EMT Schoolhouse surpasses 2,000th student

  • Published
  • By Maj. Ted Theopolos
  • 445th AW Public Affairs
WRIGHT-PATTERSON AFB, Ohio --  Airman 1st Class Matthew Rakowitz from the 88th Medical Operation Squadron was handed a coin as he entered the 445th Aeromedical Staging Squadron's Emergency Medical Technician classroom Monday morning. 

The Airman was the 13th student of 28 that entered the classroom.
Not knowing what it was for, Airman Rakowitz found out later he was the 2,000th student to walk through the training classroom door. The coin was given to him by Senior Master Sgt. Danny Smith, from the 445th ASTS an instructor and EMT Schoolhouse coordinator. 

This was not the first time Sgt. Smith has done this; he did the same thing just three years ago for Jeff Kitzmiller from the Wright-Patterson AFB Fire Department. He was the 1,000th person to walk through the classroom door. 

The EMT school opened its doors in August 1998, and Sgt. Smith has been there since the beginning. It took six years for the 1,000th student to walk through the classroom doors. It only took three years to train another 1,000 students. 

"One of the reasons for more students is because of overseas deployments," said Sgt. Smith. "Several first responders now have to be EMT qualified." 

Besides the obvious medical staff who need the training, others do as well, including firefighters, security forces and exploding ordinance detonation team members. The school is even open to civilian first responders. 

"We teach National Park Service rangers, and this past year taught two (Special Weapons and Tactics) team members from the Dayton Police Department," said Sgt. Smith. 

He said more SWAT team members are scheduled to attend later this year.
"We teach two types of classes here," said Sgt. Smith. "Initial EMT class is three weeks, and the refresher class is five days. We hold three initial EMT classes and about 14 to 16 refresher classes each year." 

Those who take the initial class and want to be EMT certified have to take the National Registry of Emergency Medical Technician, or NREMT, exam and pass with a score of 70 or higher. The national average pass rate for first time test takers is estimated at 62 percent. The sergeant, a former instructor at the University of Cincinnati, is a computer science guru who loves statistics and keeps them on every EMT class. The schoolhouse holds some fairly spectacularly passing rates, he said. 

"The last three initial EMT classes from May and September 2006 and January 2007, all the students passed - 100 percent," he said. 

Sgt. Smith doesn't have to look far for qualified instructors. 

"We not only get instructors from my unit, but from the 445th Aeromedical Evacuation and Aerospace Medical Squadrons," he said. "We also routinely get instructors from the 911th Airlift Wing from Pittsburgh, Pa." 

For Airman Rakowitz who is taking the refresher class, he'll spend about one quarter of his time in the classroom and the other time in the EMT lab completing medical scenarios set-up by the instructors. The most common scenarios are mannequins as patients with heart attacks, vehicle accidents and national disasters. 

"To keep your NREMT certification current, you have to have refresher class every two years," said Sgt. Smith. "If Airman Rakowitz passes, he's good to go for another two years."