LVHN EMT Training Great Fit for DeSales Nursing Student

Sophie Cebenko’s thirst for learning and experience goes beyond working toward her nursing degree at DeSales University in Center Valley.

This past summer, she became a certified emergency medical technician (EMT) through Lehigh Valley Health Network (LVHN)’s George E. Moerkirk Emergency Medicine Institute's EMT program.

Cebenko, of New Tripoli, Lehigh County, is a junior at DeSales with her sights set on working as an emergency room or intensive care unit nurse, with an ultimate goal of becoming a flight nurse. “I thought becoming an EMT would be an awesome tie to that,” she says. “It’s something I’ve always wanted to do.” Cebenko says LVHN’s program was “all encompassing” and has given her a great skill set as she begins her nursing career.

Cebenko took the accelerated summer course, full weekdays of instruction for a month. The spring and fall courses are conducted at night and run four months.

With mornings for lectures and afternoons for skills training, Cebenko says EMT program coordinator Douglas Gernerd was a phenomenal instructor, who also brought in guest instructors throughout the program including an ER doctor and those currently working for area EMS organizations as EMTs or paramedics.

“It was a great all-around experience,” Cebenko says, noting instructors often changed things up during skills training so EMT students could learn how to adapt to an evolving situation. “This was great exposure to medicine and caring for people, to being able to keep your cool in crazy situations,” she says. “You learn how to take what you’ve learned and apply it in different situations. Every call, every patient, is different.”

Not everyone takes EMT training for the same reason. The condensed summer session tends to draw those, such as Cebenko, looking to get a leg up on a future medical career, while the longer sessions feature night classes, attracting those looking toward a career as an EMT or paramedic.
LVHN also offers yearlong paramedic training.

Gernerd says former EMT students have gone on to become nurses, physician assistants and doctors. EMT students take a practical test administered by the Eastern PA EMS Council and then a written national test at an off-site location.

“The EMT training covers a lot of ground,” Gernerd says. “First responders do a wide variety of things when responding to a call, from conducting patient assessments and taking vital signs to administering certain medications and doing certain procedures. They respond to medical calls for things such as heart attacks, stroke and diabetes, and trauma calls for things such as falls and motor vehicle accidents.”

LVHN has offered EMT training to the community for decades. Gernerd is an LVHN EMT program graduate.

“Our EMT training provides a great skill set, a solid foundation for whatever path you choose,” Gernerd says.

The next EMT course runs Jan. 31-June 8, 2023, at the Emergency Medicine Institute on the first floor at 2100 Mack Blvd., Allentown.

Tuition is $1,600. Tuition reimbursement is available for residents of Carbon, Schuylkill and Monroe counties for this class through the Eastern PA EMS Council. To take advantage of reimbursement, participants from those counties should contact the EMS Council at 610-820-9212.