St. John’s Paramedic Program Advances
Careers and Saves Lives
July 8, 2009
Weaving in and out of the traffic-jammed streets of New York City
in an ambulance with an ailing patient may be one of the most
nerve-wracking medical settings, but for paramedics it’s the place
where they save lives.
Paramedics undergo rigorous training to achieve their certification
as the highest level of pre-hospital care provider. St. John’s
College of Pharmacy and Allied Health Professions is one of nine
nationally accredited schools in New York State to offer this
certification.
“Because St. John’s paramedic program trains students to be New
York City, New York State, or National Registered paramedics, we
attract students from all five boroughs of New York City and
Nassau, Suffolk, Westchester and Rockland counties and New Jersey,”
says Scott Holliday, EMT-P, CIC, Associate Director of the
Emergency Medical Institute. “At the end of each program students
will become certified in basic and advanced cardiac life-support as
well as pediatric advanced life-support, pre-hospital trauma life
support and neonatal resuscitation.”
Accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health
Education Programs (CAAHEP), St. John’s paramedic program, which
resides in the College’s Emergency Medical Services Institute, will
begin its sixth year at the University this fall with a class of 25
students. The program is still new to the University as it
was previously run by St. Vincent’s Catholic Medical Center before
being acquired by the College of Pharmacy and Allied Health
Professions in March 2007.
Students entering the program are required to be New York State
certified emergency medical technicians (EMTs) or certified
critical-care technicians – the level before paramedic – which
gives advanced technicians the opportunity to build on their prior
knowledge and training to earn their paramedic certification in 10
months.
Along with classroom work, more than 560 hours of rotations in
various hospital clinical areas and advanced life-support
ambulances throughout the five boroughs of New York City comprise
the program. These opportunities to work in the field allow
students to gain practical experience and exposure in a variety of
medical settings.
As a volunteer EMT and current paramedic student, Margaret Nelson
understands the importance of intensive training in the medical
field, “The tragic death of my brother was the life-changing event
that inspired me to get involved in the medical field. Although the
program is very challenging, every day I wake up with excitement
knowing that today I am going to help someone.”
The guiding philosophy of St. John’s paramedic program is “an
educated paramedic is a well-trained paramedic.” Margaret Nelson
agrees: “Entering St. John’s paramedic program was one of the best
decisions I ever made. Not only am I ecstatic about receiving my
paramedic certification, but I am now interested in taking my
education further and applying to the College of Pharmacy and
Allied Health Profession’s physician assistant program. The more I
learn, the more I want to know.”
For more information about the College of Pharmacy and Allied
Health Professions’ paramedic program, please visit its
Paramedic Profession Web site.