Looking for A GOOD Paramedic Program

[WAwannabe]

I'm a 28 year old male living in the Seattle area. I've been a FF/EMT-B (privet AMB, Volunteer FF and part-pait FF) for 5 years now and I have my Fire Science Degree. I'm looking for a GOOD Paramedic program. I'm not opposed to relocating for the year or so. I've looked into:

Tacoma Community Collage
Oregon Health and Sciences
Chemeketa Community Collage
Collage of Southern Nevada.

I know CA has a lot of programs but I've been warned against them because of the limited scope of practice and umbilical cord to medical control (not that that is a bad thing, just way different than how WA, where I'd eventually like to practice, operates). Does anyone have and recommendations or experience from one of the above programs? Or with any other program in WA, OR, MT, or Vegas area? Also there are a ton of NCTI's anyone have 2 cents?

Thanks,
Mike

PS GOOD = lots of classroom time (not online) with passionate instructors, and quality clinical and ride sites.

[sTages19]

I'm a 28 year old male living in the Seattle area. I've been a FF/EMT-B (privet AMB, Volunteer FF and part-pait FF) for 5 years now and I have my Fire Science Degree. I'm looking for a GOOD Paramedic program. I'm not opposed to relocating for the year or so. I've looked into:

Tacoma Community Collage
Oregon Health and Sciences
Chemeketa Community Collage
Collage of Southern Nevada.

I know CA has a lot of programs but I've been warned against them because of the limited scope of practice and umbilical cord to medical control (not that that is a bad thing, just way different than how WA, where I'd eventually like to practice, operates). Does anyone have and recommendations or experience from one of the above programs? Or with any other program in WA, OR, MT, or Vegas area? Also there are a ton of NCTI's anyone have 2 cents?

Thanks,
Mike

PS GOOD = lots of classroom time (not online) with passionate instructors, and quality clinical and ride sites.

I would look for a program that offers national standard testing so that at the completion of the course you can sit for your NREMT-P as opposed to state license. Just something good to have and you learn alot even if its not something you do in that particular system, but since it is national they teach you.

[sweetpete]

I'm just wrapping up my medic at Houston Community College. It's one of the best (if not the best) in the area.

Instructors are amazing and the clinical sites are out of this world. You'll do 12's, 16's and 24's with HFD and ER rotations at some of the busiest trauma ERs in the world.

It's awesome. They have a high drop out rate, but they also have a 99% pass rate on the NR.

So, it's worth looking into.

[Telemark]

The Swedish paramedic program in Denver, Colorado would be worth looking into. I did not go there myself, but strongly considered it, and visited their facility and sat down and met with the program coordinator. I don't know the specific numbers, but Swedish is definitely one of the better programs in the country and produces outstanding medics. They work very closely with a level 1 trauma center and I am sure will provide the student plenty of opportunities that other programs simply cannot. They also offered a condensed 6-month program so that relocating for school is not as big of a hardship. I know several people who have gone through their program and they all speak very highly of it.

[ffpm5354]

Look at The Center for Emergency Medicine of Western Pennsylvania. The program is affiliated with UPMC and the University of Pittsburgh. Excellent clinical time, great instructors, and a very high pass rate on the National Registry.

[Chief_Roy]

I went to TCC a long time ago, but with the same instructor who now runs the program. It's a great program and is often cited as one of the best on the West Coast due to director Mike Smith. I've also heard great things about OHSU's program and also Daniel Freeman down in California, but have no direct experience with them.

[WAwannabe]

I would look for a program that offers national standard testing so that at the completion of the course you can sit for your NREMT-P as opposed to state license. Just something good to have and you learn alot even if its not something you do in that particular system, but since it is national they teach you.

Are you talking about The Courtesy Committee on Accreditation of Educational Programs for the Emergency Medical Services Professions (CoAEMSP) and Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs (CAAHEP). I guess it's an accreditation that not many programs have but will supposedly be the new standard soon I want to say by 2013. Does anyone know about that?

[WAwannabe]

Thanks for the all the suggestions, keep them coming...

