"I was tired of waking up every morning and not making a difference," Linda Ferranti said.

The former accountant changed her life and her career by enrolling in the Medix School's emergency medical technician program in Smyrna. She wants to work for a fire rescue emergency service and be part of a team that responds to accidents and medical emergencies.

Jesse Walsh always wanted to be an EMT, and, as a former mechanic, it didn't intimidate her to work in a male-dominated profession. She plans to work for an ambulance service and come back in a year to get her paramedic training.

Ferranti and Walsh represent a growing number of women entering the EMT and paramedic occupations.

"The female population in these fields is growing by leaps and bounds," said Jonathan Smith, EMS training director for the Medix School.

Both women have found the five-hour, five-day-a-week class schedule, plus homework, to be challenging but not surprising. They knew what they were getting into when they enrolled.

"An EMT is the person who must bring a sense of calm to chaos," said Larry Ritchie, director of the Medix School. "He or she needs the right emergency medical skills and a compassionate attitude for people."

Knowing that the job is strenuous and stressful, school administrators screen applicants carefully to make sure they have the mental and emotional commitment it takes. "If they don't have the stomach and fortitude to make it through class, they can't do the job," Smith said.

The Medix School prepares students with 785 contact hours of classroom instruction, followed by 110 hours of clinical experience and 50 hours of preparation to take the National Registry of Emergency Medical Technicians Exam. Students rotate working with ambulance services, psychiatric wards, emergency rooms and hospital transport services. They graduate at an EMT intermediate level, having learned how to assess a patient's condition and to manage respiratory, cardiac and trauma emergencies.

On the job, EMTs may have to administer intravenous fluids, use a manual defibrillator to give lifesaving electric shocks to a stopped heart or apply advanced airway techniques and equipment to keep a patient breathing. These skills take practice.

"Last week, we staged a mass casualty scene in the field out back," Walsh said. "Three of us were all painted up with blood, black eyes and fake intestines hanging out. Other students had to make assessments and treat us."

The students are excited to be among the first to benefit from the Medix School's expanded, state-of-the-art training facility. Already one of the largest providers of EMTs in Georgia, the new 10,000-square-foot center will allow the school to graduate as many as 400 students a year.

The expansion includes room to simulate seven permanent scenarios - including two crashed vehicles, where peoplewould need to be extricated; a gunshot- wound victim; and a scene where someone would need spinal immobilization. These scenarios give students hands-on instruction and practice.

The center also has testing classrooms for the EMT registry exam. The Medix School is a national testing site.

"It's great to have our classrooms and equipment in the same place," Smith said. "Before, in order to do a practical run-through, we had to drag everything out of a closet. Now it's all set up, so we can get students up and learning in a practical way by doing a situation at any time."

The school spared no expense, including purchasing a remote-controlled simulation mannequin that can throw up, exhibit irregular heart rhythms, have breathing difficulties and even speak eight languages, Smith said.

"Students get to work on the mannequin and perfect their skills before going into clinical learning situations with real people," Smith said. "It's a realistic test of their assessment skills.

"If they don't perform an action within a certain time, the 'patient' gets worse. He died 18 times last week."

The training is rigorous, and students must learn quickly.

"I didn't know I would learn so much in such a little time. Before, I didn't like needles, but I'm getting over it," Ferranti said.