Providing Care as a Volunteer EMT

Presenter: Keilyn Claros, Public Health Science, Global Public Health Scholars

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For my practicum, I volunteered as an emergency medical technician (EMT) at a local fire department. I would go roughly once a week, mainly on Wednesdays, with other EMTs to guide me with what I needed to do and make sure that I was ready. The location of where I volunteered at is Maryland City Volunteer Fire Department which is Station 27 at Anne Arundel County. This station serves the communities Maryland City and Russett. It also serves other areas when necessary, like Hanover and PG County. Since Maryland City is primarily suburban, it isn't as busy as other local stations but they still receive a fair amount of calls. As an EMT, I went to any emergency calls that were dispatched to my unit and went on the scene. The calls varied from minor issues, like vomiting, to life changing emergencies, like cardiac arrest. My workload involved taking vitals, recording patient information, transporting to a hospital, and doing any procedures necessary on scene. All of these parts of a call were very important to complete for each patient and possibly improved patient health. During this time, I learned important skills to help lives, like CPR, taking blood pressure, and taking blood glucose. My practicum is connected to public health because being an EMT is a bridge to bringing the population to hospitals and healthcare facilities in moments of emergencies or times when they aren't able to transport themselves. Access to healthcare facilities is improved through EMS which improves the health of the community. Overall, I feel that this practicum is very well tied into public health and has been an opportunity that greatly affects and aids the community.