[ffpm5354]

Accreditation is something that every program must have by a specific date, I believe you are correct about the start of 2013. If by that date a program is not accredited the students will not be permitted to sit for the NREMT-P exam. I believe for organizations to be accredited they need to be affiliated with a degree granting institution. I know the instructors at the CEM will be able to tell you more.

[RichFog1]

The Swedish paramedic program in Denver, Colorado would be worth looking into. I did not go there myself, but strongly considered it, and visited their facility and sat down and met with the program coordinator. I don't know the specific numbers, but Swedish is definitely one of the better programs in the country and produces outstanding medics. They work very closely with a level 1 trauma center and I am sure will provide the student plenty of opportunities that other programs simply cannot. They also offered a condensed 6-month program so that relocating for school is not as big of a hardship. I know several people who have gone through their program and they all speak very highly of it.

I would second this. I graduated from Swedish's program 5 months ago and I truly believe it is one of the best in the country.

[paulLepore]

I would highly encourage you to pick a school in the area in which you want to work. The people who are in charge of hiring on your dream department are familiar with the school and may have even attended it themselves.

If you attend an out of the area school, you will be forced to get local accreditationwhen you return to your region. It's certainly doable, but it takes time. It's much easier to learn the local protocols and be familiar with the system.
Good luck with your decision.

[terrible one]

Look for a program that offers a degree in paramedicine, preferably a BS, however, those are scarce and hard to find.
National Registry pass rates and accredition seem acceptable in theory, but those two factors alone do not establish a good program. Washington (from what I am told) has great programs, but you also have to be affiliated with a department/company to be accepted into those programs. If you are able to do that then go for it. Other than that look in counties/states with a well run Fire/EMS system with aggressive protocols focused on critical thinking. They will be able to recommend a good program.

[Rialaigh]

The Swedish paramedic program in Denver, Colorado would be worth looking into. I did not go there myself, but strongly considered it, and visited their facility and sat down and met with the program coordinator. I don't know the specific numbers, but Swedish is definitely one of the better programs in the country and produces outstanding medics. They work very closely with a level 1 trauma center and I am sure will provide the student plenty of opportunities that other programs simply cannot. They also offered a condensed 6-month program so that relocating for school is not as big of a hardship. I know several people who have gone through their program and they all speak very highly of it.

I considered them as well and I fully second this. It sounded and looked like one of the best and the medics I talked to from there really seemed top notch. I would talk them to them and see what options they have for you

[BFDCP]

Have you looked at Central Washington University? They have a great program and also offer a Bachelors Degree.

You can also look at the UW-Harborview program which is extremely competitive to get into.

[MVAT19]

Since you noted MT, I will just throw in a little 2 cents, I would suggest sticking around the WA or OR area, particularly because MT doesn't have any Level 1 Trauma Centers or very many Fire/EMS systems. There are Medic programs in Billings, Great Falls and Kalispell will have one soon. Montana also had several unaccredited programs given the rural nature of the state and lack of ALS care in many areas, so they popped up and it seemed to help bolster the level of ALS providers, but several of those programs are disappearing with all of the accreditation talk.

Not to say there are not hundreds of very capable medics in Montana, but having the ability to see the way ALS and pre-hospital care functions with a large number of hospitals in the area (particularly a Level 1 center) as opposed to being in a program with one available ALS service to do clinical time with and only 1 or 2 hospitals.

[wmfrffmedic]

Probably too late for this particular person but for anyone else that might be looking for a program I will post my two pennies.

As a Field Instructor for a fire department in the Denver, CO area I can say that Swedish's Paramedic Program is truly top notch. Having FI'd students from both Saint Anthony's and Swedish's program, the medics coming out of Swedish are head and shoulders above the rest. I am also a preceptor for the Swedish Program so we see the students while they are going through school and have nothing but good things to say. Highly recommended!!

[Fireadvisor30]

I work as an academic advisor for Utah Valley University's Emergency Services Department and I feel we have a great paramedic program. We are regionally accredited and provide plenty of class time. The courses are held MTWR for most of the day plus we offer a lot of clinical time. I am biased obviously but our instructors are great at what they do and I have really enjoyed working with them.

If you are interested look us up at www.uvu.edu/esa. There are many great programs out there and I hope you find the right one for you. Good luck and if you have questions feel free to ask!