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 in 8-10 selected areas.  Classes start at the end of August each year. The core paramedic program takes approximately 18 months to complete. 

A "distance ed" site usually consists of 4-5 co-located students. Skills are generally done in a "skills camp" model at the Ogden, Utah, campus.  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.

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 underserved by the existing education system either in location, schedule, or capacity. 

Site selection also is based on the quantity of students (3-5 minimum) with appropriate prerequisites, provision of suitable cost free academic classroom facilities, the availability of secure computerized testing, internet "backbone," and local EMS community commitment. Sites with articulations to the local academic community receive the highest acceptance favor. 

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

Cost

The cost for 2007-2008 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.

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 with 1 year of EMS experience
• 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