Initiated in 2004, WSU's Department of Emergency Care & Rescue has helped western states educate paramedics in rural areas with a program that uses state-of-the-art, interactive video technology. Students from the first class hailed from Utah, Wyoming and Washington State.  The program meets all USDOT, CoAEMSP, and National Registry of EMT’s standards.

WSU believes that educating paramedics in rural areas is critical since the need for paramedic level skill is most acute in those places where medical assistance isn't just around the corner. Our video technology allows a professor teaching a class at the Ogden, Utah campus to interact with 25-50 additional students usually in 4-8 selected areas outside of Weber and Davis Counties.  Classes start at the end of August each year. The distance (evening) paramedic program takes approximately 16 months to complete. 

A "distance-ed" site usually consists of 3-5 co-located students outside of Weber and Davis Counties. Skills are generally done in a "skills camp" model at the Ogden, Utah, campus the 2nd week in December, 2nd week of March and the 2nd or 3rd week of June. Dependent upon community resources, a hybrid skills, clinical and field internship program MAY be developed at a distance ed location to decrease student travel time. Students in Weber and Davis Counties are invited to attend the evening "face-to face" class session on the Ogden Campus.

Site and Student Selection

Site selection is a competitive process that starts one year in advance. The ideal distance education site is one that is currently under-served by the existing education system either in location, schedule, or capacity. WSU will not enter locations that are currently served by another academically based paramedic program. Weber and Davis County students are invited to attend evening "face-to-face" classes on the Ogden campus.

Site selection also is based on the quantity of students (3-5 minimum) having completed appropriate prerequisites, provision of suitable cost free academic classroom facilities, the availability of secure computerized testing, a strong internet "backbone," and local EMS community commitment. Sites with articulations to the local academic community receive the highest acceptance favor. Non-academic institution sites will be reviewed on a case by case basis. In communities where WSU has not established a dedicated teaching site, it is the responsibility of the requesting area to do the preliminary investigation in order to find a suitable meeting location.

Time commitment:

Distance education students are expected to attend class every Tuesday and Thursday evening from late August through mid June.  Class attendance is mandatory and may not be done during duty shift hours that may subject a student to call. This course is considered "face-to-face" and is not designed nor intended for "time shifting."

Students must be able to attend the three, one week skills camps that generally occur:

- Final Exam week in December (5 days)

- The week before Spring break (6 days)

- Second or third week of June (8 days)

Clinical and Field Internship:

Students must have some flexible time in order to complete both clinical and field internship requirements.  The 160 hours of clinical training availability can vary and is subject to individual hospital requirements. Field internship requirements (approximately 24 hours per week) also vary by EMS agency. Students must have flexible work hours in order to meet clinical and field constraints. All students must plan on performing a minimum of 240 out of the 480+ hours of field internship in Weber or Davis counties.

Additional questions on site consideration can be directed to jgrunow@weber.edu.

Cost

The cost for 2009-2010 is expected to be approximately $8,000, payable in 4 installments. This program is approved for financial aid. Additional costs of textbooks, uniforms, criminal background checks, clinical, field, or skill lab travel is extra.

Class is held on Tuesday and Thursday evenings from 1800-2200.  The 16 month program starts each fall semester and is subject to minimum enrollment requirements.

Prerequisites

Starting catalog year 2006-2007, all students must have the following prerequisites with a "C" or better before starting any WSU Paramedic Program. These prerequisites may be taken at WSU Online and/or a local community college and must appear on a formal transcript:

• EMT-Basic certification - Experience recommended but not required.
• Transcript documented MATH 0960 competency (First Course in Algebra)
• Relations, functions, positive and negative numbers, rational expressions, linear equations and inequalities
• Transcript documented 2 credits in Medical Terminology
• Transcript documented 3 credits in English 1010
• Transcript documented 8 credits of "matched set" Anatomy and  Physiology
• Minimum GPA of 2.7