EMT Program provides help and knowledge

Medical emergencies aren’t always convenient. When Student Health Services closes and students need help, the campus EMTs are able to address student’s needs. 

Campus Security Supervisor Aaron Mumford said EMTs responded to over 115 incidences last academic year. He said EMTs responded to emergencies ranging from a cut finger to those experiencing a panic attack to someone thinking they were having a heart attack.

Mumford said he views MSU and the EMT program as part of the campus community. 

“The university is a community just like Mankato is a community and anything that you would see or expect in Mankato, you should see it expected on campus as well,” Mumford said.

Beyond responding to campus emergencies, students can find themselves helping others out through the EMT program. 

While there is no EMT study at Minnesota State, South Central College (SCC) in North Mankato offers the study as a part of their paramedic program. However, students have to be registered at MSU to be considered for the program. 

“The EMTS I typically see are coming to us from the military or they earned their certification already because they were a CNA in their profession or got a job after high school,” Mumford said. 

EMT training is expected when students come in for an interview. SCC’s EMT program is worth seven credits and can be finished in a semester. Students are also required to take tests through the Minnesota Emergency Medical Service Regulatory Board (EMSRB) and the National Registry Board. Once students have obtained their EMT certification, students can reach out to university security for an interview. 

Like other student jobs on campus, employees can only work up to 20 hours a week. Mumford said a typical shift starts at 4 p.m. and lasts until 5 a.m.

“They’ll check out all the campus AEDs. The campus has first aid boxes as well and they’ll check those and make sure they’re stocked. Then the rest of that time they wear a pager and then if something comes up, they’re paged,” Mumford said. “They’re only on duty where they are actively out and about.”

Mumford said recruitment for the EMT program has been difficult since COVID-19.

“There hasn’t been a need for EMTs to go to a four-year institution after getting either their EMT certification or completing their whole paramedic program, because typically a lot of them could find a job right away where they can make $30 an hour and go right into the field,” Mumford said. 

Mumford said a lot of his previous EMTS were nursing students or pre-med majors looking to grow patient contacts.

“(The students) didn’t just pick these things up. They kind of knew what they were doing when they left high school, so they got their registration beforehand and just jumped right into it,” Mumford said. 

Mumford said the program is helpful for students looking to gain experience.

“It’s different than being an EMT on an ambulance service because you’re kind of dealing with a certain subset of our population which is the 18 to 24-year-old crowd. You’re not dealing with geriatric or child emergencies,” Mumford said. “You’re still getting your feet wet to ease yourself into the profession.”

Mumford said the certification, while a lot of work, is worthwhile in helping students better understand their community. 

“It really punches through empathy. It’s being able to see your patient on a whole different level kind of out outside of the confines of the hospital, out in the middle of the street area, on the scene. It just kind of gets you used to dealing with people at what might be considered their worst,” Mumford said.

Write to Emma Johnson at Emma.johnson.5@mnsu.edu