Associate of Science in Emergency Medical Technician — Paramedic

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Program Description

This emergency medical technician-paramedic associate program will cover the roles and responsibilities of a paramedic within an EMS system, applying the basic concepts of development, pathophysiology and pharmacology to assess and manage patients with emergency medical needs. Students will learn how to maintain a patient’s airway and oxygenate and ventilate a patient, be able to take a proper history, and perform a comprehensive physical exam. Students will be able to properly administer medications and communicate effectively with other healthcare providers including physicians, nurses, and other allied health personnel. They will also be able to integrate pathophysiology principles, assessment findings, and critical thinking skills to formulate a field impression and implement a treatment plan for trauma and medical patients of all ages. Graduates will be eligible to write the National Registry of Emergency Medical Technicians licensure exam and will be prepared for entrance into many challenging areas of hospital emergency departments, fire departments, and ambulance services.

To prepare competent entry-level Paramedics in the cognitive (knowledge), psychomotor (skills), and affective (behavior) learning domains with or without exit points at the Advanced Emergency Medical Technician and/or Emergency Medical Technician, and/or Emergency Medical Responder levels.

Program Outcomes

Upon completion of their program, the student should be able to:

1. Summarize the role of emergency medical services personnel in the health care system.

2. Manage patients accurately in chronic and acute settings.

3. Integrate ethical and legal concepts in all actions when serving the needs of diverse patient populations.

4. Intervene with basic and advanced life support techniques in a variety of emergency situations.

5. Express leadership as a paramedic in all interactions with patients in emergency settings.

Special Admission Requirements

To be admitted to this program, the student must meet the following criteria:

Have a valid CPR certification
Meet the state requirements for a completed criminal background and credit check
Provide verification of required immunizations
Meet the Essential Functions of an Emergency Medical Services Provider

Potential Occupational Titles

Potential occupational titles for this program include, but are not limited to, emergency medical technician and paramedic.

Program Content

A minimum of 73.00 semester credit hours is required for graduation.

Required Courses in Paramedic

47.00 semester credit hours are required.

EM 189 - Paramedic Anatomy and Physiology Semester Credit Hours: 3.00
EM 189L - Paramedic Anatomy and Physiology Lab Semester Credit Hours: 1.00
EM 191 - Paramedic Preparation Semester Credit Hours: 2.00
EM 192 - Paramedic Operations Semester Credit Hours: 3.00
EM 193 - Patient Assessment and Management Semester Credit Hours: 3.00
EM 194 - Paramedic General Pharmacology Semester Credit Hours: 2.00
EM 195 - Advanced Trauma Management Semester Credit Hours: 6.00
EM 196 - Cardiovascular Electrophysiology Semester Credit Hours: 3.00
EM 197 - Medical Patient Management I Semester Credit Hours: 3.00
EM 201 - Medical Patient Management II Semester Credit Hours: 6.00
EM 203 - Cardiovascular Patient Management Semester Credit Hours: 3.00
EM 204 - Transition to Paramedic Practice Semester Credit Hours: 3.00
EM 205 - Paramedic Terminal Competencies Semester Credit Hours: 2.00
EM 206 - Paramedic Field Preceptorship Semester Credit Hours: 6.00
EM 207 - Paramedic Team Leadership Preceptorship Semester Credit Hours: 1.00

Required Courses in General Education

Students enrolled in this associate degree must complete a minimum of 24.00 semester credit hours in general education distributed among the following disciplines. Refer to the General Education section of the catalog for Herzing University courses that would satisfy these requirements. *

9.00 Semester Credit Hours in Communications

6.00 Semester Credit Hours in Humanities (must include 3 semester credit hours of cultural diversity)

3.00 Semester Credit Hours in Mathematics

3.00 Semester Credit Hours in Science

3.00 Semester Credit Hours in Social and Behavioral Sciences

* Transfer students may transfer courses that are within 1.00 semester credit hour of the courses listed above to meet these discipline requirements. Any resulting deficiency in the total of 24.00 semester credit hours required in general education may be made up with general education electives from any of the listed disciplines.

** A course with a critical thinking focus would be a course that addresses the theories and application of critical analysis with an emphasis on developing sequential reasoning skills. Examples may be courses in critical thinking, philosophy, logic, or science.

*** Students in the state of Georgia must take a science course to fulfill this requirement.

Personal and Professional Development Courses

2.00 semester credit hours are required.

PD 121 - Professional Development I Semester Credit Hours: 1.00
PD 202 - Professional Development II Semester Credit Hours: 1.00