BLINN PARAMEDIC GRADUATES PARTICIPATE IN PINNING CEREMONY

  

Twelve Blinn College Paramedic Program graduates were honored for their achievements and welcomed to the profession in a recent pinning ceremony.

Each graduate completed 45 credit hours to earn their paramedic technology certificate or Emergency Medical Services Associate in Applied Science degree, which qualify them for entry-level paramedic positions and can be applied toward obtaining a bachelor’s degree. Courses include basic and clinical emergency medical technician, clinical emergency medical services, trauma management, cardiology, medical emergencies and EMS operations. Students must also complete the Paramedic Academy, a three-semester program that prepares students for certification or licensure by the National Registry of Emergency Medical Technicians and the Texas Department of State Health Services.

For the first time in the program’s 20-year history, students participated in a procedural anatomy critical care skills course at the Centre for Emergency Health Sciences in Spring Branch. Students performed procedures on cadavers, including a cricothyrotomy, an emergency method used to obtain an airway when routine methods are ineffective.

“In addition to the hands-on training students receive in our high-fidelity simulation lab, they get to train alongside a team of highly experienced professionals,” said Zack Varner, program director. “These graduates are leaving Blinn prepared to save lives.”

Members of this year’s graduating class include: Kenneth Benfer (Livingston), Eric Duran (Arlington), Cody Eastep (Dallas), Brock Hamilton (Humble), Brian Johnson (Houston), Trevor Kimberly (Colleyville), Thomas Oliver (Houston), Kyle Shimerka (Houston), Clayton Smith (Joshua), Shane Urban (Lincoln), Juan Villatoro (Houston) and Eric Woody (Kauffman).

Varner, a Blinn alumnus and nine-year emergency medical services veteran, attributes the students’ success to the program’s seasoned instructors and rigorous, hands-on coursework.

“I couldn’t be more proud of these students,” Varner said. “They have worked incredibly hard over the last three semesters, packed with countless hours of lab and clinical rotations and a 240-hour summer internship. They’re prepared to take their knowledge and skills and use them to serve their communities.”

Blinn’s Paramedic Program is part of the Emergency Medical Services Program, which offers emergency medical technician and paramedic training. For more information, visit: www.blinn.edu/twe/ems.