By EMS1 Staff
HARRISON, Ark. — Nearly 800 EMTs and paramedics have not renewed their license this year, according to the Arkansas Department of Health, and the director of EMS programs at North Arkansas College wants to change those statistics.
In response to the news, Jacob Williams, director of EMS programs at North Arkansas College, is encouraging people to look into emergency services as a career, according to FOX 16.
“We hope we get more people exposed to pre-hospital care because there’s a huge need for it,” Williams said.
He is encouraging those with empathy and compassion to start taking courses.
“A lot of people will look at the money aspect,” Williams said. “The money is there for them. Sometimes we work in the unknown. And that has a tendency to kind of push some people away.”
For some students already taking the course, it’s not about the money, but about giving back to the community.
“I knew that that was what I wanted to do,” paramedic student Andrew Ly said. “I didn’t want to work something just for the paycheck. I wanted it to be passion-driven.”