Paramedic, Certificate

Program Code: 6900

The Paramedic certificate program builds upon the skills learned in the EMT program on a more advanced level and prepares students to provide greater life support care to the sick or injured. As a paramedic, you will be part of an ambulatory response team and may work as an emergency medical services provider in the field. These agencies include private ambulance services, fire departments, public safety or police departments, hospitals, urgent care facilities, law enforcement agencies, the military, and municipal EMS agencies. Paramedic students will learn advanced life support patient care procedures, which builds upon the knowledge of EMT.

This program provides hands-on training in classes, laboratory settings, hospital emergency departments, and ambulances. Graduates of the program are eligible to take the National Registry of EMT’s Certification (NREMT) exam to become a licensed paramedic. Nearly 100 percent of SF paramedic students pass the NREMT exam.

Accreditation
The Santa Fe College Paramedic program is accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs (www.caahep.org) upon the recommendation of the Committee on Accreditation of Educational Programs for the Emergency Medical Services Professions (CoAEMSP).

Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs
727-210-2350
www.caahep.org

To contact CoAEMSP:
214-703-8445
www.coaemsp.org

Courses meet the requirements of the 2009 EMS Education Standards for paramedics. In addition to the 2009 EMS Education Standards, courses include State of Florida specific information.

Licensure and Certification
Upon completion of this program, students can earn professional certifications and occupational licenses, including those concerning out-of-state reciprocity.

Requirements for Admission
EMS Programs are limited-access programs. A selection process is used to identify applicants who meet minimum requirements. If there are more applicants than available seats, preference selection will be used. For this reason deadlines and attention to detail are important.  Please review our website at https://www.sfcollege.edu/kirkpatrick/ to review the eligibility requirements and application deadlines. The Paramedic Program is a college credit certificate program, which is three semesters, 43-credit hours (minimum of 1100 clock hours) in length (one year). Current Florida certification as an emergency medical technician is required prior to applying for entry into the Paramedic Program. The Program typically begins in January and August of each year and requires a special application and acceptance process.

Applicant Selection is based on many factors such as the following:

• Completion of the following prerequisite courses with a grade of “C” or higher
  • EMS1119 EMT Basic
  • EMS1119L EMT Basic Lab
  • EMS1411 Clinical/Hospital
  • EMS1421 EMT Basic Clinical
     
• Completion of BSC2085 Anatomy and Physiology with lab or equivalent with a grade of “C” or higher
• Florida EMT Certification
• American Heart Association CPR-BLS certification
• Education
• Agency Employment/Sponsorship
• Prior Relevant Coursework
• Exams Scores (PERT, Accuplacer, ACT, SAT)
• Drug Screening
• Background Investigation
• Prior Military Experience
• Prior Relevant Work
   

Program Goals and Outcomes
To prepare Paramedics who are competent in the cognitive (knowledge), psychomotor (skills), and affective (behavior) learning domains to enter the profession.

Program Length, Format and Curriculum
The program consists of classroom, lab, hospital clinical, and ambulance clinical components with core content areas of Pharmacology, Trauma, Cardiovascular and Respiratory Management. This program requires a strong commitment to the profession. The program is designed to turn out entry level medical professionals. Within 14 days of successful completion of all components of the Paramedic program, the student will be issued a Certificate of Completion. The student is then eligible to take the National Registry and, upon passing registry certification, will be eligible to apply, pay for and receive a State of Florida license.

These technical courses must be taken as a cohort. The order in which to take the courses will be provided to the student upon acceptance to the program. The prerequisite requirements listed in “Requirements for Admission” must be taken in any order based on course offerings.

First Semester

• EMS2620 Phase 1 Paramedic Prerequisites: EMS1119 & EMS1119L (8 Credit Hours)
• EMS2620L Phase 1 Lab (3 Credit Hours)
• EMS2464 Clinical Experience 1 (5 Credit Hours)
   

Second Semester

• EMS2621 Phase 2 Paramedic Prerequisites: EMS2620 & EMS2620L & EMS2464 (8 Credit Hours)
• EMS2621L Phase 2 Lab (3 Credit Hours)
• EMS2465 Clinical Experience (5 Credit Hours)
   

Third Semester

• EMS2921 Phase 3 Paramedic Prerequisites: EMS2620 & EMS2620L & EMS2464 & EMS2621 & EMS2621L & EMS2465 (3 Credit Hours)
• EMS2921L Phase 3 Lab (3 Credit Hours)
• EMS2458 Field Internship (5 Credit Hours)