Opinion - Whatcom View

POSTED: Wednesday, Apr. 22, 2009

Six Whatcom County firefighters taking intensive paramedic training

Six Whatcom County firefighters have been putting in very long weeks to prepare them for service responding to calls as paramedics in Whatcom County.

As we are approximately halfway through the paramedic training at the University of Washington/Harborview Medical Center, it is appropriate to report the progress of the six Whatcom County Fire District No. 7 firefighter/paramedic students. Entry to the program has brought redefinition to each of the firefighters, as individuals and to their families' priorities. We are grateful to Whatcom County for the support to send our six firefighters to Seattle for training. We are also grateful to the University of Washington, Harborview Medical Center, Seattle Fire Department and the King County Medic One Foundation to allow our firefighters this excellent opportunity - not to mention their families. This is an opportunity to serve the citizens and visitors of Whatcom County.

As the population of Whatcom County grows and more visitors come to our area, the number of medical and rescue calls grows. As the leadership of Whatcom County identified in the Whatcom County 2005 EMS Plan, an additional medic unit would be required on or about the beginning of 2010. This additional medic unit is to be implemented as a resource from a Whatcom County agency. Whatcom County Fire District No. 7 was chosen to serve as that agency.

Based on citizen demand, this additional medic unit will assist the whole county, including the city of Bellingham. Placing this medic unit in service will decrease response times and medic unit availability to those requiring advanced medical care.

The University of Washington/Harborview Medical Center's perspective on paramedic training is both comprehensive and historical. As one of the most senior paramedic training programs in the world, the University of Washington/Harborview Medical Center has an extensive track record of providing a relevant didactic curriculum and clinical experience, as well as extensive field practicum.

As firefighters from Whatcom County Fire District No. 7, they are expected to be self-motivated. They have all worked hard and have made huge sacrifices to enter this program. Training in Seattle, they remain separated from their families during their 10-month training period.

The University of Washington/Harborview Medical Center paramedic training program is in excess of 2,400 hours and is completed in 10 months. Harborview Medical Center, an affiliated teaching hospital of the University of Washington School of Medicine, houses the paramedic training program.

Harborview Medical Center (the only Level I trauma center in the region) houses an impressive variety of medical facilities and services.

These include an emergency department with a daily census of 250 critical patients, a northwest regional burn center, trauma, medical, neuro, surgical, coronary, and pulmonary ICU care units.

The majority of the paramedic training activities are accomplished at Harborview Medical Center. All of the classes, emergency room and coronary care unit study, and nearly all teaching ward rounds take place at Harborview Medical Center. For some specialty aspects of training, paramedic students are assigned to rotations at other University of Washington Schools of Medicine-affiliated teaching hospitals in Seattle.

They are assigned to the labor and delivery suite at University Hospital for obstetrical experience, and to Children's Hospital emergency and operating rooms for experience in performing pediatric intubations and evaluating emergency pediatric patients.

The six firefighter/paramedic students accrue the field experience by accompanying the firefighter/paramedics of the Seattle Fire Department throughout their entire educational experience. The training program demands that the paramedic student achieve parity with a well-trained physician in the exhibition of certain technical feats such as endotracheal intubation, IV placement, defibrillation and EKG interpretation. In addition, they are exposed to new medical information and medical equipment used in emergency medicine.

Each student has passed the first (airway management and patient assessment) and second training block (medical and trauma emergencies) of the didactic and practical training. They are putting in an average of 60-plus hours a week of both classroom and field/hospital experience. Some days, the paramedic student will be expected to perform continuously for 36 hours straight, with no or little sleep.

We at Whatcom County Fire District No. 7 are looking forward to being part of the fine advance medical service already provided in the county. The education that our six firefighters are receiving is truly exceptional. The care that the citizens expect when a family member or friend requires emergency medical care will be outstanding.