Knowing what
to do when it really counts
—
Sierra Star/Anthony Campeau
Tony
Misner, the Yosemite High School and Adult Education EMT instructor, works with
Cathy Kear on how to properly secure a bag valve mask to a patient.
Janet
Stanovich works with Janet Kear on the EMT skills sheet on proper bag valve
mask and automated external defibrillator placement on a CPR mannequin.
Norm
Swoop, an EMT with the US Forest Service, instructs Debbie Inouge on the proper
use of an automated external defibrillator. An AED is a device used to shock the
heart during cardiac arrest.
You arrive at the scene of an
electrocution and find an unconscious man who has shallow respiration. To
protect his airway, you should:
This is one of 93 sample
questions which 14 men and women recently studied as examples for their
mid-term exam at the Oakhurst adult education EMT [emergency medical
technician] class. The questions are designed to cover the scope of instruction
offered in the first half of a 16-week-long course.
All day every Saturday and each
Wednesday evening these men and women learn what to do and what not to do in
attending to patients in an unusually wide variety of accidental situations.
Conceivably what they learn could
one day save your life.
These students will utilize their
EMT training in a broad spectrum of jobs. One of them is a ski instructor
during the winter and hostler during the summer at Yosemite National Park.
Another is a nurse’s aid who
hopes this specialized training will advance her nursing career. A husky young
man wants to join the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.
Another is a fire chief updating his EMT knowledge.
Yet another wants to become an
ambulance paramedic and perhaps extend his reach to wilderness training. All of
them are aware that a thorough knowledge of emergency services will reduce
on-the-job liability. All of them are serious and are willing to give up their
Saturday and Wednesday evenings to achieve their goals.
EMT teacher
The teacher is Tony Misner who
taught his first CPR class under the auspices of the Red Cross when he was 17.
He’s never looked back. “I’ve always been interested in medicine,” he says. He
is a state licensed paramedic. He grew up in the Bay Area, moved to Fresno in
1980 and earned his teaching credentials at California State University,
Fresno. He was an EMT and paramedic for American Ambulance Company in Fresno
for eight years.
“I’m so happy to be teaching in
Oakhurst,” he says. “Bill McCabe [Yosemite High School District superintendent]
has given me broad autonomy to teach these classes.”
And he teaches three EMT classes
— the present one on the Saturday/Wednesday evening schedule, a concurrent
class for Yosemite High School students which is not as compressed, and a
second night EMT class for adults.
But that’s just the beginning.
Advanced
courses
He is the “instructor of record”
for several advanced courses. Since he can’t be in three places at once, he
appoints the teachers in most of these six additional classes.
He supervises three levels of
wilderness medical training — the highest being a 200-hour wilderness EMT
course (tuition: $2,100, includes food and lodging) which grants full state and
federal certification. The program accepts 25 to 30 persons — Navy Seals,
medical-school students and interested persons literally from all over the
world, including Turkey, Austria, Germany and Columbia.
“In this program you function
like a physician, it’s a decision-making process. You’re on your own. If
someone has an appendicitis, you can’t call for an ambulance. You have to
decide how serious the situation is and when to use the cell phone to call for
helicopter assistance.”
The class is one of just a
handful of places in the nation where this training is available.
First-responder
class
The second course is an 80-hour
wilderness first-responder class (tuition: $465) designed specifically for
outdoor professionals and focuses on completing practical skills in remote
locations and utilizes case studies and scenarios designed to challenge decision-making
abilities.
These classes are developed by
the Wilderness Medicine Institute, which is a part of the National Outdoor
Leadership School.
There also are classes in First
Responder recertification, wilderness advanced first aid and wilderness first
aid.
One of the programs is a two-day
course for summer camp counselors and hikers going into the backcountry where
any accident can have serious consequences if you don’t know what to do in an
emergency.
Mr. Misner knows that it isn’t
simply his teaching expertise that draws people from all over. “Yosemite
National Park, with its stunning beauty, is in our backyard and it’s a
tremendous draw,” he says.
‘Just a
paramedic’?
He tells a story that reflects an
attitude about paramedics. When he worked in Fresno he wheeled a patient into a
hospital and gave a complete professional rundown on the person’s condition.
The duty nurse completely disregarded his helpful diagnosis with a wave of her
hand and a “you’re just a paramedic” response.
“Excuse me,” he roared. The nurse
quickly retreated. On another occasion Mr. Misner was walking along a hospital
corridor when a patient suddenly and without warning collapsed. The director of
medicine, who happened to be nearby, took one look at the man on the floor and
called:
“Paramedic. We need a paramedic
at once.” “There’s a man who understands the importance of emergency training,”
he commented.
One additional question: An obese
40-year-old man began having chest pains while he was playing racquetball. As
you assess the patient, you find him convinced he is going to die. You should
suspect …
Do you know?