Reacting in the Moment, Putting her Training to Work

When faced with a critical moment or crisis situation, your response often reflects your training. Picture Tom Hanks' poised portrayal of Chesley 'Sully' Sullenberger in the movie Sully, his actions honed through years of practice.

For Desiree Sellers, a senior at Collinsville High School, it wasn't years of training. Instead, it was just three days of CPR training in her Medical Assisting program at Tulsa Tech’s Owasso Campus.

Recalling the incident at Bailey Medical Center in Owasso last month, Sellers said, “I was leaving clinicals when I stepped off the elevator and saw an older lady trying to hold up her friend, yelling for help. I ran over, grabbed under the lady's arms, and brought her to her knees. By then, another nurse had run over, and we put her in the recovery position because she had started throwing up. We then checked for a pulse. There was no pulse. We flipped her on her back, and I started CPR after making sure the scene was safe.”

Sellers performed CPR for a few minutes until the EMTs arrived to help. Her actions did not go unnoticed, but she remains modest.

“All the attention is weird. I am proud of what I did, but in the end, I was just doing my job,” she said. “In that moment, I didn’t think about what was happening, I went into a mode of doing what I was taught.”

Not one to boast, Sellers credits her instructor, Niki White, for her preparedness.

“All the instructors are amazing,” she said with a smile. “The way they work with us to make sure we understand a topic or master a skill is so reassuring.”

Sellers says the whole incident is further proof that if you do not have the training, you will likely freeze in the moment. It is just another reason she recommends Tulsa Tech to so many people.

“I love this program. I've recommended it to so many people; it's so much fun,” she said. “Ms. White is an amazing instructor; she cares about us but also pushes us to find success.”

With hands-on training for the real world in more than 80 career fields, Tulsa Tech can help you get the skills to react in almost any situation.