EMT course proposed for CSC curriculum

Two weeks ago, CSC student Nevin Price, sophomore of Alliance, presented the idea of getting an EMT course on the Chadron State campus to the Student Senate.

Price put together a petition for anyone to sign, stating that the thought of an emergency medical technician course is a good idea.

The Chadron Fire Department is willing to support the program and help with finding a class for the students interested in participating in an EMT course.

There are two options for taking the course. The first is paying $1,200 for a 13-credit-hour course. The second is, if a student can get obtain a letter of support from a fire department with which the individual is associated, that person will only have to pay $500 (the state of Nebraska will pay the balance), but the course won’t count toward college credit.

There will be two parts to the course, one that will be in the classroom, and the other will be clinical.

A majority of the class will be hands-on in order to give students a better view of how to do things.

If the course is offered, it will be available through Western Nebraska Community College.

A professor for the course has yet to be determined, but it might be a faculty member from WNCC.

One of the advantages of having the course offered on the campus of the college, according to Price, is that the convenience of the location, coupled with the benefit of having set class times, would be better for students than an off-campus alternative. Further, Price said that having such a course would benefit Pre-Medicine students develop their professional careers.

Pre-Medicine students will still have to take the EMT class in order to be certified, so having access to the class will give those students a better angle of becoming certified in their desired field, said Price.

A minimum of ten students is preferred in order to offer the course, but the class still might be offered if there were a few less than ten, said Lois Veath, vice president of Academic Affairs.