NVCC 2006-2007 Catalog

ALLIED HEALTH AND NURSING CURRICULA

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EMERGENCY MEDICAL SERVICES
Associate in Applied Science Degree MEC

Purpose:  The curriculum is designed to develop the competencies needed to prepare the student to be certified as a Nationally Registered Emergency Medical Technician-Intermediate and/or Paramedic.

Transfer Information:  Although transfer is not the primary purpose of an A.A.S. program, NVCC has articulation agreements that facilitate the transfer of this and other career-oriented programs to selected senior institutions.  Students interested in transfer should contact a counselor or their faculty advisor early in their program.

Program Placement Requirements:

1. Attend a mandatory EMT Department information session, held monthly.

2. Be 16 years of age for the first semester, and 18 years of age or older for subsequent semesters.

3. Hold, at a minimum, a high school or general equivalency diploma. Students may apply for Dual Enrollment for attendance during the first semester.

4. Be proficient in reading, writing and speaking the English language, and attain satisfactory scores on the NVCC math and English placement assessments.

5. Attained a 2.0 GPA at last school attended. Students in Dual Enrollment must maintain 2.0 GPA during concurrent high school courses.

6.  Have no physical or mental impairment that would render you unable to perform all skills required for EMS training at any level. Advanced Life Support levels.

7. Possess an original Virginia (or state of domicile) State Police Criminal History, with no record of any sexual crime and be at least five years past final release of any felony or drug-related convictions.  See www.virginiatrooper.org for application (form #SP-167), and request the $20 criminal history and sex offender status report.  Report must be resubmitted annually.

Prerequisite Certifications and Coursework:

All below must be achieved prior to Program entry, and maintained throughout EMS program:

1. Hold a current certification in CPR – Healthcare Provider or equivalent.

2. After successful completion of the first semester, the following additional requirements must be achieved and maintained throughout attendance in the second through fifth semesters:

• Personal Liability Insurance, with a minimum of $1,000,000 coverage.  Proof of insurance must remain with the student at all times, while on campus and clinical properties.

• Provide annual Health Record with appropriate immunizations.

3. Complete NAS 150 Human Biology or its equivalent with a grade of “C” or better prior to entry into second semester.

Students must comply with all General Admission Requirements for Allied Health Programs. (See page 104.)

Special Program Completion Requirements:

1. Students who receive an “I” (incomplete) grade in any of the courses in the EMS sequence must resolve the Incomplete before continuing in the EMT sequence.

2. Students must receive a grade of C or higher in core EMS courses in order to be eligible for the National Registry certifying examinations.

3.  All clinical and internship requirements must be met prior to taking any Virginia and/or National Registry certifying examination(s). 

Re-Enrollment:  Students must follow the re-enrollment requirements for all Allied Health students.

Special Accreditation Status: The program is accredited by the Commission on the Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs (CAAHEP) in cooperation with the Committee on Accreditation of Educational Programs for Emergency Medical Services Professions (CoAEMSP).

Second Year				1st Semester	2nd Semester
	EMS	201	EMS Professional Development	2
	EMS	205	Advanced Pathophysiology	3
	EMS	207	Advanced Patient Assessment	3
	EMS	242	ALS Clinical Internship III	1
	EMS	243	ALS Field Internship III	1
	EMS/FIR/HLT Elective			2
	EMS	211	Operations		2
	EMS	216	Paramedic Review		1
	EMS	244	ALS Clinical Internship IV		2
	EMS	245	ALS Field Internship IV		1
	HIT	130	Healthcare Information Systems		3
	HUM	Humanities Elective (NVCC-Ethics or Spanish)			3
	2 ___	Social Science Elective			3
		Total Credits/Semester		12	15

Total credits for the A.A.S. Degree in Emergency Medical Services = 68.

To graduate from a degree program, students entering NVCC Fall 1999 or later must demonstrate computer competency skills as described in the Degree Requirements section of the Instructional Programs of this catalog.  Students in this program are strongly recommended to take HIT 130 – Intro. to Healthcare Information Systems, which meets both the IT and NVCC computer competency requirements, and prepares students for the healthcare environment.

Students must successfully attain each certification level prior to continuing in EMS sequence (EMT-Basic after first semester, EMT-Intermediate after third semester). Continuation to paramedic certification requires successful completion of EMT-Intermediate testing.  After successful completion of 2nd year, student is eligible for NREMT-Paramedic testing. Students entering program with prior certifications must attend information session for specific course entry requirements.

Generally, EMS courses must be taken in sequence, but general studies courses may be taken in any order, and at any time. Exceptions to this policy are discussed in the monthly information sessions. Effective Fall 2005, all students continuing to Paramedic certification will be required to complete the AAS degree requirements by their NREMT-P test date.

¹ SDV 101 Topics in Health Care meets SDV requirement, which must be completed by 16th credit.  Any SDV course is acceptable for this requirement.

² The social science electives may be selected from the economics, geography, history, political science, psychology or sociology (includes anthropology) courses listed on pages 40-41.

Humanities elective – 3 credits total. Students are encouraged to take PHI 227, Bio-Medical Ethics, or SPA 163,  Spanish for Health Professionals.

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