JEFF CHANDLER

Jessie Duvall ’02 organized a course in which students earn their EMT certifications for credit towards graduation. The course will be offered for the first time this spring.

By A. Larrison Campbell
Contributing Writer

Next year, Wesleyan students may be driving ambulances around Middletown.

An Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) training course organized by Jessie Duvall ’02 will be offered through the Physical Education department in the spring.

Duvall said students who complete the course and pass a state exam will be certified EMTs, allowing them to legally treat accident victims until paramedics arrive.

"I’ve always wanted to be EMT-certified, but I had trouble finding a place that could teach it to me and that would fit my schedule," Duvall said. "So last spring I started organizing this program."

The class is available to all students, according to Duvall. Outside of the required 130 in-class hours, students must complete an additional ten in-service hours, spent riding in an ambulance and working in an emergency room.

Duvall said many students interested in the course want to work with either the Cromwell or Durham volunteer fire departments after certification.

Although the course is being offered for credit through the Physical Education department, Duvall said it is not actually affiliated with the University. In other words, Wesleyan does not fund or accept liability for the course.

"I tried to get [the Science in Society Program] to sponsor it," Duvall explained. "And when that didn’t work I went to like every other department, but no one was interested."

Adriana Jones ’01, who took an EMT training course this summer in New York, said students who enroll in the course should be prepared to work hard.

"I definitely think it’s a semester course," Jones said. "There’s not that much outside work, but you’ve got nine hours a week in class. If people are going to do it, they have to be very dedicated."

"It’s also a lot of fun," added Lauren Gottlieb ’02. She is a certified "first responder" and said she will complete her EMT certification in the spring.

Duvall said although she spent a lot of time implementing the course, she hopes to extend the program beyond the course.

"My ideal goal is to set up a student-run EMT [service] where we respond to all emergencies from campus," Gottlieb said.

Duvall added that Middletown would then have access to a volunteer EMT service. The city currently depends on paid EMTs.

Brown, Colby, Hamilton, Bucknell, and Connecticut College all offer similar programs, according to Jones and Duvall.

Jones said it will not be easy to access University funding for the service because of its tremendous cost.

"An ambulance is essential for the service, among other things," she said. "I tried to do it earlier. [Dean of the College] Freddye Hill said ‘no way.’ But when I talked to [Director of Public Safety] Maryann Wiggin, she sounded very interested. And in order for something like this to work, we’d really need to work hand-in-hand with Public Safety."