Membership

MERT staff consists of a committed group of University of Rochester community members. Members come from a diverse background of majors and medical experience. Within the organization there are three ranks of experience a member can obtain: Medic Assistant (803), Crew Chief Trainee (802), and Crew Chief (801). All members enter the organization as an 803 regardless of outside experience. 803s receive extensive training in first aid, vital signs, CPR, AED resuscitation, bleeding control, and oxygen administration. On a call, the 803 is expected to take careful vitals and assist the 802 and 801 in any way necessary. 802s and 801s are more experienced members of the organization and are required to hold a current New York State EMT certification. 802s train under the supervision of the 801 and are expected to run the call according to New York State BLS protocols. 801s are the senior members on calls, and they assure that the call runs smoothly as well as provide training and feedback to the 802 and 803. 801s are legally responsible for the call. One 801, 802, and 803 make up a full crew and are on call every night from 8:00 PM to 7:00 AM, and break into a three-shift rotation for weekends, covering all 24 hours. During the day on weekdays, during which there are no scheduled crews, Crew Chiefs carry pagers in case a call is dispatched and respond on a basis of availability. Together, these methods ensure 24/7 emergency medical coverage during the academic school year.

MERT currently has 54 members: 34 of whom are 803s, 18 of whom are 802s and 2 of whom are 801s. MERT also has Field Training Officers (FTOs) that help keep members updated with the latest training and EMS protocols.

MERT currently runs consistently on Monday through Thursday nights with select weekends until further notice because of a shortage in Crew Chiefs we have in our membership. As more crew chiefs are trained, MERT will to return to our regular scheduled shifts.