A simple 911 call from a Prince George’s County resident whisks student EMTs into the unknown.
The emergency medical technicians could be responding to anything from reports of a homicide to alcohol poisoning to third-degree burns. But the group of students said they spend many sleepless nights and weekend days at a number of fire stations that surround the campus — such as in Berwyn Heights, Chillum-Adelphi and Hyattsville — because they’re addicted to helping others.
The student EMTs work to keep patients alive, which some said they hope to turn into a lifelong passion as doctors or firefighters.
“I like having the opportunity to help other people, and from a professional perspective, I like the privilege of being responsible for someone else’s health,” said Zahari Tchopev, a senior neuroscience major who works at the Hyattsville station. “I think that’s huge for someone who’s 20 years old.”
Working mainly outside of the university bubble lends itself to more serious calls — and intensified experiences, many said.
“We have everything from stabbings, shootings to heart attacks to car accidents where people are trapped or ejected, and then we have the run-of-the-mill stuff like broken bones,” said Daniel Jones, a sophomore government and politics major who serves at the Berwyn Heights Volunteer Fire Department.
“We have ridiculous ones sometimes, too, like someone called once for a hangnail … and things where it’s pretty obvious you don’t need an ambulance. We take them anyway.”
Emily Greiner, a sophomore Arabic studies major who volunteers at the Chillum-Adelphi Volunteer Fire Department, said she once helped fish a decaying corpse from a creek.
Tchopev said he responded to a call about two brothers who were stabbed and watched one die in the hospital room next to the other.
Jones said he once took care of a naked man who was on Phencyclidine — known as the drug PCP — at 6:30 a.m.
Despite the potential danger and the possible unsettling medical conditions, the students said they are hooked on the adrenaline rush of an emergency situation.
“Aside from getting thrown up on or getting covered in blood, I really enjoy it thoroughly,” Greiner said.
Jones agreed.
“I’ve never had a moment where I was just like, ‘I really don’t want to do this anymore,'” he said.
But Jones said he recognized the job isn’t always easy.
“It’s certainly not for everybody,” Jones said. “Losing your first patient is really hard. Losing your second patient is still really hard. Unfortunately, it gets a little easier the more you do it.”
But it’s the happy endings, the students said, that are the most rewarding.
Tchopev recalled a time he hooked up a little girl to an oxygen bag.
“When we got there, the child wasn’t breathing … and everyone just looked at me like, ‘What do we do?'” Tchopev said.
He saved her life.
Greiner spoke of a similar situation at a nursing home where she administered CPR to an elderly patient who stopped breathing.
“And we actually ended up saving the person … It’s things like that that make it worthwhile,” she said.
Working as an EMT builds character, according to Ivan Lawit, the EMS Sergeant in charge of the Hyattsville EMTs.
“It really enhances what you’re learning no matter what your major is,” said Lawit, who is a student at University of Maryland, University College.
The students work EMT shifts around their school schedules. Greiner and Jones said they work one or two nights every week, and Tchopev said he works one 24-hour shift and two night shifts each month.
During the downtime between calls, the students said bonding with the other workers — who they called their “family” — is a crucial aspect of the experience.
“We keep ourselves pretty occupied; it’s pretty much like hanging out with friends until something happens,” Greiner said.
Tchopev said he wasn’t expecting his co-workers to become his brothers and sisters.
“I like helping people, and I thought it would be a fun way to get that clinical experience,” Tchopev said. “But since I’ve been doing it, one thing I wasn’t expecting was the brotherhood that I developed with the people there.”
meehan@umdbk.com