Health Care Interview
Cassie Dickson
HCS/235
August 10, 2015
Darnecia Garner

Health Care Interview

Chris Rael is a critical technician that works in the trauma department at St. Francis hospital located in Colorado Springs, Colorado. He spent 10 years on ambulance support for St. Francis in addition to being a critical technician. Chris got is bachelor’s degree in sports medicine as well as I'm instructor for American heart association CPR instructor and state certified EMS instructor. Chris has spent many years helping patient receive to quality care at St. Francis.
Chris primary role at St Francis as a lead critical care technician is to support doctors/ nurses in a wide variety of situations ranging from cough and colds to full blown traumas and cardiac arrests. A critical care technician is typically an emergency medical technician (EMT) with advanced training. These professionals help conduct initial assessments, treat patients as necessary, and participate in community health education events. Technician are thoroughly educated in ambulatory operations and response systems. Chris has ten years of experiences as an EMT which now gives him extensive knowledge to do the critical care technician duties at the hospital. Who’s your primary customers? Our primary customers are anyone who comes through the doors, weather they have insurance or not. Age range varies from night to night, we see infants to elderly. These patients usually are in need of critical care, we see all races, ethnicity and genders as well as poor, middle class, and rich citizens. Chris says every patient is treat with the same quality of care whether they can afford or not. Emergency workers are the frontlines of medical care. Chris sees people with every conceivable issue from critically ill—from trauma, heart attack, or severe infection. These patients will get seen instantly and have the complete attention of ER staff. Other patients that are not critically ill but still have requirements that must be tended to. The ER customers are a wide range of illnesses, to insurances or no insurances, to gender, sex, ethnicity, age and severity of the condition are treated. What was your career path to this point? I originally started off getting my B.S. In sports medicine from CSU. All athletic trainers had to have a cot and first aid class. The university had a state driven EMT class as well and I took that to get better medical skills. What are the educational requirements for the position? Requirements are at least a Colorado state EMT certification up to a full blown paramedic certification as well as IV training as well. Along with state requirements of 72 additional education training every 2 years. According to Study.com (2015), “A high school diploma is prerequisite to enter into official training courses for critical care technicians. These workers can choose from three different levels of training, which include EMT-Basic, EMT-Intermediate, and Paramedic. A critical care technician needs at least a basic level of training, but the BLS notes that employers may recommend additional training. The training length for these programs varies; however, an examination is a general graduation requirement. Students learn how to perform emergency care for patients suffering from fractures, cardiac arrest, airway obstruction, and bleeding. Critical care technicians typically need to receive licensure through the state as paramedics or EMTs. The licensure examination is normally done through the National Registry of Emergency Medical Technicians (www.nremt.org). Some states have their own examination and others allow applicants to choose either one. Every few years this state licensure has to be renewed through refresher courses or fulfilling continuing education requirements.”

Did your education adequately prepare you for the various facets of your job? All the training I currently have continually keeps me prepared for anything I may encounter on the job. What is the most important attribute for success in your position? The most important attribute for any job in EMS is adaptability. You never know what's going to walk through the door or if what a patient is telling you is the full truth. I've been attacked, but, punched had feces thrown at me and have had patients eve try to stab me and pull guns on me. How do you see this position adapting to changes in health care? EMTS/ paramedics are being utilized more and more in Emergency Departments nationwide due to our skill set and abilities. With the huge nationwide nursing shortage we help fill in the gaps. We are a different breed. Sometimes seen as crass or non-empathetic towards some. But when you go from a dying child or cardiac arrest to someone who came in by ambulance for ankle pain they have had for 15 min sometimes we have a hard time controlling our emotions. Due to the health care changes the ER's are a major dumping ground for all urgent cares, and doctors’ offices. We are now seeing anything and everything. Even things that are truly not emergencies. All staff in Emergency medicine will be required to push their skills, and their spirits to new heights to tackle the influx of people we will be required to handle.
A critical care technician must be capable of rapidly and precisely measure emergency circumstances. This contains using services to take the vital signs of patients and defining if any apprehensions involve direct action, such as revitalization or patient restriction. Emergency technicians should sense calm evaluating a wide variety of emergencies, plus those connected to respiratory, cardiovascular, and neurological difficulties.

Accountability for treating patients frequently lies in the hands of other critical care professionals, such as nurses and physicians, however, a critical care technician would feel comfortable treating patients inside his or her boundaries. The requirement for treatment generally ascends in trauma situations and throughout patient transport to the hospital. EMTs should be able to treat and alleviate patient’s distress from emergencies, such as shock, allergic reactions, and overdoses. Critical care specialists also accomplish responsibilities external of the scope of their traditional work responsibilities. They normally aid organize and participate in community health fairs and wellness events. These events assist in educating the community on a assortment of wide-ranging health topics, such as healthy eating, exercise, and managing ongoing conditions, such as high blood pressure. A health professional, a critical care technician also supports propose material on the abundant resources accessible to community participants. In conclusion Chris has provided information pertaining to becoming a critical care technician. He provided input on his primary responsibility, and the kind of customers his department sees. Chris shared the educational requirements he needed to become a critical care tech, as well as the preparation it would take, along with any additional education that was required of him. He shared what it would take to be a successful critical care tech, and he even shared the way that critical care techs will adapt to an ever changing medical field. Critical care techs are essential to the emergency care department at St. Francis.

References
Study.com. (2015). Critical Care Technician: Job Description, Duties and Requirements. Retrieved from http://study.com/articles/Critical_Care_Technician_Job_Description_Duties_and_Requirements.html