Nursing students receive 2008 EMT scholarships

Villanova, PA, November 17, 2008 — Megan Copel, a Malvern Pa. native, is a volunteer firefighter at Paoli Fire Company in Paoli, Pa. as well as a freshman at Villanova University in the College of Nursing. She is exemplary of many nursing students who serve their communities, including the University community, as emergency medical technicians (EMTs).

In August, Copel was presented with a $1,000 scholarship award from the Main Line Chamber Foundation. She completed EMT courses in April and serves with both the fire and EMT units at Paoli. She is one of 23 volunteer firefighters awarded scholarships in 2008 by the Foundation.

Copel volunteers about 16 hours a week with Paoli as an EMT and after completing her Firefighter I training courses this coming summer, will also serve as a firefighter. However, as a nursing major, she wants to focus her energy on being an EMT. She also serves the University through VEMS, the Villanova Emergency Medical Service, a 100% student-run, licensed volunteer ambulance service that provides basic life support to the campus community of approximately 10,000 students, faculty, and staff.

Copel hopes to be a trauma nurse and travel throughout the United States, “I like the idea of having to act fast with no knowledge of what will come next. This correlates with my reasoning for being an EMT. I also wanted to be able to run all calls with my company, not just fire.” She sees her EMT life as giving her a head-start on her nursing curriculum, “I have the advantage of knowing how to take vital signs, what various abbreviations stand for, and in general how to treat a patient. It has been my stepping stone into Villanova Nursing. Joining a fire company and becoming an EMT was probably one of the best decisions of my life. I have thoroughly enjoyed it and I wish to continue my EMT/firefighter career in conjunction with my future nursing aspirations. I will most likely be a volunteer EMT/firefighter for the remainder of my life.”

Fellow nursing student Kristen D’Andrea is from Lavallette, N.J. where she volunteers as an EMT with Lavallette First Aid Squad. Building on her four years of EMT experience, she also has been a volunteer with nearby Radnor Fire Company in Radnor, Pa. for over three years. Radnor has EMS personnel that have been cross trained to help on fire calls. Since she completed that training, she can now respond to fire calls to assist firefighters when needed. She too was recognized with a $1000 scholarship from the Foundation.

D’Andrea graduated with a bachelor’s in art history from Villanova in 2007 and is now getting a second degree in nursing through the College’s BSNExpress program designed for students who have a bachelor’s degree in another discipline. She hopes to pursue a career in critical care and trauma upon graduation in July 2009. Ultimately she would like to be a nurse practitioner in emergency and trauma. She is already planning to educate others by teaching CPR courses this winter.

Why volunteer as an EMT? “I started volunteering a couple of years ago because I was eager to begin working with patients and learn how to treat patients in an emergency setting. Becoming an EMT was the fastest way to get patient interaction, improve my assessment skills, and help others in the process,” explains D’Andrea. Her service, 12-19 hours a month, has been beneficial. She offers, “Being an EMT has really helped my assessment skills and has allowed me to become comfortable with patient interaction. I have become more confident with my judgment when treating the patient and deciding what will benefit the patient most.”