A life-sized manikin lay unresponsive on the table, and paramedic Tracey Jones was first to arrive on the scene.

She began to press her hands down on the patient’s upper chest in a rhythmic motion, while Zeke Wilkins, ambulance chief for the up-Island towns, offered to call 911. Instructor John Shannon sat nearby, quizzing his pupils on the appropriate steps.

“When the officer arrives, what would be the appropriate thing to do?” he asked.

“I’d tell him to do CPR, because I’m tired,” Ms. Jones answered, while she turned her attention to the practice defibrillator.

Ms. Jones and her colleagues are a hot commodity on Martha’s Vineyard, where first responders with advanced training are scarce.

Nearly all of them began their training at the basic EMT level, in a class offered each year through the Martha’s Vineyard Association of Emergency Medical Technicians.

The class begins in early January, and instructors are now recruiting the next cohort of students.

Each year, between 10 and 20 Islanders commit to the 150-hour coursework, which involves book study and hands-on training.

Last year, 18-year-old Luke Sudarsky was one of them. He signed up for the course in his senior year of high school, making time for four-hour sessions on Tuesday and Thursday evenings as well as several Saturdays.

Each year, between 10 and 20 Islanders commit to the 150-hour coursework, which involves book study and hands-on training. — Mark Lovewell

“It’s a lot of class, a lot of hours, but in the end it’s totally worth it,” he said. “It’s one of the greatest and best things I have ever done.”

Now the recent graduate works shifts for the Tri-Town Ambulance service, answering calls in West Tisbury, Aquinnah and Chilmark. He says learning to be an EMT doesn’t stop with the formal coursework.

“For me, every call is exciting,” he said. “It’s a great experience to learn and practice my skills.”

In January, Mr. Sudarsky plans to begin training for a medical career at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. His recent experiences as an EMT have only solidified a previous interest in medicine. “There’s nothing more rewarding than being there when someone needs your help,” he said.

The basic EMT training course has been offered on the Island for more than two decades. The class involves at least 150 hours of training time, which includes both didactic and practical material. That’s followed by a practical exam and a separate written exam, which students take off-Island. The class costs $1,250, and some pay their

own way while others are reimbursed by the squad they plan to work for.

“You’ve got a broad range of age groups, demographics and goals,” said Jim Osmundsen, president of the Martha’s Vineyard Association of Emergency Medical Technicians, the group that sponsors the training program. “You’ve got high school students, senior citizens and everything in between.” Students must turn 18 by the time they take the practical exam, but there is no upper age limit. Applicants also have to be able to lift 100 pounds.

Some see the course as the beginning of a professional career and others are just looking to volunteer on the side, he said.

For Belinda Booker, becoming an EMT has meant revisiting an earlier phase of her life, when she worked as a surgical technician off-Island. Many years and three children later, Ms. Booker pursued the EMT training as a way to give back to the community. Now that two of her children have moved out of the house, she had more time to study.

“I gave 18 years to them solely and now it was time to do something for myself,” she said.

Now she’s working four or five shifts per week, still learning as she goes. No two cases are the same, she said. “I just really love the fact that I can help somebody, and be there when they need someone. It’s nice to be part of a team,” she said.

Every so often, EMTs get the chance to save a life.

This past summer, new emergency medical technician Kristina West administered the initial CPR in a team effort that resuscitated Christopher MacLeod of Chilmark, who had a heart attack.

The paramedics who gathered on Thursday morning as part of their recertification course, discussed the importance of that CPR training, in light of such an incident.

It all starts with the EMT class, instructors say.

“It’s a love of and a belief in the essential piece of saving peoples’ lives,” said Alan Ganapol, one of the instructors. “That is what this is all about: wanting to be there to help people when they need help. It is quite an experience to be involved with something like that.”

The EMT association will hold an informational session for prospective students on Saturday, Dec. 6, from 9 a.m. to noon at the Edgartown fire station. Visit mvaemt.org for more information.