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IN THIS ISSUE A Body of Knowledge Investing in the Future Math, Science Students Find Special Help Toward Gainful Employment Chancellor's Column Development News Factoids Newsmakers Accomplishments by faculty and staff… |
COVER
STORY
Beach Patrol Lifeguard
in San Diego sounds like a good job, yes? Well,
it is. Beyond the sunny skies on beautiful beaches, though, lifeguards
in San Diego enjoy knowledge of their work — serious work —
as few others do. When lifeguards on San Diego beaches are called into
action, they do so with the benefit of superior training. Much
of that training in San Diego now comes from the lifeguard program at
Miramar College, where students can earn an associate’s degree or
certificate as an open water lifeguard professional, the only program
of its kind in the world. Started
in 1996, the lifeguard program is part of the fire protection technology
department and is the brainchild of Nick Lerma, a lieutenant in the lifeguard
system for the City of San Diego. “It
started off as a conversation with another lieutenant,” Lerma said.
“There were certificate programs in this area for police and fire
personnel, and many of those people went on to work with the region. We
thought that if anybody else could benefit from such a program, it could
very well be lifeguards.” There
were obstacles, of course. “Lifeguards
haven’t historically been taken seriously,” Lerma said. “There
is a stereotype of lifeguards that often has been difficult to combat.
But as I started talking to educators, right away they understood the
void in formal education for lifeguards.” Lerma
met with Jim Palmer, the dean of the School of Public Services, and a
proper curriculum was designed. “We
looked at the police and fire programs, and they had well-defined curricula,”
Lerma said. “They had track records that the community college system
had recognized as viable. We integrated the lifeguard elements and emerged
with a program carrying an emphasis on both activity and education.” The
open water lifeguard professional certificate program is a three-unit,
intensive 80-hour program, while the degree program is longer and more
in depth. The training includes such essential elements as cliff rescues,
river rescues, law enforcement issues, use of inflatable rescue boats
and the art of improvisation, dealing with the unexpected developments
that greet law enforcement and public service personnel every day. Established
lifeguards in the city system were able to pass on much-needed advice
to students. The
program attracted attention immediately, and other local law enforcement
and rescue agencies saw its value, desiring towork more closely with lifeguard
training than ever before. “We
all saw early on that we could borrow each other’s resources, things
having to do with equipment, knowledge and personnel,” Lerma said. The
program’s reputation also caught on fast outside the area. “In
the past, lifeguard agencies tended to stay close at home and stay provincial,”
Lerma said. “That attitude is changing, and I think we have something
to do with that. Many other lifeguard agencies wanted to collaborate with
us, though in the end I think the best result was that other cities started
thinking about establishing their own such programs with colleges.” The
lifeguard program has international appeal, as well, with students from
South America, Argentina, Australia, Germany and the Czech Republic all
arriving to take classes. When a lifeguard in Mexico contacted Lerma last
year, he expressed anguish at the recent drowning of several people at
La Playa, just south of the border, and implored the program to offer
free training to students from Mexico. That
conversation set in action a series of discussions leading to the Miramar
College Foundation sponsoring scholarships to benefit students from impoverished
countries where drowning is common. Such
accomplishments have become typical in this program, a program dedicated
to saving lives. There are more than 7,000 lifeguard rescues every year
on San Diego beaches, and the thinking is that such rescue efforts can
continue, performed even more skillfully, and also decrease in number
as well-trained lifeguards help educate the public in proper water safety. The
program is part of the college’s distinguished San Diego Regional
Public Safety Training Institute, located at Miramar College and the Naval
Training Center, offering degrees and certification in law enforcement,
fire, emergency medical training and lifeguard training. “It
truly is a unique program,” said Palmer, the program’s dean.
“By using regional training, the agencies in San Diego are not duplicating
their efforts. It’s a collaborative operation, wherein all the different
programs learn techniques from each other.” Lerma
has now returned to the beaches as part of the city lifeguard agency’s
rotating assignments, but will offer advice and encouragement when needed. “When the first person received a degree in the program, that was the defining moment, and now it just continues to get better from here,” Lerma said. |