Conservation Officer Academy Blog/Week 3: First responders

COs often are first on scene at medical emergencies, so their training is crucial.
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Conservation Officer Recruit School Blog

For first responders, emergency medical training is crucial

Week 3: July 30-Aug. 5, 2017

If there's a medical emergency on the water, in the woods or on the street, don't be surprised if a Michigan Department of Natural Resources conservation officer is first on the scene. As explained in this brief video, First aid buttonconservation officers are not emergency medical technicians (EMTs), but often serve as first responders due to their extensive training, statewide coverage area and fleet of specialized vehicles that enables them to access remote areas.

Recruits in the DNR Conservation Officer Recruit School spent their third week learning basic lifesaving skills, from applying tourniquets to administering CPR. A conservation officer may be confronted with medical issues that include minor cuts, gunshot wounds, broken bones and heart attacks. Keeping a cool head in such stressful situations and knowing how to stabilize a patient are just some of the tremendous responsibilities shouldered by those who wear the green and gray uniform of a Michigan conservation officer.

Fortunately, recruits receive the best training.The DNR’s first aid and trauma program exceeds standards set by the Michigan Commission on Law Enforcement Standards (MCOLES), and its ranks are filled with officers who have actual lifesaving experience.

Overcoming barriers

Monday morning set the tone for the week’s lessons. Cpl. Pat McManus, lead first-aid instructor for the DNR Law Enforcement Division, lectured eager recruits on the first-responder role of a conservation officer. In addition to explaining medical issues such as blood-borne pathogens and legal issues such as Michigan’s “Good Samaritan” law,Watchful eye.Hartsig McManus prepared recruits to handle the stress that inevitably comes with responding to medical incidents.

“Conservation officers must deal with situations that might prevent them from taking proper care of the victim,” McManus said. “Their ability to assess the scene, whether it’s a busy highway or a hostile incident in which safety threats remain, is key to successfully rendering the type of aid that is needed. Immediately identifying these factors and managing their own stress levels will help conservation officers overcome such obstacles and treat the victim. The first step is to eliminate any barriers that prevent us from saving lives.”

That’s where the three Cs – check, call, care – come in, according to McManus. Recruits learned to check out the scene and assess the situation, call for assistance, and then care for the victim.

It’s also important for conservation officers to properly support medical personnel once they arrive at the scene. Recruits learned about basic anatomy and the physiology of the human body. They also were taught basic medical terminology that will help them understand instructions from EMTs.

Every minute matters

Tuesday’s training guided recruits through real-world scenarios. They gained valuable experience by practicing infant, Learning basics.1child and adult CPR on mannequins. The session also introduced recruits to the automated external defibrillator (AED), a lifesaving device issued to all Michigan conservation officers.

Some scenarios purposely were designed to be stressful for recruits, catching them off-guard to simulate real-life situations. “You never know when you will be called upon to respond,” McManus said. “Accidents and medical emergencies happen around the clock. It’s our job to be ready.”

The next day, recruits were familiarized with some of the basic lifesaving tools carried by all conservation officers, such as tourniquets, blood-clotting agents and chest seals. The tools are used to treat major bleeding emergencies suffered by officers or their patients. 

The importance of these devices was driven home by Conservation Officer Patrick Hartsig, a former paramedic and a recent recipient of the DNR Law Enforcement Division’s Lifesaving Award. “These can save your life or the life of your patient,” Hartsig told recruits. “Quickly stopping bleeding will help prevent shock and loss of life. You must know how to apply them to yourself if you’re injured, not just to your patient. How do you expect to save others if you can’t save yourself?”

Common scenarios

Thursday’s emphasis was on head, neck and back injuries, as well as the right way to bandage and sling broken, sprained or bruised bones and joints. These are skills frequently used during a conservation officer’s career becauseDealing with trauma. responding to motor vehicle or ORV accidents is common.

Once it was dark outside, instructors threw recruits a curveball by putting them through a training scenario involving a victim who was shot in the chest. The patient suffered major blood loss and was struggling to breathe. Recruits made use of their DNR-issued first-aid kits and were tested to see if they recognized the need for a chest seal to help the patient breathe and prevent a collapsed lung.

It all comes together

Recruits wrapped up the week with a comprehensive written exam that tested their knowledge of all the information and techniques learned since Monday. These skills will not be allowed to deteriorate. All Michigan conservation officers attend refresher courses on first aid and CPR every year.

With Week 3 in the books, recruits began feeling a little surer of themselves. There are more challenges to come, and mistakes still will be made, but self-confidence throughout the class began building gradually. Can they carry that momentum into Week 4?

Subscribe to the weekly conservation officer academy blog, which also will be posted on the Michigan DNR Facebook page. View previous blogs from Recruit School #8.

/Note to editors: Accompanying photos are available below for download. Caption information follows.

CPR_training: A recruit practices using an automated external defibrillator (AED) while administering CPR. An AED is a lifesaving device issued to all Michigan conservation officers. 

Learning_the_basics: Recruits practice the proper way to bandage a wound. Conservation officers never know when they will be confronted with a medical emergency, and must be prepared when needed.

Watchful_eye: Under the watchful eye of instructor Patrick Hartsig, two recruits practice basic first aid during the third week of the Department of Natural Resources Conservation Officer Recruit School. Conservation officers often are first to respond to accident scenes and other medical emergencies, making lifesaving capabilities an essential part of their skill set. 

Dealing_with_trauma: Conservation Officer Shane Webster, left, pretends to be the victim of a traumatic injury as a recruit applies his newly learned first-aid skills during the final exam.  

Getting_graded: Conservation Officer Casey Pullum, left, observes a recruit as she goes through first-aid testing during Week 3 of the Michigan Department of Natural Resources Conservation Officer Recruit School. Conservation Officer Shane Webster, center, simulates a severe injury so recruits can practice in a realistic situation./


The Michigan Department of Natural Resources is committed to the conservation, protection, management, use and enjoyment of the state’s natural and cultural resources for current and future generations. For more information, go to www.michigan.gov/dnr.

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