The UC Davis Fire Department Paramedic Program provides specialized, rigorous training to help cultivate the healthcare heroes of tomorrow.
Table of Contents
Paramedic student practicing on a manikin. - Course Outcomes
- Tuition, Fees and Other Costs
- Requirements
- Application/Interest Card
Course Description
The UC Davis Fire Department paramedic program is designed to provide students the opportunity to learn up-to-date principles and practices of Advanced Life Support (ALS) pre-hospital emergency care in a didactic (classroom and lab), clinical (in-hospital), and field (on an ambulance) setting. Fast-paced and intense, this hybrid course is designed for the working individual. Upon completion, paramedics will be able to integrate their knowledge of pathophysiology with a patient’s history, vital signs data, and physical findings in order to render the best care possible to sick and injured patients.
This course covers the didactic and psychomotor material necessary to establish a foundation for paramedic prehospital patient assessment and management. Topics include preparatory, human body and human systems, pharmacology, patient assessment, airway management, and emergency care for patients suffering from respiratory, cardiac, shock, traumatic, medical, obstetric, pediatric and neonatal emergencies.
Course Outcomes*
- Define the paramedic roles and responsibilities within an EMS system, and how these roles and responsibilities differ from other levels of providers.
- Explain the importance of personal wellness in EMS.
- Define the role that ethics play in decision-making in the out-of-hospital environment.
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- Apply the general concepts of pathophysiology for assessment and management of emergency patients.
- Describe the legal issues that impact decisions made in the out of hospital environment.
- Integrate pathophysiological principles of pharmacology and the assessment findings to formulate a field impression and implement a pharmacologic management plan.
- Safely and precisely access the venous circulation and administer medications.
- Integrate the principles of therapeutic communication to effectively communicate with any patient while providing care.
- Establish and/or maintain an open airway, oxygenate, and ventilate a patient by mastering techniques in Bag Valve Mask, Supraglottic Airway and Endotracheal Intubation.
- Use the appropriate techniques to obtain a medical history from a patient.
- Integrate the principles of history taking and techniques of a physical exam to perform a patient assessment.
- Apply a process of clinical decision making to use the assessment findings to help form a field impression.
- Follow an accepted format for dissemination of patient information in verbal form.
- Effectively document the essential elements of patient assessment, care, and transport.
- Describe the knowledge and principles associated with the acute management of respiratory emergencies.
- Demonstrate the appropriate management of a patient suffering from a respiratory emergency.
- Describe the knowledge and principles associated with the acute management of cardiovascular
- emergencies including acute coronary syndrome and cardiac arrest.
- Demonstrate the appropriate management of a patient suffering from a cardiovascular emergency.
- Demonstrate the skills and ability to treat and manage an adult patient with acute coronary syndrome, or in cardiac arrest.
- Describe the knowledge and principles associated with the acute management of traumatic emergencies.
- Demonstrate the appropriate management of a trauma patient with complications affecting airway, breathing, circulation, hemorrhage, and shock.
*Outcomes are prescribed by the U.S. Department of Transportation National EMS Education Standards, National EMS Scope of Practice (SOP) Model and California Title 22, including the appropriate SOP transition material found at EMS.gov.
Tuition, Fees and Other Costs
Students should expect to pay approximately $16,900 to complete the paramedic program. After completion of the program students should expect to spend an additional $865 to become licensed as a paramedic in the state of California.
Requirements
To be admitted into the paramedic program all students must meet all pre-requirements, submit a paramedic program application with a resume and cover letter, verify work experience, receive a passing score on the Fisdap Paramedic Entrance Exam, pass an EMT/BLS skills exam, and successfully pass a screening interview. Applicants who successfully pass all phases/steps will be ranked by the scores received. Applicants receiving the highest scores will be selected for admittance into the program.
- Background check and Drug Screening
Students must successfully pass an approved background and drug/alcohol screening as well as complete immunization tracking prior to the scheduled deadline. If you fail to complete the requirements by the due date provided in class, you will not be able to complete your clinical experience requirements and will not pass the class. It is important to note that EMS employers may have more stringent background requirements. Faculty are neither qualified nor authorized to advise students regarding legal issues. Contact the Counseling Center regarding criminal record expungement.
The drug screening is a 10-panel urine analysis that test for the following substances:
Amphetamines
Barbiturates
Benzodiazepines
Cocaine
Marijuana
Methadone
Methaqualone
Opiates
Phencyclidine
Propoxyphene
Students must screen negative for all substances, including marijuana (THC). All non-negative tests will be evaluated by an
independent Medical Review Officer (MRO) provided by the drug screening company. Students who, after review by the MRO, are found to be non-compliant will not be allowed to attend the clinical experience and will not pass the class. Please note, the use of marijuana for medicinal purposes with or without a prescription/medical marijuana card does not waive the requirements and students must still screen negative for THC.
Detailed List of Pre-requisites
Required Accounts and Materials
Application
- Applications will be accepted until August 31, 2024 at 11:59 p.m.
- Selected applicants will be invited to take the Written Test on Saturday, September 14.
- Those who successfully complete the Written Test will be invited to take the Skills Test on October 4.
- Those who pass the Skills Test will be invited to interview between October 7-11.
- Those accepted into the program will be notified before the end of October 2024.
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- Accreditation Status/ Registry Info
The University of California, Davis Fire Department Paramedic program has been issued a Letter of Review by the Committee on Accreditation of Educational Programs for the Emergency Medical Services Professions (CoAEMSP). This letter is NOT a CAAHEP accreditation status, it is a status signifying that a program seeking initial accreditation has demonstrated sufficient compliance with the accreditation standards through the Letter of Review Self Study Report (LSSR) and other documentation. Letter of Review is recognized by the National Registry of Emergency Medical Technicians (NREMT) for eligibility to take the NREMT's Paramedic credentialing examination(s). However, it is NOT a guarantee of eventual accreditation.
The course meets all of the National EMS Education Standards for Paramedics and complies with Title 22, Division 9, Chapter 4 of the California State Code of regulations.
A course completion certificate is awarded to students who pass the course with a score of 80% or better, fulfill all clinical requirements, and successfully complete the capstone filed internship. Successful completion of the Paramedic Program provides eligibility to the National Registry of EMT's Paramedic examination to receive certification as a Nationally Registered Paramedic.
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