All Clear! Testing Our Stamina at the CPR Workshop

Today marked the highly anticipated Day 1 of Skills Day, an exciting experience where interns rotate through various foundational procedures practiced across the medical field. Because this week's cohort is twice the size of a standard session, the interns were split in half, alternating between a morning skills block and an afternoon block. Of all the medical techniques introduced, one remained universally recognized as the most vital for preserving human life: CPR.

The high-stakes station was led by Luis Rodriguez, an experienced 911 dispatch center worker from St. Mary’s County, who provided teams of medical dummies for the interns to practice on. Before anyone began compressions, Rodriguez explained how the dummies' built-in sensor technology would guide them. He noted that seeing two green lights indicates an adequate compression rate and depth, while a yellow light serves as a warning that the rescuer is moving way too fast.

Following their initial practice round, the interns watched an instructive "hands-only" CPR video produced by the American Heart Association. Rodriguez explained that combining high-quality CPR with an Automated External Defibrillator (AED) provides a patient with the absolute best chance of survival, largely because modern AEDs are safe, highly accurate, and incredibly easy to use. The interns learned how to place the adhesive pads so the machine could analyze the patient's heart rhythm, determine if a shock is required, and voice-prompt the rescuer through the next steps. They also practiced the vital safety protocols required if a shock is advised, including loudly clearing the area with an "All Clear!" before pressing the button.

To put the physical demands of the profession into perspective, Rodriguez pivoted to an interactive discussion about the realities of emergency response. He asked the interns to consider the population of their own hometowns, and then revealed a surprising statistic about his own county of 120,000 residents: on a good day, only eight people are staffing the 911 dispatch center, and typically, that number drops to just five. He then shared a story about a call where he had to coach a bystander through continuous CPR for nearly 20 minutes, challenging the interns to see if they had the stamina to do the same.

To close out the rotation, the interns paired up to simulate a real-world emergency setting, tag-teaming compressions and breaths. They kept up the intense pace for just two minutes straight, leaving the room exhausted but deeply amazed by the incredible endurance required of first responders who maintain that life-saving rhythm for twenty minutes or more.