Paramedic AS degree and Certificate of Achievement

The Paramedic Program provides students with the knowledge and skills necessary to provide advanced emergency medical care in the prehospital setting. The licensed paramedic is the highest level provider on the prehospital care team and may find employment with a fire department, private ambulance service,third service, hospital, or other operation. The Paramedic Program includes classroom didactic, practical laboratory, simulation-based education,in-hospital clinical and a capstone prehospital field internship that qualifies the student for the National Registry of Emergency Medical Technicians (NREMT) Paramedic Licensure Examination upon successful completion of the program.

The Paramedic Program is accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs (CAAHEP) under the recommendation of the Committee on Accreditation of Educational Programs for the Emergency Medical Services Profession (CoAEMSP), Program #600218. 

The CCSF Paramedic program uses a cohort model with a new cohort starting each fall semester, continuous coursework throughout the year including capstone field internship in Summer/Fall (Year 2), with an on-time graduation of December in the second year. This results in an overlap of the new cohort each fall with the entering cohort.  Each year, over 100 students attend information meetings and take the entrance exam to apply to the program.  Capacity of a cohort is determined by available clinical and field internship placement sites and preceptor availability. Maximum enrollment is 30 students per cohort. The most recent two cohorts (Fall 2018 and Fall 2019) began with 28 students and experienced greater than normal attrition (4 students and 6 students) due to hiring by Bay Area fire departments. The Fall 2019 cohort will accept 28 students from the applicant pool. 

The goal of the City College of San Francisco paramedic program is to prepare competent entry-level Paramedics in the cognitive (knowledge), psychomotor (skills) and affective (behavior) learning domains with or without exit points at the Advanced Emergency Medical Technician (AEMT), and/or Emergency Medical Technician (EMT), and/or Emergency Medical Responder (EMR) levels.

City College of San Francisco offers a Certificate of Achievement and an Associate of Science degree in Paramedic. The student learning outcomes for the AS degree are the same for the Certificate, except for one additional SLO that was added to ensure greater depth and breadth in the area of community health, advocacy, and interprofessional responsibility to address health equity issues among diverse patient populations in emergency care. 

Upon completion of this program, students will be able to:

• Apply advanced-level emergency medical knowledge and standards within the Paramedic scope of practice to the care of patients in a diverse community.
• Apply safe advanced-level technical skills in emergency medical situations within the Paramedic scope of practice.
• Behave professionally, skillfully, and in a manner consistent with employer and community expectations of an Emergency Medical Services (EMS) provider.
• Support patient advocacy and interprofessional collaboration in prehospital care to address health disparities in a diverse community. (AS degree)

Prerequisite Courses

EMT 104: Advanced Skills for EMS Providers (4.0)

EMTP 120 Human Systems and Patient assessment (5.0)

 OR 

BIOL 106 introduction to Human Anatomy and Physiology (4.0)

total prerequisite units = 8.0-9.0 units

Course	Title	Units	Year/Semester (Y1 or S1)
EMTP 121	introduction to EMS	3.0	S1
EMTP 122	Pharmacology and Advanced Airway	3.0	S1
EMTP 123	Trauma Emergencies	3.0	S1
EMTP 124	Trauma Certification	2.0	S1
EMTP 125	Cardiorespiratory Emergencies	4.0	S1
EMTP 126	Neuroendocrine Emergencies	3.0	S2
EMTP 127	Medical Emergencies	3.0	S2
EMTP 128	OB/GYN and Pediatric Emergencies	4.0	S2
EMTP 129	Special Populations, EMS Operations	4.0	S2
EMTP 130	Clinical and Field Internship	12.0	Y2/S3

Pursuant to 22 CCR § 100158, to be eligible to enter a paramedic training program in California, students must be a currently certified Emergency Medical Technician (EMT). It is recommended that students have three to six months of prehospital experience as an EMT prior to submitting an application to the CCSF Paramedic Program.

Enrollment is open to qualified applicants who fulfill the following admission requirements:

1. Hold a current California EMT certification
2. Attend mandatory information session
3. Complete application to the program
4. Pass the EMT review test at 75% or higher
5. Submit two letters of recommendation

The minimum time for completion of the AS degree in Paramedic is four semesters plus one summer term. Completion time will vary based on student preparation and number of units completed per semester. The minimum time for completion of the Paramedic Certificate of Achievement is three semesters plus one summer term. 

The City College of San Francisco Paramedic Program was initially accredited in 2005 by the Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs (CAAHEP), and received continuing accreditation in 2010 and 2015. The next application for continuing accreditation, self-study process, and site visit will take place in 2020.

There are several Paramedic Programs in the Bay Area, including Santa Rosa Junior College, Napa Community College, Foothill College, Monterey Peninsula, Las Positas Community College, and Contra Costa College. Demand for entry into Paramedic programs is high; however, clinical and internship placements are challenging. The Bay Area Paramedic Program Directors communicate via an email listserv and through regional meetings and continue to discuss solutions to these challenges. The most recent RJV meeting was held on Friday 3/8/19 to collaborate and advocate for prehospital care education programs at community colleges in California.