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The Emergency Medical Services Degree program prepares competent entry-level Emergency Medical Technician Basic and Paramedic students in the cognitive (knowledge), psychomotor (skills) and affective (behavior) learning domains with or without exit points at the Advanced Emergency Medical Technician and/or Emergency Medical Technician, and/or Emergency Medical Responder levels.

What will I learn?

EMT training is a natural entry into the world of medicine. Students will become proficient in emergency pre-hospital care of the sick and injured in the field and hospital emergency department environment.

What's special about program?

The Emergency Medical Services degree program offers the only AAS Paramedic Degree in the San Antonio metropolitan area. It also offers a college Certificate Level II in Paramedic and an Occupational Skills Award Certificate in EMT-Basic, all at competitive prices.

What can I do with this course of study?

The EMT-Basic represents the first response of the emergency medical system. An EMT trained at this level is prepared to care for patients at the scene of an accident and while transporting patients by ambulance to the hospital under the direction of more highly trained medical personnel. The EMT-Basic has the emergency skills to assess a patient's condition and manage respiratory, cardiac, and trauma emergencies. All Texas firefighters are required to obtain EMT-Basic training.

Paramedics provide more extensive pre-hospital care than do EMTs. In addition to carrying out the procedures of the other levels, paramedics administer medications orally and intravenously, interpret electrocardiograms (EKGs), perform endotracheal intubations, and use monitors and other complex equipment. Paramedics can become supervisors, operations managers, administrative directors, or executive directors of emergency services.

Some EMTs and paramedics become instructors, dispatchers, or physician assistants; others move into sales or marketing of emergency medical equipment. A number of people become EMTs and Paramedics to test their interest in healthcare before training as registered nurses, physicians, or other health workers. Earnings of EMTs and Paramedics depend on the employment setting and geographic location of their jobs, as well as their training and experience.