= Weber State College Comment, April 1987, page 7 Weber State College Comment, April 1987, page 6 | Paramedics Learn More Than Medicine he student paramedic leaned over the edge of the threestory building, rechecked her rappeling harness for the tenth time, and, with a great deal of trepidation, stepped over the edge. ““My everything shakes,’’ she said. “‘My knees shake, my hands shake.’’ But she needn’t have worried. Instructors at both the top and bottom of the rappeling station on the newly whi -_ dedicated Marriott Allied Health Sciences building could have lowered her gently to the ground even if she had passed out. She didn’t. “‘People get themselves stuck in some crazy places,’’ said Evelyn Draper, director of the emergency care program at Weber State. ‘‘We have to learn how to get them out of wherever they’re stuck.’’ ‘ Prior to the rappeling lesson, the! paramedics also had the chance to work around a helicopter, learning how not to become a casualty. A week later they were attending a seminar that taught how to get someone out of a smashed vehicle. ‘There are a lot of non-medical aspects the paramedics learn. They also learn how to deal with stress,’’ said Mrs. Draper, who is a_ registered emergency room nurse. The program at Weber State is the only educational spot in Utah that trains paramedics and emergency medical technicians. Many ot the students in the program also come from Nevada, Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming. diagrams of the heart and allows for student interaction via the computer’s ability. ‘‘The purpose of this particular program is to teach students to recognize and treat a patient who’s having a heart attack, and they can take all the time they need to master the concepts,’’ she said. The program on heart attacks takes five hours to complete, but has saved hours of instruction time and allows faculty members to give more individualized attention in those areas that cannot be learned from a book or computer, she said. The video on heart attacks is the first of many more to come, and was funded by a grant from J. Willard Marriott, Or ‘*We took this program to a national show and a number of medical people were interested in using this for medical schools. This is as good or bet- Health Build Dedicated “‘This is one of the finest facilities for hee care instruction in the land,”’ said Dr. Reed§ ingham, dean of the WSC School of A “‘We only take 30-35 paramedics a year and we get more applicants than we can take,’’ Mrs. Draper said. The paramedics learn and master everything there is to know about the immediate medical needs of a patient. They study anatomy, physiology, pharmacology and how to administer the drugs, respiratory therapy, CPR, and a host of other emergency care procedures. ““And they have to be very intelligent,’’ Mrs. Draper said. ‘‘Our minimum passing score is a ‘B.”’ You’ll never have a ‘C’ paramedic come to your house.’’ Students can receive a two-year Health Sciences during dedication ceremo of the new J. Willard Marriott Allied Heajy Sciences Building. : The freshman building was dedicated dutifly April 6 ceremonies lead by Pres. Nadal | ‘‘We’re in the midst of a rapidly changing ep vironment, especially in health care, and i Utah those changes must be guided by a de ig tion to human spirit. The building is now hee The rest is up to us,’’ Dr. Stringham said. ‘*Buildings such as this are more of a than an actual structure,’’ said keynote\sp Utah Senator Orrin Hatch. ‘‘How fitttin have a building such as this dedicated ¢ lasting memorial to Bill Marriott.” | Former ambassador Mark E. Austad, a NY alumnus, paid tribute to Mr. Marriott) am the Marriott family. The dedicatory praly’ offered by Elder Boyd K. Packer, a men be: associate degree as a paramedic or continue for a bachelor’s of health science. Many, however, are at the college on contract from fire departments or other agencies, and they just want to learn the basics. They soon find themselves in a gruelling schedule. “The basic program is two quarters and students spend an average of 380 clock hours in the classroom the first quarter and 430 clock hours in practical experience and in the classroom the second quarter,’’ she said. The college initiated, this quarter, a new teaching program of computers and videos that is attracting national attention. “‘The faculty are so loaded with individual time with the students that we developed an interactive video disc/computer method of classroom instruction,’’ She said. The computer is linked to a video player and the student works through a bank of information, quizzes and demonstrations that is displayed on a large television screen. The first video developed shows a man having a heart attack, describes and _ illustrates paramedic treatment, draws intricate. Psychiatric Wards Give Students New View of Above an instructor demonstrates the proper way to put on a rapelling harness, while Kim Kranendonk (middie) slides down the side of the health building. Working around helicopters (top right) is also a part of paramedic curriculum. ter than anything out there,’’ Mrs. Draper said. : After classroom instruction is complete each student will ride with two fully licensed paramedics and have a chance to work in the constantemergency world of the paramedic. “It’s a stressful job and sometimes it frightens the students. They have to work in the middle of fights and in some other strange circumstances,”’ she said. The paramedics learn to handle, use and fix the dozens of machines they must use, how to drive an emergency vehicle through traffic, and they must pass a physical agility test. The most important quality a paramedic must have, however, is a respect for human life, she said. : “‘Paramedics are trained to keep people alive for that first hour or so until more extensive care is available,’’ she said. But paramedics can’t always save the day, and part of their program teaches how to deal with stress and with death the Quorum of 12 Apostles of The Church Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and) a eld friend of the late Mr. Marriott. Elder all | also an alumnus of the college. : The Marriott Allied Health Sciences BuilditBill Marriott is one of Weber’s favorite sons is a four-floor edifice terraced into the] hillsiind an example of the American Dream. I