Prehospital Education

The Department of Emergency Medicine offers a wide variety of training programs that prepare students to work in the streets as prehospital emergency medical care providers. Prehospital personnel have enjoyed a well-deserved reputation for providing consistently high-levels of emergency medical care and customer service.

Our education program offers the entire spectrum of courses for those people looking for a career or simply wishing to volunteer time and service to their communities. These include original and refresher courses for the following levels:

• First Responder
• EMT-Basic
• EMT-Intermediate
• Paramedic
• Refresher Courses

All courses are sanctioned by the New York State Department of Health and follow national standard curriculum guidelines. Successful completion of these programs results in a three-year certification by the State of New York.

Please see http://www.cnyemt.com for additional EMT course information.

Certified First Responder Course

Certified First Responders (CFRs) are those individuals who arrive first on the scene. CFRs provide initial assessment and resuscitative care prior to the arrival of an ambulance, but do not have the need to "package" patients for transportation.

Topics covered include:

• roles and responsibilities
• legal and ethical issues
• initial basic airway management
• patient assessment
• CPR
• medical emergencies
• trauma
• lifting and moving patients
• EMS operations

The CFR course consists of 48.5 classroom hours. If you are a member of an agency that provides emergency medical services, there is no tuition charge for this course. You may register for the CFR course online.

EMT-Basic Course (Course Schedule)

An EMT-Basic provides basic care to ill and injured victims at the scene of an emergency and throughout transport to a medical facility.

Emphasis is placed on:

• airway management
• patient assessment
• CPR and automated defibrillation
• soft tissue injuries
• head, chest and abdominal injuries
• environmental and medical emergencies
• radio communications
• triage
• emergency childbirth
• pediatric emergencies
• use of equipment in the delivery of basic emergency care

The EMT-Basic course consists of 135 classroom hours and a 12 hour clinical requirement in a local hospital or ambulance service. If you are a member of an agency that provides emergency medical services, there is no tuition charge for this course. You may register for the EMT-Basic course online.

Credits for this course through the Onondaga Community College are available.

EMT-Intermediate Course

An EMT-Intermediate provides a higher level of advanced care and builds on the knowledge and skills learned in the EMT-Basic course.

The course emphasizes:

• rapid evaluation and intervention of the trauma patient
• providing some advanced procedures for the medical patient such as the use of advanced airway management, intravenous infusions and defibrillation.

The course consists of 70 classroom hours, 50-60 hours of hospital clinical experience, and 50-60 hours of field internship with a local EMS agency. If you are a member of an agency that provides emergency medical services, there is no tuition charge for this course.

Credits for this course through the Onondaga Community College are available.

Paramedic Program

Click Here for detailed Paramedic Program Offerings

A paramedic is the highest level of field provider.

The program consists of approximately 700 classroom hours during which students study many areas of medicine including:

• anatomy & physiology
• illness and injury prevention
• medical/legal issues
• pathophysiology
• pharmacology
• medical emergencies
• patient assessment
• trauma
• neonatology
• pediatrics
• geriatrics

Other areas of EMS practice required for competence include knowledge in hazardous materials, bloodborne pathogens, emergency vehicle operations and rescue skills.

Paramedic students also spend approximately 300 hours in a series of clinical rotations in the hospital setting where emergency procedures are practiced and critical thinking skills are applied to real patients. Students also complete approximately 300 hours of internship working in the field under the preceptorship of experienced paramedics.

Credits for this course through the Onondaga Community College are available.

Paramedic Refresher Class

Click Here to apply for the Onlne Paramedic Refresher Program. You must be affiliated with one of the following CNY regions to apply: Onondaga, Cortland, Tompkins, Oswego, or Cayuga.

Course Faculty: Jeffrey Jones (Course CIC) and Jay Scott (Course Faculty)

Paramedic Refresher Class Schedule - Spring 2009