At Santa Fe Community College, a student pretends to be seriously ill. Two others, a bag of medical equipment between them, ask him questions about his health, his medical history, and any symptoms he has, to try to figure out what's wrong with him and how they can assist him.

But they take just a little too long, and the student soon falls to the floor, pretending to pass out.

The other students rush to the "patient's" side, pull out a ventilator from the bag and strap it to his head, attempting to help him breathe. In the meantime, they hurriedly ask each other more questions, reviewing the information they've already received in an effort to pinpoint the cause of the problem.

Eventually the professor says the scene is over, and the fake-ill student, once collapsed on the floor, comes back to life and smiles at the other two.

"You killed me," he says, joking. "You guys are monsters."

The students laugh with each other afterward, but what they're doing is serious. They are training to be Emergency Medical Technicians through a rigorous summer course at the community college.

Five of the students are rising seniors at Capital High School. Before graduating, they expect to receive their entry-level certification, the EMT-Basic, which will allow them to provide an array of noninvasive, emergency medical services.

EMTs often work for ambulance crews, on rescue teams and for fire and police departments.

Oscar Gutierrez, Jason Anaya, Johnny Glaze, Erika Carrasco and Sam Nottke, all 17 years old, agree that getting the certification will definitely be helpful to them.

"It helps a lot, whether we stay in the medical field or not," Anaya says.

Carrasco, who wants to become a paramedic, says she'll be ready to start working in the emergency medical field after she graduates from Capital.

"I'm excited to help people at such a young age," she says. "It's a great opportunity."

Some of the students say they felt well prepared for the EMT course because they had participated in the school's health-careers program started in 2006 by biology teacher Bob Sorensen and Jim Brookover, the coordinator of Capital's job-shadowing program.

"It seems like a big review, but more detailed," Anaya says.

Sorensen says that he wants the students to go out to the pueblos once they are certified to help immunize people, as well use their experience in other ways such as working in the school district.

"The hands-on, real-world (experience) is the biggest benefit," Sorensen says. "They can read it in a book, but it doesn't mean anything until they actually get out and get their fingers in it. This is hands-on type training that we intend to take back to the community."

Sorensen says that he feels the students are excited about the course and that the opportunities it gives them will be incredibly beneficial.

"I just don't think we're giving the students enough opportunities," he says. "The more opportunities we give them, they will rise to whatever level we ask them to go to. The old days of reading the book and answering the questions, they're gone. Now it's a matter of teaching them the basics and getting out of their way and letting them do the things they need to do. And they amaze you, the things that they can do."

Contact Jessica Trumbull at 986-3050 or jtrumbull@sfnewmexican.com.