Program Information
The Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Program consist of three levels:
EMT (Basic), AEMT (Advanced), and Paramedic (PAR).
Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) is a one semester program that is taught fall, spring or summer semesters as needed. Interested students must meet minimum admission requirements and apply for admission to the program. See admission requirements.
Certification Earned: Emergency Medical Technician (EMT)
Length of Program: One semester (10 credit hours)
Priority Application Deadlines:
Spring - September 15
Summer - April 1
Fall - June 15
Late applications will be accepted until class is full.
Location: EMT courses are offered on Opelika Campus each fall, spring and summer semester. EMT courses are offered on Valley Campus and Wadley Campus as needed.
Credentials Earned: National Registered EMT following successful completion of the National Registry of Emergency Medical Technicians certification exam. The National Registry examinations are required for licensure in Alabama at the EMT, Advanced EMT and paramedic levels.
Advanced Emergency Medical Technician (AEMT) is a one semester program that is taught fall, spring or summer semesters as needed. Interested students must hold a current Alabama EMT license, meet all program admission requirements and apply for admission to the program.
Certification Earned: Advanced Emergency Medical Technician (AEMT)
Length of Program: One semester (9 semester hours)
Priority Application Deadlines:
Spring - September 15
Summer - April 1
Fall - June 15
Late applications will be accepted until class is full.
Location: Opelika, Valley or Wadley Campus as needed
Credentials Earned: National Registered AEMT following successful completion of the National Registry of Advanced Emergency Medical Technicians certification exam. The National Registry examinations are required for licensure in Alabama at the EMT, Advanced EMT and Paramedic levels.
Paramedic (PAR) is the final level of the Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Program. Paramedic is a three semester program that begins spring and other semesters as needed. Interested students must hold an Alabama AEMT license, meet College and EMS Paramedic Program admission requirements and apply for admission to the program.
Degree Earned: Short Term Certificate (STC), Certificate (CER) or Associate in Applied Science (AAS)
Length of Program:
- Paramedic Short Term Certificate - 3 semesters, 29 hours
- Paramedic Certificate (CER) - 5 Semesters; 59 Semester Hours (includes EMT, AEMT & Paramedic)
- Associate in Applied Science (AAS) - 5 Semesters; 70 Semester Hours (includes EMT, AEMT & Paramedic)
Application Priority Deadlines:
Spring - September 15
Summer - April 1
Fall - June 15
Late applications will be accepted until class is full.
Location:
- Paramedic courses offered on Opelika Campus (Fall, Spring and Summer Semester).
Credentials Earned: National Registered EMT-Paramedic following successful completion of the National Registry of Emergency Medical Technicians certification exams. The National Registry examinations are required for licensure in Alabama at all three EMS levels.
Additional Information
- Admission Requirements
- Application
- EMS Program STC, Certificate, and Degree Brochure
- Health Sciences Information Session
- Estimated Cost of EMS Program
- Essential Functions for EMS
- EMS Student Handbook
- Clinical Instructor/Preceptor Handbook
-
Paramedic Graduate/Employment Data
CURRICULUMS
EMT Basic Curriculum:
1st semester
| Course Number | Course Name | Theory | Lab | Clinic | Credit Hours |
| EMS 118 | Emergency Medical Technician | 6 | 3 | 0 | 9 |
| EMS 119 |
Emergency Medical Technician Clinical |
0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Total Credit Hours* | 10 |
*The required hours for the EMT program do not qualify students as full time students for financial aid. Students must take 12 hours to be considered full time. Students may choose an academic requirement for the Associate in Applied Science in Paramedic if fulltime enrollment is needed.
AEMT Curriculum:
2nd Semester
| Course Number | Course Name | Theory | Lab | Clinic | Credit Hours |
| EMS 155 | Advanced Emergency Medical Technician | 3 | 3 | 0 | 7 |
| EMS 156 | Advanced Emergency Medical Technician Clinical | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| Total Credit Hours | 9 |
*Transfer students: Students who completed EMT training from a non-accredited program and plan to transfer in as a licensed EMT must take EMS 108, Directed Studies in EMS I, as a co-requisite with EMS 156, Advanced Emergency Medical Technician Clinical. Upon completion of EMS 108 with a grade of 75 or higher, the student will be awarded 10 hours of academic credit.
Paramedic Curriculum:
If choosing the Short Term Certificate (STC), academic courses are not required. It is highly recommended that academic courses for the long certificate (CER) or AAS degree be completed prior to acceptance into the program.
