asset to your resume.”

The program gives students the opportunity to earn a state EMT certification. Aside from hands-on training, students submit to skills tests, interim exams and a final that prepare them for the state certification exam.

Even early in the school year, students have already learned how to handle emergency situations. Stek said that learning cardiopulmonary resuscitation, or CPR, on an unresponsive patient has been one of the highlights so far. Students have used mannequins to learn how to open the airway, give rescue breaths, stimulate the heart and administer oxygen.

According to Stek, the course helps pave the way for valued employment after school, even for those with no interest in nursing or medical school.

“If college isn’t your path, but trade is, then it’s really cool,” she said.

The EMT certification program currently has 11 students enrolled, but Mantay said he expects it to grow in the future, because any students who are interested in becoming firefighters, police officers, nurses or doctors will benefit from it.

Both Stek and Podesta both encourage students to take the course in the future.

“If you are interested in the medical field, or if you want to become a firefighter or you want to become an EMT,” Stek said, “I strongly advise taking this class.”