Belpre, Ohio - High School students received a visit from Medflight Friday and a chance to learn firsthand about job opportunities in health care.
The Medflight helicopter touched down at the school Friday. David Ankrom, external base lead and flight paramedic for Medflight, spoke to the students.
Ankrom lives in Little Hocking and has been a member of the Little Hocking Volunteer Fire Department since graduating from Warren High School in 1987.
“The health care field — mostly EMT, paramedics and nursing — is showing a decline in people wanting to do these careers,” Ankrom said in an email about the event. The “shortage of paramedics is becoming a nationwide problem that we continue to try to address.”
Ankrom said career talks such as Friday’s visit help health care professionals get students interested in the field, as well as showing them the different kinds of jobs that are available.
“What I am doing is trying to use the Medflight Helicopter to promote theses professions, to show students that this is a possible career path that many don’t think about,” he said.
School counselor Jen Miller said the event went well and students were excited to see the Medflight helicopter.
“They landed twice,” she said. “The first time they landed they got called out. It was around lunchtime, so the students got to see them take off. When they landed the second time, that was for our senior financial literacy class. The Medflight people and a couple of people from the Belpre Volunteer Fire Department talked.”
Miller said about 25 students are in the financial literacy class, and they learned about medical professions, what education and training is required and what those professions do on a typical day.
“It went really well,” Miller said.
Ankrom said local fire and EMS departments are asked to attend these events to help promote volunteering and working for those agencies, “as well as to promote a profession that is in severe need of people.”
“Most people don’t realize what it takes to get into the air medical profession, and I am hoping by attending these types of career days that maybe we can encourage some students to consider a career in health care,” he said.
Ever thought about a career as a Flight Medic, Flight Nurse, Flight RT or EMS Pilot?
Join our Future Flight Crew Private Facebook Group. It's chock full of talented folks who will help you succeed.
Answer 3 simple questions to join, takes less than a minute.
CLICK THE BANNER to Sign Up (It's Free):
EMS Flight Safety Network is The People Who Keep Air Medical Safe
- EMTs | Medics | Nurses
- Pilots | Firefighters | ER Staff
- Security | RRTs | Trauma Doctors
- Landing Zone Coordinators | Dispatchers
- Specialty Transport Teams | Flight Surgeons
- Flight Communication Specialists | Mechanics | Chaplains
- Police | Fire Police | CNAs | NICU Nurses | Retirees | Veterans
- The Family, Friends & Coworkers Who Support These Professionals