The following course must be completed with a "C" or higher in the third (3rd) semester of the paramedic program:
| Course Number | Credit Hours | |
| BIO 111 (previously EMS 189)* OR BIO 201** |
Survey of Human Biology OR Human Anatomy & Physiology |
4 |
The following courses must be completed prior to enrolling in the final (5th) semester of the paramedic program:
| Course Number | Credit Hours | ||
| ENG 101 | English Composition I | 3 | |
| MTH 100 | Intermediate College Algebra | 3 | |
|
BIO 111* |
Survey of Human Biology OR Human Anatomy & Physiology |
4 | |
| BIO 202** | Human Anatomy & Physiology II* *(required if BIO 201 elected; not required for certificate option if BIO 111 chosen for A&P requirements) |
4 |
3rd semester
| Course Number | Course Name | Theory | Lab | Clinic | Credit Hours |
| EMS 241 | Paramedic Cardiology | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
| EMS 242 | Paramedic Patient Assessment | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| EMS 244 | Paramedic Clinical | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| EMS 257 | Paramedic Applied Pharmacology | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| English/math/biology | 3 or 4 |
*Transfer students: Students who completed AEMT training from a non-accredited program and plan to transfer in as a licensed EMT must take EMS 156, Advanced Emergency Medical Technician Clinical as a co-requisite with EMS 244. Paramedic Clinical. Upon completion of EMS 156 with a grade of 75 or higher, the student will be awarded 9 hours of academic credit.
4th semester
| Course Number | Course Name | Theory | Lab | Clinic | Credit Hours |
| EMS 245 | Paramedic Medical Emergencies | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
| EMS 246 | Paramedic Trauma Management | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
| EMS 247 | Paramedic Special Populations | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| EMS 248 | Paramedic Clinical II | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 |
| English/math/biology | 3 or 4 |
5th semester
| Course Number | Course Name | Theory | Lab | Clinic | Credit Hours |
| EMS 253 | Paramedic Transition to the Workforce | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| EMS 254 | Advanced Competencies for Paramedic | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| EMS 255 | Paramedic Field Preceptorship | 0 | 0 | 5 | 5 |
| EMS 256 | Paramedic Team Leadership | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
TOTAL EMS & AEMT COURSES CREDIT HOURS: 19
TOTAL PARAMEDIC COURSES CREDIT HOURS: 29
TOTAL GENERAL EDUCATION CREDIT HOURS: 10
TOTAL PARAMEDIC PROGRAM CLOCK HOURS: 975
TOTAL PARAMEDIC CERTIFICATE HOURS: 58
Additional Courses Required for A.A.S. degree (in addition to Paramedic Certificate)
| Course | Credit Hours |
| BIO 201** Human Anatomy & Physiology I | 4 |
| BIO 202 Human Anatomy & Physiology II | 4 |
| PSY 200 General Psychology | 3 |
| SPH 107 Public Speaking (or SPH 106) | 3 |
| +Humanities or Fine Arts Elective | 3 |
| Total Additional Hours for A.A.S. Degree | 17 |
*EMS 189 or BIO 111 will satisfy the anatomy & physiology requirements for the Paramedic Certificate only.
**BIO 201 & 202 will satisfy the anatomy & physiology requirements for the Paramedic AAS Degree and Certificate option. BIO 201 is a prerequisite to BIO 202.
+Most courses from Area II of the Alabama General Studies Curriculum (AGSC) can be used to satisfy the humanities elective requirement. The courses taught at SUSCC that can be used for the elective are: ART 100, Art Appreciation; MUS 101, Music Appreciation; THR 120, Theater Appreciation; IDS 102, Ethics; HUM 101, Introduction to Humanities; ENG 271 or 272, World Literature; REL 151, Survey of Old Testament; or REL 152, Survey of New Testament. If you are transferring from other colleges or universities, you should check with an Academic Advisor regarding transfer of your course(s).
Credit Hour Summary
| Program | Short Term Certificate Hours | Certificate +EMT and AEMT | A.A.S. |
| EMT | 10 | N/A | N/A |
| AEMT | 9 | 19 | n/a |
| Paramedic | 29 | 58-62 | 71 |
Comprehensive Examinations Information
Students enrolled in the various levels of the EMS program must achieve an “Above the passing standard” as defined by the testing software on each module of the six (6) EMS Computerized Adaptive Testing (CAT) Competency exams (Airway, Cardiac, Trauma, Medical, OB/Peds and Operations) in order to successfully complete the courses EMS 119 (students enrolled in EMT), EMS 156 (students enrolled in AEMT) or EMP 204 (students enrolled in Paramedic). Students falling below the passing standard are required to remediate in areas of deficiency and retake the exam, and may repeat the exam as often as needed. After successful completion of the six (6) CAT exams, students are eligible to take the Comprehensive Final Exam.