ATLANTIC CITY — The desperate pleadings for help mimicked those of a real-life patient and the transfixed countenance of the nearly life-like mechanized mannequin laying in the hospital bed evoked the emotion of one in distress. This may have been a simulated emergency, but the highly-trained medical professionals first on the scene treated this demonstration like an actual medical emergency.
It is in such moments of stress, when lives hang in the balance, that years of education and training pay off. At Atlantic Cape Community College, students can learn the basic skills needed to become a certified Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) while experienced EMT’s may advance and become proficient in Advanced Life Support (ALS) as a Mobile Intensive Care Paramedic (MICP).
During a recent visit to the Charles D. Worthington Atlantic City campus by Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia President Anna Paulson, three recent graduates – Ashley Capaldi, Dylan Casmer and Elizabeth Gray – of the Health Professions Institute’s (HPI) EMT and Paramedic programs conducted a real-life medical scenario that required them to perform under pressure while utilizing the critical skills they learned that are vital in the moment.
Capaldi, a resident of Galloway, NJ and for the past year a site coordinator in Workforce Development’s EMT and Paramedic programs, recently completed the College’s nearly four-month long EMT program. Working intimately with the two programs organically changed her heart and mind about the career path she wanted to follow.
“My boss initially came to me and put it in my head saying ‘hey, you're an EMT’ and I said, ‘no, I'm not!’ But, I truly ended up just having a love for it because of learning about it through the job itself. So, I got a grant, took the course, and ended up falling in love with it actually,” said Capaldi. “It took me out of my comfort zone and I wanted to find a new path for me.”
Spending an extended period of time as a stay-at-home mother raising her daughter gave Capaldi the inspiration to seek out a new line of work. Landing a job at the College gave her the opportunity to jump start her dreams.
“I knew that healthcare was probably something I wanted to do in my life. I just didn't know where to start, so when this job was presented to me it just seemed like a no-brainer. I ended up doing the program and now I am taking the National Registry EMT exam within the next month.”
Capaldi, who would love to eventually teach for the EMT program, admitted that she has been attempting to convince her 15-year-old daughter that taking the EMT program is a smart course of action.
“I told my daughter it’s a smart choice, especially for somebody who's coming out of high school who may necessarily not know what they want to do or know they don't want to go to college. It's a great program because you can get your career going once you have a certification. You can work as an EMT and it's a great start if you want to get into the health field,” said Capaldi. “I think it's also a really good way to just get your foot in the door and see if you even want to work in healthcare.”
Casmer, a resident of Oaklyn, NJ and 2024 graduate of the Paramedic program, spent six years as an EMT in Gloucester County, NJ before deciding to take the next step in his healthcare career.
“I had a couple of friends who I work with who went through the program here as well and suggested it to me. I said, you know, I want to get my paramedic certification and I guess right now is the time to do it. So, I did it and fell in love with the program,” admitted Casmer, who spent two years completing the program, is currently a skills instructor with the Paramedic program and a paramedic with Virtua Health System.
After the very positive experience of taking and completing the Paramedic program, Casmer has his sights set on further professional healthcare career advancement.
“I definitely want to start teaching. I was lucky enough to be brought on as a skills instructor here, but I definitely want to start precepting eventually, which is helping train the next generation of paramedic students in the field and being a mentor to them. For that you do your field internship and you're paired with an experienced paramedic,” said Casmer, who praised his instructors for their knowledge and experience, caring to see their students succeed, and ability to foster a family-like atmosphere.
Gray, a resident of Tinton Falls, NJ and recent Paramedic program graduate, decided that taking the certificate route fit her personal schedule and professional ambitions.
“I was looking for something that was a little bit smaller to take on because a two-year program could be overwhelming to dedicate my time to while working full time,” said Gray. “This program was much more adaptable for me. It was able to work with my schedule to help coordinate with school, while a lot of the other programs require more classroom time because they do a combination of clinicals and didactic at the same time, whereas this program only did clinical.”
While enrolled in the Paramedic program, Gray found this flexibility to be overwhelmingly beneficial and necessary toward ensuring her success.
“I dedicated two days a week to my program and worked full-time. When clinicals started I was able to coordinate my school schedule with my work schedule to make it work for me. It was not a big task to take on all at once,” said Gray, who is currently a CPR instructor and would eventually like to earn her Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS) certificate so she may become an EMS instructor.
The College’s Workforce Development program offers career training for students and adults seeking to enter into or advance further in the medical professions field. Atlantic Cape started its EMT program in 2011 while the current iteration of its Paramedic program began in 2018. From EMT’s and Paramedics to Phlebotomy Technicians, and Certified Medical and Administrative Assistants, hundreds have graduated from these programs and gone on to successful careers in patient care.
Director of Paramedic Science and EMT Training Wallace Maines has been overseeing both programs since October 2021. He supports their growth by ensuring that each runs efficiently behind the scenes while also focusing on student success and excellent program outcomes.
Lead Instructor Larry Pratt guides both programs and delivers their nationally-aligned standards of curriculum so his students are not only gaining technical skills, but also developing critical thinking, professionalism and readiness to respond to real-world emergencies.
Atlantic Cape's Health Professions Institute (HPI) provides comprehensive healthcare training for in-demand careers. Phlebotomy, Certified Clinical Medical Assistants, Emergency Medical Technicians, and Paramedic Science Programs are available. For information, call (609) 343-5655 or visit workforce.atlanticcape.edu/professional-development/healthcare/index.php.
About Atlantic Cape Community College
Atlantic Cape Community College is a Middle States accredited, 2022 Achieving the Dream Leader College and Hispanic Serving Institution proudly serving the residents of Atlantic and Cape May counties. As a comprehensive, two-year community college, Atlantic Cape offers 47 undergraduate degree programs, and 34 certificate and professional series programs at its Mays Landing, Atlantic City and Cape May County campuses. Atlantic Cape is home to the renowned Academy of Culinary Arts, rated the top culinary school in New Jersey, and for more than 50 years, our highly-acclaimed Nursing program. Atlantic Cape also partners with more than 30 colleges and four-year universities to offer students the opportunity to seamlessly earn a bachelor’s degree upon graduation.
