RENO, Nev. — The Regional Emergency Medical Services Authority (REMSA) Center for Prehospital Education is pleased to announce that 16 students successfully completed the organization’s 12-month paramedic program. The program builds on the existing knowledge and skills of an emergency medical technician (EMT) or an advanced emergency medical technician (AEMT). To complete the program, students must master advanced assessment techniques, complex emergency procedures and effective patient interactions.
“REMSA is extremely proud of our newest class of paramedics,” said Cindy Green, education manager, director of paramedic program, REMSA. “They’ve been dedicated and passionate about learning how to provide exceptional patient care over the past 12 months. We are confident they are prepared to provide compassionate, clinically-excellent, paramedic-level care.”
REMSA’s paramedic program includes 602 didactic/lecture hours, 216 hours of clinical site experience, which must take place in an emergency department, operating room, intensive care unit, urgent care facility, labor and delivery department, etc. and 480 hours on an ambulance as a functioning entry-level paramedic. Program participants develop their skills related to advanced respiratory, cardiac, medical and trauma care, EMS operations, pediatric and obstetric patient/scene assessments, and advanced pharmacologic instruction. Advanced skills include emergency airway interventions and intravenous medication administration.
Upon successful completion of the program, the graduates become eligible to take the National Registry of EMT’s Exam, a two-part test involving a hands-on exam which is completed during the last week of the class, as well as a cognitive online exam. Once the registry exam is successfully completed, the students can begin work on an ambulance as a nationally registered paramedic.
The REMSA Center for Prehospital Education has experienced remarkable success by training paramedics with a 94 percent first-time pass rate on the National Registry of Emergency Medical Services Paramedic Exam in 2018, and a 100 percent pass rate overall. This is compared to the national average first-time pass rate of 76 percent first-time pass rate and 86 percent overall.
REMSA’s paramedic program is accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs through the Committee on Accreditation of Educational Programs for the Emergency Medical Services Professions.
“REMSA takes pride in the paramedics we graduate,” said Green. “As an integrated health care provider in northern Nevada, we ensure that reliable, quality EMS care is available throughout the region.”
Members of the graduating cohort include: Aaron Martini, Alexander Kajans, Allison Vondrak, Clint Loudenburg, Cory Crosby, Elizabeth Arrate, Jeffrey Jenkins, Jeremy Hall, Juan Serrano, Juris Vaskovskis, Leanna Espin, Michael Silverberg, Scott Norman, Shane Gump, Thomas Evans and Yazir Nauhm-Barrios.
About REMSA
REMSA is a high-performance, private, locally-governed, non-profit healthcare organization and emergency medical services agency serving northern Nevada since 1986. Through an exclusive franchise agreement, REMSA provides Washoe County’s 420,000 residents with 24/7 ALS and ILS ground ambulance services. REMSA also encompasses Care Flight, a regional helicopter, airplane and ground critical care transport service; Care Flight also operates Care Flight Ground in Plumas County. REMSA offers a Nevada-licensed, post-secondary educational institution, a state-of-the-art, fully accredited 9-1-1 dispatch communications center, a Tactical Emergency Medical Support team and special events EMS teams. REMSA and Care Flight are Always Ready.
