Paramedic Program Development

Paramedic education began at Weber State University in the mid-1970s as the first program in Utah and one of the earliest in the nation. The paramedic program continues to provide Utah and the Intermountain West with the highest commitment to prehospital emergency care education.

WSU's paramedic program was initially JRC accredited in 1984, and in 2006 the program was be site visited for its fourth CoAEMSP re-accreditation upon which it received no citations and numerous superlative comments. The Department of Emergency Care & Rescue (EC&R) provides courses in EMT-Basic, EMT-Paramedic and selected continuing education courses including First Responder, Tactical EMS and Specialty Care Transport.

Weber's paramedic program initially and traditionally provided EMS education for fire and EMS agencies along the Wasatch Front. Prior to 2002, 90 percent of all students were agency sponsored (both time and $) and seeking a paramedic certificate. Since that time, fiscal crunches in most EMS departments has lead to a decrease in the number of agency students being sent or sponsored for paramedic training.

By 2002, the WSU paramedic program began liberally accepting non-EMS agency students, and by 2005, 80 percent of enrolled students were no longer agency sponsored. Many students are now pursuing an Associate of Applied Science Degree or applying credits towards a Bachelor's in Integrated Studies.

In 2003, the Dr. Ezekiel R. Dumke College of Health Professions received a $469,000 federal grant to provide rural distance education in the fields of paramedic, nursing, clinical lab science and respiratory therapy. Beginning in 2004, the EC&R department initiated a distance paramedic education program using interactive video streaming for didactic education and modification of delivery techniques in skill lab, clinical and field internship.

This endeavor has produced over 60 certificate-trained paramedics, eligible to take the Utah Bureau of EMS certification and the National Registry examination. The distance education offering for rural Utah and the other states mirrors both the curriculum and rigors of the on-campus day program in every manner. The program started its fourth class in August 2008 and is extremely popular.

In 2006, the program faced a pivotal change involving its communities of interest.  While Fire and EMS agencies desire WSU graduates, they no longer provide enough agency-sponsored students to maintain dual day class viability. The traditional campus day class program was converted from a June and October class start to one program start every fall semester. The popular distance education class running on Tuesday and Thursday evenings also starts every fall semester.

Additional EMS educational offerings have been developed in 2007-2008 to include PAR 3110- Critical Care Transport, PAR 3120-Tactical EMS, PAR 4110-Topics in EMS Operations and PAR 4120-Topics in EMS Education.

Program Mission Statement

The mission of the Department of Emergency Care & Rescue is to provide competent entry-level EMS providers to serve the medical needs of the Intermountain West.  The program strives to utilize the latest in technology to deliver high quality BLS and ALS programs on the main campus and in the extended campus.  A continuous quality improvement process is utilized to monitor success of the graduates and guide program development.

Program Vision Statement

The Emergency Care and Rescue Program prepares EMS graduates to perform as health care professionals providing prehospital emergency care under the command of a physician, to sub-acute and acutely ill or injured patients. Paramedics and EMT-Basics have special, well-defined skills and knowledge in prehospital emergency care, are concerned for others, and place complete attention to all assigned tasks in order to promote the well being of others.

Program Core Values

• The program will provide a superior educational experience for our students, which will exemplify our commitment to the community. 
• As advocates of our students, and our patients, we believe our students will achieve EMS excellence using the critical thinking and assessment based management process through the integration of:
  
  • Anatomy, physiology, and pathophysiology
  • Thorough and appropriate patient assessment
  • Determination of a field or paramedic differential diagnosis
  • Implementation of a treatment plan using national and local protocols
• The program will always insure both instructional quality and student safety in the didactic, skill lab, clinical and field internship environments.