Thank you for your interest in the Weber State University EMS program. Although our core focus is EMT-Paramedic, we also offer EMT-Basic, EMT-Intermediate (through Davis Area Technology College) and selected continuing education courses in Distance/Rural EMT-Paramedic, First Responder, Tactical EMS and Specialty Care Transport.

We are proud of the fact that our paramedic program has been nationally accredited by CAAHEP for more than 20 years, making it the first accredited paramedic program in Utah and one of the first in the nation. State and national certification pass rates are better than 95 percent each year. Our faculty includes Registered Nurses and Physician's Assistants along with bachelor's- and master's-prepared paramedics. The faculty's emergency medicine experience totals over a century.

Paramedics of this decade are increasingly gaining responsibility in areas other than traditional incident/scene and ambulance/transport, working in occupational health, emergency departments and urgent treatment centers. Because the paramedic of today is expected to be a "health care professional," the successful completion of your prerequisites is extremely important in preparing you for a rigorous sequence of paramedic education.

Our educational focus in paramedic is to use the principles of anatomy and physiology, pathophysiology and patient assessment in order to formulate a field impression and devise an appropriate treatment plan. While some common protocols are taught, the program stresses critical thinking in relation to patient care.

In order to be successful, your first step is to make an appointment and obtain academic advising. At this meeting it can be determined whether the institutional certificate or the AAS degree will be your best course of action. A curriculum map will be provided for you to follow over the subsequent semesters. Additionally, we will assess your EMS experience and make recommendations on how the experience requirement can be met.

Please e-mail or call Doug Watson at healthprofessions@weber.edu or 801-626-6128 to obtain an advising appointment.

Regards,

Jeffrey R. Grunow, MSN, NREMT-P
Chair, Department of Emergency Care & Rescue