can’t directly west of the Wildcat Stadium. ‘think of an event I’d rather be involved in than 62,000 square-foot interior houses two lajfhis,” said Utah Senator Orrin Hatch. lecture halls, five classrooms, 13 spedcialzg! teaching labs, a learning center and 46{| facukio offices. The $5.4 million structure houses all li the health fields on campus with the except i of dental hygiene and respiratory a 7 and dying. The college recently received notice that the state will fund the creation ofa Center for Critical Incidence Stress Debriefing Team. A team of nurses, paramedics and emergency medical technicians will be formed to help those who suffer on-the-job stress. ‘All we deal in are crises or potential crises. A patient will turn to us after they’ve exhausted all resources that they know. We have to be ready,”’ she Some duties, such as preparing medications (top), remain the same for student nurses in the psychiatric wards. But Constance Watkins (middle) and other student nurses also learn how to heal emotions as they counsel with patients. Self-therapy is a part of the experience, and students meet after each shift for their own psychotherapy. said. (Right) ursing encompasses the prevention of _ illness and the alleviation of suffering, says part of the nurses’ code, and WSC students are discovering that “alleviation of suffering’’ has wide applications. Students in the associate degree nursing program at Weber State are breaking sterotyped roles and learning a _ completely different side to their field. For five weeks, as part of their regular clinical pre-graduation practice, the students are working with patients who have psychological disorders, and that brings a whole new dimension to nursing. “The patients are not in gowns, and they don’t have tubes and other things going into them, but what they are is dysfunctional and they need nursing care,’’ said Mary Ann Anderson, a Weber State faculty member in the college’s cooperative nursing program at Utah State University. The students provide limited psychotherapy for their patients and spend most of their time talking with - and encouraging those in the wards. “‘The anxiety level is pretty high,”’ said one student the first day of the rotation in the psychiatric ward. “‘On the medical floors we do lots of physical types of things,’’ another student added. ‘‘Here we don’t know what to expect.”’ The students spend class time discussing the theories of normal and abnormal behaviors. They look at eating disorders, depression, _ self esteem, interpersonal and .communications skills with hopes of helping patients return to normal living. ‘“We have the emotional needs of the patient to fill as well as the physical,”’ said Dr. Ruth Brown, a WSC nursing faculty and coordinator of the psychiatric expereince. ‘‘Human_beings are more alike than they are different. These patients have the same wants, and desires. It’s just that the degree of their problems is higher.”’ Students first walk into the highly secure area fearing a bit for their personal safety, but even though one student was recently knocked to the floor, most discover that the patients are not that different from the rest of society. “Don’t look so scared,’’ one patient told a student. ‘‘We don’t bite.”’ “A lot of teenagers here have no social skills and the students act as role models,’’ said Mrs. Anderson. ‘“‘When people think of psychiatric patients they think of crazy people screaming and jumping around banging their head on the wall. As students we realize these patients actually aren’t much different than us. They just need help from the outside world,’’ said Janie Summers, a sophomore in the Logan program. The patients themselves are under tight lock and key. Students and professionals observe and talk with them almost everywhere they go. The students administer medications, attend to physical needs, but most of the time they sit and talk, or play cards or pool with the patients. “There are physical aspects and emotional aspects, but you can’t break nursing in half. You always look at both,’’ said Dr. Brown. Once learned, the emotional approach to nursing becomes a benefit to all aspects of the profession. Many psychiatric patients, because of their emotional problems, have physical ilInesses. Physical patients as well, especially those who lose limbs, have surgery or are near death, suffer emotionally and can be aided by the trained nurse, Dr. Brown said. “The skills that the students hone in the psychiatric rotation are critical in all of nursing,’’ Mrs. Anderson added. The students spend two, eight-hour days a week in the wards at McKay- Nursing Dee and St. Benedict’s hospitals. Those in the outreach program in Logan drive from Cache County to the Ogden hospitals, leaving at 5:30 a.m. to arrive on time. Sudents in the Price, Utah cooperative program spend the summer .in Ogden completing rotations. The three other WSC nursing outreach programs in the state use local hospitals and psychiatric wards for student experience. “It takes a lot of dedication to complete those programs,’’ said Mrs. Anderson. The students work closely with mild to very severe cases and then, at the end of each day, get together with other students and faculty for a therapeutic ‘‘debriefing’’ of their own. “We feel that if we can train students in the basics of psychotherapy they then have the option to continue on if they choose,’’ Dr. Brown said. The college was recently given approval by the State Board of Regents and the funding from the state legislature to start a bachelor’s program in nursing. Those extra two years, said Dr. Brown, will allow for further development of the nursing program, giving the psychiatric students more time for theory and practice. “‘We don’t pretend to train psychotherapists in a five-week period. You need advanced training for that,’’ she said. Some students find the psychiatric experience unpleasant, but many gain a new understanding for this type of ilIness, and a better insight into the human victims. “It changes your attitude about what you think is crazy,’’ said sophomore Rachelle Merrill. ‘‘There is not a whole lot of difference between most of these people and the rest of the world. In fact, if the workers don’t have name tags on I’m not sure whether they’re a nurse, a_ social worker or one of the patients.’