(Pictured above: EMTs Adam Kipust and Thomas Kretschmer)
When someone at UCLA calls 9-1-1 for a medical emergency, our Emergency Medical Technicians (EMTs) are ready to respond 24/7.
UCLA EMTs operate under Emergency Medical Services (EMS) and are often the highest medical authority on the scene as they assess and treat patients. EMS-1, the primary campus ambulance, responds to more than 1,700 medical aid requests annually, both on the UCLA campus and in the surrounding community.
Our EMTs are UCLA students who are most often interested in the medical profession as more than 90% of them go on to medical school or join fire departments. They receive rigorous training which begins in the classroom with weekly ride-alongs, then progress to the field where they work with a dedicated Field Training Officer. After six months, a student can test out of training to become a probationary EMT, and test again after another six months to become a full-fledged EMT.
For Adam Kipust, a third-year student studying Psychobiology with a minor in Disability Studies, becoming an EMT is helping to fulfill his aspirations for medical school and become an EMS physician. It’s also letting him serve his community which is his favorite part of the job. “We show up on some of the worst days of peoples' lives and have the ability to make a positive impact,” he says. “There is no cooler job out there.”
Outside of the field, the EMTs are also put to test each year at the EMS Skills Classic, an annual event that takes place at the National Collegiate Emergency Medical Services Foundation Conference. Teams from schools across the U.S. and Canada compete by showcasing their patient care, teamwork, and problem-solving abilities. The team from UCLA is proud to have won the competition several times including this past February at the conference in Pittsburgh.
Besides responding to emergency calls, UCLA EMTs train various groups on campus including Resident Directors and Assistants, trainers with UCLA Football and Gymnastics, and UCLA Recreation lifeguards. They also provide ride-alongs for anyone interested in learning more about the campus ambulance program or emergency medical services in general.
Given the hands-on experience EMT’s have with patients, they have a considerable advantage when applying to medical school. In fact, 100% of UCLA EMTs who apply to medical school get accepted.
“We’ve had a lot of success stories over the years,” says Tom Reynolds, who has managed Emergency Medical Services at UCLA for almost 15 years. He has seen the growth in students that become an EMT not only professionally but personally as well. “It’s not just medical training, it’s training on life skills and how to be a better person.”
