An EMS student prepares to inject a manikin while another prepares something out of frame

 

What You Can Get

Credentialed in:

  • Emergency Medical Responder
  • Emergency Medical Technician
  • Advanced Emergency Medical Technician
  • Paramedic

Locations

What It’s About

Emergency Medical Services, more commonly known as EMS, is a system that provides emergency medical care. Once it is activated by an incident that causes serious illness or injury, the focus of EMS is emergency medical care of the patient(s).

EMS is most easily recognized when emergency vehicles or helicopters are seen responding to emergency incidents. But EMS is much more than a ride to the hospital. It is a system of coordinated response and emergency medical care, involving multiple people and agencies. A comprehensive EMS system is ready every day for every kind of emergency,

EMS does not exist in isolation, but is integrated with other services and systems intended to maintain and enhance the community’s health and safety. As seen in the graphic below, EMS operates at the crossroads between health care, public health, and public safety.  

Excerpt from the NHSTA website EMS.Gov

Some of the classes offered are:

    • Emergency Medical Responder
    • Emergency Medical Technician
    • Advanced EMT
    • Paramedic
    • CPR & First Aid
    • Bloodborne Pathogens

Jobs Available

  • Rescue Squad or Fire Department Member
  • Emergency Medical Technician
  • Advanced EMT
  • Paramedic

Salary You’ll Make

  • Rescue Squad or Fire Department Member: $24,000-48,000 Annually
  • Emergency Medical Technician: $24,000-35,000 Annually
  • Advanced EMT: $24,000-40,000 Annually
  • Paramedic: $28,000-50,000 Annually

two e m s students load a patient in an ambulance with an instructor looking onEmergency Services Training Courses

Emergency Services Training Course Descriptions

Emergency Medical Responder

Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Contact Us

Emergency Medical Responders provide immediate lifesaving care to critical patients who access the emergency medical services system. EMRs have the knowledge and skills necessary to provide immediate lifesaving interventions while awaiting additional EMS resources to arrive. EMRs also provide assistance to higher-level personnel at the scene of emergencies and during transport. Emergency Medical Responders are a vital part of the comprehensive EMS response. Under medical oversight, Emergency Medical Responders perform basic interventions with minimal equipment.
From the: National EMS Scope of Practice Model

Student Prerequisites: High school diploma or high school equivalency diploma
Successful completion of an entrance exam assessing basic reading comprehension skills at a minimum at the tenth grade level

Emergency Medical Technician

Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Contact Us

Emergency Medical Technicians provide out of hospital emergency medical care and transportation for critical and emergent patients who access the emergency medical services (EMS) system. EMTs have the basic knowledge and skills necessary to stabilize and safely transport patients ranging from non-emergency and routine medical transports to life-threatening emergencies. Emergency Medical Technicians function as part of a comprehensive EMS response system, under medical oversight. Emergency Medical Technicians perform interventions with the basic equipment typically found on an ambulance. Emergency Medical Technicians are a critical link between the scene of an emergency and the health care system.
From the: National EMS Scope of Practice Model

Student prerequisites: High school diploma or high school equivalency diploma and successful completion of an entrance exam assessing basic reading comprehension skills at a minimum at the tenth grade level. This course will follow the guidelines established by the NC Office of EMS.

Advanced Emergency Medical Technician

Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Contact Us

The primary focus of the Advanced Emergency Medical Technician is to provide basic and limited advanced emergency medical care and transportation for critical and emergent patients who access the emergency medical system. This individual possesses the basic knowledge and skills necessary to provide patient care and transportation. Advanced Emergency Medical Technicians function as part of a comprehensive EMS response, under medical oversight. Advanced Emergency Medical Technicians perform interventions with the basic and advanced equipment typically found on an ambulance. The Advanced Emergency Medical Technician is a link from the scene to the emergency health care system.
From the: National EMS Scope of Practice Model

Student prerequisites:
1. Current EMT Certification
2. High school diploma or high school equivalency diploma
3. Successful completion of an entrance exam assessing basic reading comprehension and English skills at a minimum at the post-secondary grade level
4. Demonstration of math skills at a minimum at the high school grade level

Paramedic

Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Contact Us

The Paramedic is an allied health professional whose primary focus is to provide advanced emergency medical care for critical and emergent patients who access the emergency medical system. This individual possesses the complex knowledge and skills necessary to provide patient care and transportation. Paramedics function as part of a comprehensive EMS response, under medical oversight. Paramedics perform interventions with the basic and advanced equipment typically found on an ambulance. The Paramedic is a link from the scene into the health care system.
From the: National EMS Scope of Practice Model

Prerequisites:
1. Current EMT Certification
2. High school diploma or high school equivalency diploma
3. Successful completion of an entrance exam assessing Basic reading comprehension and English skills at a minimum at the post-secondary grade level
4. Demonstration of math skills at a minimum t the high school grade level.
5. Completion of Anatomy & Physiology course

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

Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs
25400 US Highway 19 N., Suite 158
Clearwater, FL 33763
(727) 210-2350
www.caahep.org

To contact CoAEMSP:
(214) 703-8445

www.coaemsp.org

What You’ll Gain

North Carolina Office of EMS Credentials:
https://info.ncdhhs.gov/dhsr/EMS/credcomp.htm

Competencies

Every class meets or exceeds the requirements as set forth by the North Carolina office of Emergency Medical Services for each individual class.

Bloodborne Pathogens

This class will provide emergency response personnel with the training needed to meet the requirements for an infection control Policy – NFPA 1581 and the Ryan White Law – Public Law 101-381 and will train personnel for their role to respond to an infection control situation.

NAEMT Prehospital Trauma Life Support

NAEMT’s Prehospital Trauma Life Support (PHTLS) is recognized around the world as the leading continuing education program for prehospital emergency trauma care. The mission of PHTLS is to promote excellence in trauma patient management by all providers involved in the delivery of prehospital care. PHTLS is developed by NAEMT in cooperation with the American College of Surgeons’ Committee on Trauma. The Committee provides the medical direction and content oversight for the PHTLS program.

PHTLS courses improve the quality of trauma care and decrease mortality. The program is based on a philosophy stressing the treatment of the multi-system trauma patient as a unique entity with specific needs. PHTLS promotes critical thinking as the foundation for providing quality care. It is based on the belief that, given a good fund of knowledge and key principles, EMS practitioners are capable of making reasoned decisions regarding patient care.

Pediatric Education for Pre-Hospital Providers (PEPP)

The Pediatric Education for Pre-Hospital Providers (PEPP) is a 14- to 16-hour course, which presents the scope of knowledge in pediatrics that defines paramedic pre-hospital pediatric practice. It is an ALS course. Therefore, the material assumes a minimum BLS background in pre-hospital pediatric care. Topics include guidelines, self-assessment cases, airway management in children and core pediatric procedures. The skill stations include airway management, vascular access and drug administration, family communication, immobilization and restraint, and newborn resuscitation. PEPP can be used as a basic pediatric education course, or it can be used to compliment and augment the American Heart Association’s Pediatric Advanced Life Support (PALS) course. This program is coordinated with the NC Office of EMS.

Upcoming Classes

View EMS Training Calendar

icon scholarship pencil money

Some continuing education courses are eligible for scholarship funding.

Please contact the NCWorks Career Center at (828) 694-1755 for more information.

Contact Us

Public Safety Training
(828) 694-1786
publicsafetytraining@blueridge.edu