Twenty-nine-year-old Stefan Ortega has always been fascinated with medicine. “当 I was going to school, my two favorite subjects were math and science. 就像任何 从小到大，我都很喜欢海妖. 当你把数学，科学和塞壬混在一起， 你几乎把矛头指向了EMS，”奥尔特加说.

Ortega began his Emergency Medical Services training at the age of 18 while taking concurrent courses at Monte Vista High School and earned his EMT (Emergency Medical 培训)基础认证. 同时授课可以让青少年挣到高中学费 同时还能拿到大学学分. 传统上，高中支付大部分或全部学费 大学学费.

Ortega is the first paramedic to graduate from the 特立尼达的状态 program and is certified in Colorado and New Mexico as well as nationally registered. 科罗拉多的护理人员 are required to pass the national registry before they can practice. 尽管他 only been practicing as a paramedic since last November, he was the Ambulance Director for the town of Monte Vista the past five years and started working for the ambulance 十年前还在高中的时候就参军了.

“当 I was directing the ambulance, I loved seeing the high school students… getting 他们的EMT. 这是一个很酷的程序. 如果不是并发程序I took in high school, I don’t know if I would be in EMS (Emergency Medical Services) 现在，”奥尔特加说.

After his high school graduation in 2010, Ortega earned his Intermediate certificate at 特立尼达的状态 while getting a BS (Bachelor of Science) from Adams State University (2015) in cellular and molecular biology with pre-med being his intention at that time. But, as he interviewed at several medical schools, he realized he felt “more 在家"追求护理人员的职业生涯.

He explained up until now it has been hard for people in the Valley to get a paramedic certificate because the closest program was in Pueblo and most people here work fulltime 工作. “当 Trinidad brought that program to the Valley,” he said, “I jumped right 我做得很开心.”

“I’ve always liked the challenge of medicine,” Ortega said.

护理人员比急救人员受过更多的培训. 他们可以管理药物并开始 静脉注射，还有其他急救医生做不到的事情. 他们也可以进行气管插管， intravenous access and drug administration and manual defibrillation. 护理人员培训 在使用30-40种药物，取决于各州.

 “的 way I like to think of an ambulance service is bringing the emergency room to the patient before the patient gets to the hospital,” said Ortega. 如果这个团队包括 a paramedic, there are more treatment options for the patient. 除了导演 the ambulance, Ortega also served for eight years on the SLV RETAC (Regional Emergency Trauma Advisory Council), a state appointed board, having moved into the chair position 去年10月. “的ir goal is to Improve trauma times and trauma outcomes in the pre-hospital 环境，”奥尔特加说. 的 paramedic program offered by 特立尼达的状态 is helping 他们要完成他们的目标.

Ortega’s wife, Randi, graduated from 特立尼达的状态 with her LPN (Licensed Practical 2017年获得护士证书. 后来她在阿尔伯克基找到了工作. 奥尔特加希望 像她支持他一样支持她. 他在阿尔伯克基找到了一份护理人员的工作 area. 他也想和家人更亲近. 奥尔特加来自新墨西哥州 唯一住在科罗拉多的家庭成员. 这场大流行让他重新审视自己的想法 生活. “家庭对我来说非常重要，”奥尔特加说.

“2020年充满挑战，”他继续说道. “整个大流行最困难的部分是 the fear of the unknown - protecting not only ourselves and our patients but our families 因为我们不知道这是什么.他补充说，“社区的支持贯穿始终。 the valley has been strong with people donating supplies (masks and gloves) and equipment 来帮助我们. 它确实打动了我.”

“I promote the paramedic program in the Valley because 特立尼达的状态 is a local, smaller institution and because the community provides a lot of support,” said Ortega. “As an ambulance director, one of the difficulties I had in the Valley was getting and retaining ALS (Advanced Life Support) certified providers.在科罗拉多州，这两个 ALS levels of EMT were the intermediate and the paramedic but Colorado no longer certifies the intermediate level which places a greater strain on the smaller areas. “有 当地的护理人员计划将为山谷提供良好的服务. 那些教书的人 grew up in and understand the area and the difficulties students face within small 农村地区，”他说. 的 Paramedic coordinator and lead instructor for Trinidad State, Brent Place, is a critical care flight paramedic who flies with Eagle Air in 供应商之一. “He comes with a ton of experience and he’s extremely knowledgeable. 的 他提供的教育是一流的，”奥尔特加说. 洛丽·汉密尔顿，教务长 for 特立尼达的状态, said Angie Medina, who also instructs for the program “is a seasoned nursing faculty who has several years as a flight nurse with a heavy EMS background 在指导护理和护理人员之前.”

奥尔特加说:“我在og体育感觉就像在家里一样. “我认识我的老师和同学. It felt like I was going through the program with my friends,” said Ortega. “我不 只是一个数字. I think Trinidad does a really good job of making you feel included. I am a big advocate for community colleges and vocational programs.”

Ortega explained that career options for paramedics are growing. 他们可以在 doctor’s offices, work in ERs, and even do follow-up patient care for hospital patients 他们已经回家了. “I definitely want to move into critical care in the next 奥特加说. 我喜欢不断增加的挑战和知识. 教育 对我来说一直都很重要吗.”

“的 program was created with the rural EMS districts in mind,” said Hamilton. ”讲座 are two evenings per week and can be attended either face to face or via video conference. Every other Saturday the students meet for ten hours for testing and hands-on practice. After completion of two semesters and 270 clinical hours, the students are sent out for a 500-hour internship which can be set up anywhere in the state. 特立尼达的状态 looks forward to continuing to serve the needs of the EMS districts and is very proud of Stefan's completion of the program and national registry.”

To learn more about the paramedic program at 特立尼达的状态 or to apply, 访问此页面.