Community Highlights: Meet Katie Contreras of Come And Take It CPR & Safety Training

For me, “here” is where I am with my teaching and my business, which is still essentially teaching. As a paramedic, you are always teaching, whether it be providing patient education, working with new employees, or even students during their clinicals. I was fortunate to be able to start with ACC while working EMS, so while I am new to the full-time staff, I have been with them for 14.5 years as Adjunct Faculty; that has helped to make the transition nice, plus I love all of my coworkers and the work they do (I wish someone had told me earlier how important that really is). I can’t understate the importance of knowing you are supported and cared about where you work.  I have a really hard time telling people “no” when asked for help, and as a result of that I am involved in a lot of different projects and activities,  my two favorites being The Sights and Sound of Christmas in San Marcos and The Lions Club of San Marcos.

All of my projects and teaching have allowed me to work with some amazing training companies and agencies across the nation and really helped me build my own small business. Come and Take It CPR & Safety Training, LLC primarily enables me to teach AHA classes (BLS, ACLS, PALS), but also Stop The Bleed and First Care Provider courses (which are very important to me). Honestly, I could talk about STB for longer than we have right now, I won’t subject you to that today, but I will say — 100% visit my social media to set up a class.  It’s a great class and so important.

I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey have been a fairly smooth road?
I think one of the biggest challenges I’ve faced has simply been to make the decision to move on from EMS. Like I said, I’m still there part-time, but it’s not such a huge part of my life anymore, and for that to happen I had to realize that EMS was not my identity. A lot of providers forget that EMS services, at their core, are businesses and everyone is replaceable.  Providers should consider what cannot be replaced is the care we provide — meeting someone in their time of need, on their level, to ensure those needs are addressed, and the provider’s ability to let someone feel heard and cared for.

EMS is a part of my life, but not all of it, and I still get to effect change within the field by influencing and contributing to the education of new EMTs and paramedics who are just entering the field. I also have an eight-year-old daughter who is playing sports and I feel like I missed a lot of her formative years working overtime; leaving EMS has allowed me to be present in her life and home every night.  That is not something I’d be willing to give up again.  (I even joined PTA this year!)

On the business front, I’ve found some things are harder than others, like setting up a business [in Texas] is easy, but finding your market can be more challenging (consistency is key). I ended up going back to school and finishing my undergrad degree and then decided to get an MBA as well. That has been helpful because it gave me a better understanding of the “why” behind what I needed to be doing.

Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
My business currently provides American Heart Association classes to healthcare professionals and the general public. I also regularly hold Stop The Bleed/First Care Provider courses. I have a home classroom in Lockhart but also teach classes onsite upon request (no extra charge), I often travel throughout the central Texas area for classes.

I would say Stop The Bleed is probably what I am best known for locally.  Like I said earlier, it is one of my favorite classes, and since its public release in 2018, I have taught 162 classess and am like 10 students short of 3,000. I share that because I predominately do the classes on my own, my training equipment being self-purchased or donated (I guess that would qualify as a challenge/obstacle lol). I’ve actually provided this course at multiple conferences across the US, but also am more than willing to meet 1-on-1 to share this information because it’s just that important to me. I offer the STB class free of charge or “donation only” simply so that no one can say cost is a barrier; if you give me some people and some time, I am going to teach them how they can save lives. I should note that I’m able to provide that class free because of my other paid classes, which are AHA compliant in time/testing (two-year certifications) and can be found on my website: comeandtakeitcpr.com.

In between all my different activities and teaching, I’ve been able to have multiple experiences that I probably wouldn’t have had otherwise, and been exposed to people I believe are amazing educators. That’s important to me, and really for me, because it changed the focus in my career and pushed me to be better. I found that while I love working in EMS and being on an ambulance, the way that I best reach my students is in the classroom.  Part of that is because it brings out a different level of passion in me for what we do in EMS, but it also challenges me to stay on top of current medicine and continue my own education.

There are multiple people in my life who ask, “what’s next,” “what are we learning today,” and that is a driving force for me now — we should always strive to have friends that make us better (in our careers and in life).  I love the saying, “If you are the smartest person in the room, you are in the wrong room,” and that’s what I look for every time I go into a classroom — to find the student or instructor who will teach or show me something new.

I love teaching Stop The Bleed to the general public because it’s a fun class, but it’s also great to see the wheels moving and when something just clicks for those students. When it’s become “real” and they understand that they could be the one helping to save a life.  That’s also why it’s so important for students to get to perform the hands-on skills (practicing with injury assessment, tourniquets, wound packing, maintaining an airway, and how to move patients), it’s not all as intuitive as it seems.  The only downside (for me) is that I have so much in my head that I want to share that I have to figure out how to choose what is useful and relevant for each student and not drown them in information.  Info overload is a real thing and can be detrimental to your students.

Is there anyone you’d like to thank or give credit to?
This is such a great question! I have had some great mentors at every level of my career, but specific to my business: I have had some amazing support from multiple companies in regards to equipment and support– Phokus Research, North American Rescue, TacMed Solutions, Safeguard Medical, Techline Trauma, and Rescue Essentials, among others. Training supplies and start-up expenses are steep and I would not be where I’m at now without individuals from each of these companies.

On the side of personal growth, support, and advice: (we could be here all day) the first person to ask me why I don’t own my own business, Steve F. (I filed for my business with the state two days later), and then my friends who have read and critiqued business plans, lectures, and countless papers: Ginger, Walt, Becky, Stephanie, Matt, Jake, Anthony, James, and on and on…  I mentioned my mini-me earlier, and it would be remiss of me to not mention family support: I would not be able to attend trainings, conferences, complete schoolwork, or work the hours I do without an immense amount of support and patience from my family near and far.