Hamilton joined other colleges and universities across the country last week, Monday Nov. 11 to Sunday Nov. 17, in recognizing National Collegiate EMS Week. According to the National Collegiate Emergency Medical Services Foundation, “the second full week in November… is a week-long recognition and celebration of campus-based EMS and provides an annual opportunity for campus-based EMS organizations to highlight their activities and educate their communities.”
On the Hill, the Hamilton College Emergency Medical Services, or HCEMS, provide treatment from student volunteer Emergency Medical Technicians, or EMTs. All student volunteers are New York State certified EMTs. Often working shifts longer than twelve hours, EMTs carry their radios and medical bags with them for the duration of their shift, ready to respond to an emergency call. EMTs provide prehospital medical care to students, faculty, staff, and visitors on campus, and serve as the first responders to any emergency on the Hill. As students living on campus, EMTs can respond to campus emergencies much faster than off-campus medical services.
For the students who volunteer as EMTs, the job can be both rewarding as well as difficult. Even for students who are not necessarily interested in health science as a career path, like Sam Gause ’21, serving as an EMT provides valuable life experience. “I’m not pre-med, so it really wasn’t something I knew I wanted to do until I had talked to a few EMTs, Kat Spano ’18 and Emma Weller ’19, about it. After talking to them, there were two things that stood out to me: an opportunity to be in a position to help someone who is having an emergency, and the camaraderie that all the EMTs shared. I’ve learned the importance of clear communication, empathy, and to a certain degree how to shove pressure out of my head and make a cool-headed decision,” remarked Gause.
Joey West ’22, a Chinese and Math double major, also spoke to the importance of his time as an EMT. “Even though I’m not pre-med, I feel like I’ve gained lots of valuable experience that will be useful later on.”
The process of becoming an EMT has its share of difficulties as well. Because all EMTs are New York State certified, they must go through a rigorous training course and pass the state EMT exam. For Gause, “getting certified definitely wasn’t easy because I’d take classes from 6 P.M. to 10 P.M. after work twice a week for the whole summer. Once I was certified, I was definitely nervous to start but every EMT in the agency was always willing to answer any questions I had. That helped a lot, because they treated the sophomore rookies the same as senior veterans.”
While classes are in session, HCEMS EMTs are available 24 hours a day. According to HCEMS and Hamilton College, “in case of emergency, call 315–859–4000 and EMTs will be dispatched to the scene. The EMT report becomes part of the student medical record, accessible only to the professional staff of the Health Center.”
