Monday, October 29, 2007

Students In Emergency Preparedness Programs Not A New Concept For Fairfax County

After being elected Fairfax County Citizen Corps Council Chairman, Andrew Levy, added a volunteer student position to the council with a representative from Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS). "It is important to remember that students are a vital part of our population and their participation in emergency response in Fairfax County is nothing new".

Throughout this week, this blog will focus on several students programs, including Fire and Emergency Medical Sciences, Law Enforcement Explorers, and Boy Scout Emergency Preparedness. As well as the many emergency preparedness exercises and outreach programs our students in Fairfax County participate in.

Fire and Emergency Medical Sciences

Working with FCPS sponsor, Penny Kelly, Lauren Kovacic was selected as the Citizen Corps Council representative and Ashley Smith as alternate. Both of these students are part of the Fire and Emergency Sciences is offered at Falls Church High School.

While many areas are developing Teen CERT programs. This course has been in place for several years. It is a full year course taken in both the fall and spring semesters. Fire and Emergency Medical Sciences prepares the student to enter the workforce or pursue further education in the field of Emergency Medical Services (EMS) and Fire Science.

The principles and practices of emergency response and fire fighting are explored under the direct supervision of a certified EMT-B instructor.

The curriculum consists of planned learning experiences in the classroom, laboratory, and faculty supervised clinical settings. Students will have the opportunity to observe and interact with a variety of patients experiencing varying degrees of injury or disease that are carefully selected to provide appropriate clinical learning experiences. As preparation, students are provided with ample lab practice to fully prepare them for the clinical experience and minimize risks.

During the course of study, students have the opportunity to earn the following certifications: American Heart Association Healthcare Provider Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR), Emergency Medical Technician-Basic (EMT-B), Hazardous Materials Response, Bloodborne Pathogens, and Community Emergency Response Team (CERT). Offsite clinical lab opportunities at Northern Virginia Community College, Medical Education Center (NVCC MEC) and Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Academy are available to the students. Students must purchase uniforms and liability insurance to participate in clinical experiences.

For additional information on this program, please visit http://www.fcps.edu/DIS/OCTE/healtho/descript.htm#anchor-fire

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