While the four-inch gash on Emily Schaeffer’s leg oozes blood, Bethany Lloyd jumps into action.
She grabs splints and starts tying them in place with long strips of gauze. Schaeffer sits calmly, unfazed. The blood covering her leg isn’t real; the wound is staged with makeup.
The whole situation is simulated, a chance for the teens to practice the skills they’ve learned in their emergency medical technician class at the Burton Center for Arts and Technology.
The pair, juniors at Northside High School, come to the Burton Center every other day as part of Roanoke County Schools’ inaugural EMT program.