I have worked as an American Heart Association (AHA) instructor for more than 14 years. But I never seriously considered turning it into a career – despite many of my colleagues finding great success pursuing this path. While I often would assist them teaching classes, I was just too busy working as a full-time paramedic on an ambulance and raising 3 children to consider making emergency medical education a full-time job.
Then, an exciting opportunity to teach CPR presented itself during my daughter's Karate class (of all places). Gayl, a Community Schools Manager at Lowell Public Schools who knew of my background as a paramedic, inquired about whether I taught CPR. I confirmed that I was an AHA Instructor, and she asked if I'd be interested in teaching CPR and First Aid to middle school students.
Although I had never taught CPR to such a young demographic, I saw it as an incredible opportunity to witness how they would respond to the training. Shortly afterward, I conducted my first class, which turned out to be a great success. The students quickly absorbed the information and were proficiently performing chest compressions on the manikins with ease!! You can read the full story of that first classroom experience in a Facebook post by Lowell Public Schools, which I have reposted here on the EME blog.
Since that first class, word spread rapidly throughout the district, and I started regularly teaching at several of the middle schools in Lowell. I have even expanded my curriculum to incorporate babysitting classes, providing numerous students with the skills not only to save a life, but also earn a few extra dollars.
Seeing how successful this opportunity was and realizing how much I enjoyed inspiring others to learn CPR and the positive feedback I received from my participants, I decided to establish Emergency Medical Educators—a safety and training organization dedicated to teaching healthcare providers and lay rescuers lifesaving skills.
Click HERE to read the Facebook post from Lowell Public Schools.
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