Pitt will serve 1-3 years in Washington away from his wife and three kids.
For 18 months, Mobile Intensive Care Techinician (MICT) students are drilled, tested and evaluated to see if they know the skills for saving someone’s life. MICT students undergo written and hands-on skills testing in the classroom and on the road. Their performance is evaluated by clinical adjunct faculty members, who are certified paramedics, and who decide whether or not these students are “good enough to work on their family members,” said Alan Young, assistant instructor of emergency medical services (EMS).
Emergency Medical Technicians (EMT) like Aaron Pitt, 30, an MICT student on campus, has been granted special accommodations to complete his MICT training four weeks ahead of his class because he is being deployed to Washington by the Navy Active Duty Reserves.
Pitt will serve 1-3 years in Washington away from his wife and three kids. He will be going to school in Washington for his national registry license and will be working as a hospital corpsman– the military term for EMT.
Pitt is hopeful that his family can visit him while stationed in Washington. However, orders may have him relocated to Kuwait or Baghdad at the end of June, where his family will not be allowed to visit him.
This will be Pitt’s first time being deployed and although it will be stressful being away from home, he says he will be able to learn things there that he won’t be able to learn here.
Pitt had to undergo a grueling 10-skills testing course in one day. Each test is observed by clinical adjunct faculty members who are certified paramedics. Students like Pitt use test dummies to show they can give CPR, I.V.’s, EKGs, intubate to open air passageways, and administer particular medications prescribed at the scene.
Students who fail one of the tests are given two more chances to pass, but they are evaluated by a different paramedic. Students must pass all tests given during the course of the program, or they will be dismissed and given the option to start all over again.
Pitt, like other MICT students who are certified EMTs, works for the City of Honolulu. It is mandatory that these EMTs work in the field and accumulate 1,600 hours of hands-on training under the supervision of certified paramedics. Becoming an EMT is the first step before advancing to an MICT. EMTs must get their MICT license within three years, or be dismissed from the department. Even the Fire Department is requiring its trainees to become at least EMT certified.
During the work-study program between EMT student and a certified paramedic, there are five clinical rotations the trainee must succeed in. Each rotation is a duration of 3-5 weeks. The first eight weeks of training is to teach the skills that will be used on the road, Pitt said.
During the first four rotations, the EMT students are guided by the preceptor; however, it is expected by the fifth rotation that “the student should not be looking for help,” Alan Young said. The EMT is expected to know the role, knowledge and skills of a MICT already.
There has been a demand for certified MICTs, also known as paramedics, in the city department. At KCC, there are an estimated 17-20 students who start off in the EMT program. Young says that the Emergency Medical Services (EMS) department, located in the Kauila building, is happy if 50 percent of them advance to the MICT program.
Young has been an MICT for 21 years and he says that the rigorous process and demands of this medical profession is to help “ensure quality versus quantity” of people sent out into the workforce. It is stressed that the evaluators feel absolutely confident in the students being tested. This job deals with having someone else’s life in your own hands and being sure that “this is your cup of tea,” Young said.
Former KCC student, Jeff Jacobson, 30, an EMT for City and County recalls the EMT program being intense. However, he is preparing himself for the MICT program next year.
“I heard the EMT program is nothing compared to the MICT one,” Jacobson sighed.