For the past several years, Pace High School has offered its STEM First Responder EMT Academy to its students in conjunction with Barry University. The program is a four-year track designed to help students who want to pursue a job as a paramedic and prepare them for pre-med and medical school.
After learning health science in their freshman year and anatomy and physiology in their sophomore year, academy students take Emergency Medical Responder I in their junior year, where they become certified in CPR, first aid, and AED and learn to respond to medical emergencies. For their senior year, academy students are taught by Barry University EMT instructors who also work as firefighters and paramedics.
As part of their final year, academy students are considered students of Barry University. They are required to attend clinicals at Cleveland Clinic in Weston, where they work emergency room rotations and ask patients medical questions. They are also required to have five ride-alongs with the Miami-Dade Ambulance Company and the Coral Gables Fire Department.
After passing their final exam and graduating from the academy, students will be able to sit for the EMT certification state exam once they turn 18.
These academy students are working even more diligently this year, as the program has raised its expectations even higher and become more challenging.
“We want to make sure everyone feels prepared to sit for the EMT certification exam after graduation,” said Taylor Wilmoth, the Lead Teacher for Pace’s STEM First Responder/EMT Academy.
Senior Starlla Dabady is one of the 12 students in this year’s graduating EMT Academy class. She will be taking the EMT certification state exam once she turns 18 and plans to go medical school to major in pediatrics.
She says that the academy has helped her understand the anatomy and physiology of the body and know what to do in emergency situations well before pre-med.
“Being in an academy gave me options for jobs that most high school students wouldn’t have,” said First Responder/EMT Academy senior Haley D’Alessandro.