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Emergency Medical Service Continuing Education

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Emergency Medical Service Continuing Education Non-Credit

Gaston College Department for EMS Education offers non-degree EMS courses under the Continuing Education division of the college. We offer a variety of classes to obtain occupational training, certification, recertification, renewal, instructor methodology, education administration, and specialty topics. We offer classes fall, spring and summer.

Emergency Medical Service

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EMT – Emergency Medical Technician

This course is designed to train individuals to become emergency medical personnel. The student is exposed to emergency patient care through both classroom education and demonstrating competency through psychomotor skill labs. Topics include patient assessment, basic life support techniques (including airway management and CPR), oxygen therapy, treatment of shock, treatment of fractures, management of various medical emergencies and emergency childbirth. Upon successful completion of this course, the student will be eligible to take the North Carolina and/or National Registry Basic Emergency Medical Technician certification exam.

TO REGISTER: Go to the Gaston College testing center. Take the reading exam and score 77 or higher. Take your reading test score and go to registration. You may be waived from the testing requirement if you possess a higher education degree, diploma or certificate that demonstrates English proficiency. Course must be paid for at the time of registration. If you are affiliated with a fire and/or EMS agency, you must present valid proof during registration and a letter from your agency of affiliation for the fee to be waived. No registrations are accepted after the first day of class. This course is 180 hours and is offered each fall, beginning early August, and spring, beginning early January, on Tuesday/Thursday evenings with 4 Saturday sessions. $204 + books and materials. For more information contact EMS Education at gcems@gaston.edu or call 704.922.6241.

Prospective students must:

  • Be at least 17 years of age;
  • Demonstrate ability to read at the 10th grade level or higher through placement testing-reading comprehension, or college transcript listing successful completion of English; and,
  • Have internet access with e-mail.

Schedule of EMS Continuing Education Classes

For the schedule of EMS Continuing Education classes, click here.

Paramedic Refresher

Paramedic Refresher courses allow currently-credentialed Paramedics to re-credential upon completion of the refresher course. Most of our Paramedic Refresher courses are structured as hybrid courses, with a significant portion of the course delivered online and practical review and assessments conducted in a traditional classroom/lab setting. 

Prospective students with expired Paramedic credentials should contact the North Carolina Office of Emergency Medical Services to determine what steps they must take to recover their Paramedic credential.  While these recovery steps may include a Paramedic Refresher course, they may also include additional requirements such as completion of the state Paramedic credentialing exam. 

Instructor Methodology Hybrid Online

This course provides students who are clinically competent in a specific EMS content area with the instructional knowledge, resources, and skills to effectively deliver quality EMS education. Instruction is based on the 2002 National Education Guidelines for Educating EMS Instructors. This course meets the Instructor Methodology course requirement for credentialing as an NCOEMS Level I EMS instructor. In-class meetings will be scheduled closer to the course start dates. Additional separately scheduled presentation time will be required of students for presentation monitoring purposes. Preregistration required $69 + books and materials. For more information and a list of required materials contact EMS Education at gcems@gaston.edu or call 704.922.6241.

EMS Education Administration Course

The course is designed to provide the Level EMS Instructor with the next level of understanding for EMS education program coordination and management. This course is designed to train the participants to serve as the lead instructor for EMT-Intermediate and EMT-Paramedic courses as well as the lead EMS educational program coordinator for either basic or advanced educational institutions. This course will be approved by and follows the 2002 National Education Guidelines for Educating EMS Instructors and guidelines established by the NC Office of EMS. Preregistration is required. $72 + Books and materials. For more information and a list of required materials contact EMS Education at gcems@gaston.edu or call 704.922.6241.

Advanced Medical Life Support Provider (AMLS) Provider

NAEMT’s Advanced Medical Life Support (AMLS) course is the first EMS education program that fully addresses how to best assess and manage the most common medical crises in patients, offering a “think outside the box” methodology.  It is for all levels of practitioners with a strong commitment to patient care, including emergency medical technicians, paramedics, nurses, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, nurse anesthetists and physicians.

The course emphasizes the use of scene size-up, history, interactive group discussion on potential treatment strategies, and physical exam to systematically rule out and consider possibilities and probabilities in treating patients’ medical crises. The course offers an initial assessment-based approach that progresses to a diagnostic-based approach to quickly develop the best treatment plan.

Offered by the National Association of Emergency Medical Technicians (NAEMT) and sponsored Gaston College Department for EMS Education. Recommended for experienced providers and instructors. AMLS is a 16 hour, two day course. Tuition and Fees $87 + Book and Materials. Preregistration is required. For more information and a list of required materials contact EMS Education at gcems@gaston.edu or call 704.922.6241.

Prehospital Trauma Life Support Provider (PHTLS)

PHTLS courses improve the quality of trauma care and decrease mortality. The program is based on a prehospital trauma care philosophy, stressing the treatment of the multi-system trauma patient as a unique entity with specific needs. This may require an approach to the trauma patient that varies from traditional treatment modalities. PHTLS promotes critical thinking as the foundation for providing quality care. It is based on the belief that, given a good fund of knowledge and key principles, EMS providers are capable of making reasoned decisions regarding patient care. The PHTLS course is continuously updated and revised to keep up with the advances in the field, ATLS Guidelines and feedback from PHTLS participants. Offered by National Association of Emergency Medical Technicians (NAEMT) and sponsored by Gaston College Department for EMS Education. PHTLS is a 16 hour, two-day course. Tuition and fees $87 + Book and materials. Preregistration is required. For more information and a list of required materials contact EMS Education at gcems@gaston.edu or call 704.922.6241.

Education for Prehospital Professionals (PEPP)

Developed by the American Academy of Pediatrics, PEPP specifically teaches prehospital professionals how to better assess and manage ill or injured children. PEPP is designed to give prehospital professionals the education, skills, and confidence they need to effectively treat pediatric patients.  Preregistration two days prior to course start date is mandatory.  For more information and a list of required materials contact gcems@gaston.edu or call 704.922.6241. Cost of the course is $72 + Book and Materials.

COURSE EXPENSES

All registration fees must be paid before a student is considered “registered” for a course.  All other fees must be paid prior to the announced deadlines provided to the student. Non-Degree Continuing Education classes are not covered by financial aid. If you are an active volunteer or work with an EMS provider, fire department, or law enforcement agency, you may qualify for a registration fee waiver. Please contact Gaston College Department for EMS Education at gcems@gaston.edu or call 704.922.6241 for additional information concerning such waivers. Also, you should consult with your department representative, company officer, or supervisor to determine if there other financial aid is available. Some companies and/or agencies may purchase students’ textbooks or reimburse certain expenses upon completion of the program.

Contacts

For more information, email gcems@gaston.edu of phone 704-922-6249.

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