A seventh grade student is pictured using a King Vision™ Laryngoscope to practice the technique Paramedics use to intubate a patient who is not breathing or is having severe respiratory distress.
At Blendon Middle School on August 30, Angelique Crego’s Medical Detectives class was visited by paramedic and firefighter Charles Cattrell, who enlightened them about the day-to-day tasks he performs in his job. Cattrell, a former Blendon Middle School student and teacher, used a mannequin to show pupils how to perform CPR, focusing on the importance of compressions. Youngsters were also able to use a mannequin to learn how to intubate the lungs in case of emergency.
Hands on exploration is important in this newly created class, where students play the role of real-life medical detectives who are given cases where they need to find data and analyze it to diagnose diseases. Cattrell, who now works with Washington Township and Grant Medical Center both in the field and as a classroom instructor for new emergency personnel, explained the intricacies of his job with good humor, and the students found his presentation both informative and amusing. “CPR is a good thing to know in an emergency,” said one 7th grade pupil, who also says he is giving more thought to pursuing a medical career than he did before starting this class.