EMS Course Descriptions

EMD 147 - Emergency Medical Technician
This workshop provides the medical knowledge and skills practice necessary to become an Emergency Medical Technician (EMT). It delivers a brief introduction to EMS systems, the structure, and the history of EMS and focuses on providing the fundamental knowledge and skill set necessary to become an EMT. With the completion of EMD 147, students will have attained the required training hours to test for certification as an EMT through the National Registry of Emergency Medical Technicians (NREMTs).

EMD 310 - Contemporary EMS Medicine
This course will provide an in-depth review of EMT and Paramedic clinical knowledge and will allow students to recertify as an EMT, AEMT, or paramedic in the State of Arizona or using the National Registry of EMTs (NREMT) recertification process. Course topics will cover all didactic material/objectives required by the National Registry of EMTs (NREMT) for both EMTs and Paramedics. 

EMD 350 - Advanced Emergency Medical Services
This course covers the core concepts of EMS systems and operations. Upon completion, students will have a better understanding of current EMS systems across the United States and how to optimize their function. Course topics will include the history and foundation of EMS, EMS systems, state and regional EMS systems, trauma systems, emergency departments and EMS, medical oversight and accountability, administration/management/operations, system financing, communications, emergency medical dispatch, medical record documentation and EMS information systems, ambulance ground transport, interfacility and specialty care transfer, air medical transport, EMS for children, rural EMS, disaster response, emergency medical care at mass gatherings, response to terrorist incidents and weapons of mass destruction, operational EMS, EMS and public health, research, EMS educational programs, EMS providers and system roles, occupational health issues, medical-legal concerns in EMS, EMS research, Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA) and EMS.

EMD 410 - Critical Care
This course provides students with the clinical knowledge and skills competencies necessary to provide prehospital critical care for both adult and pediatric patients. Upon completion of this course, students will be prepared to sit for the Critical Care Paramedic exam. The course will prepare you to deliver advanced critical care in the out-of-hospital setting, including the interfacility transfer of critically ill patients, as well as response to scene calls for critically ill or injured patients. You will learn from critical care providers and Emergency Medicine physicians, as well as other experts who will teach you to perform the appropriate patient assessments. This will include how to perform invasive out-of-hospital care. The course is delivered fully online. Course prerequisites or co-requisites are required for enrollment: 1) Paramedic certification or licensure valid throughout the end date of the course with two years experience; or Registered Nurse with at least two years of emergency or ICU experience, or a combined two years of EMS and ER/ICU. 2) Current ACLS certification, and current PRPP/PALS/Pedi-BTLS (One).

EMD 420 - Innovations in Community Paramedicine & Alternative Destinations
This course provides EMTs and Paramedics the background knowledge to understand and implement community paramedicine and treat and refer programs across a variety of EMS response models and communities. Upon completion of the course, students will meet Arizona requirements for those students with a certification as a paramedic to function as a Community Paramedic in a treat-and-refer program.

EMD 430 - Wilderness Medicine
This course is designed to provide the EMS student with an appreciation for medicine in wild and austere environments. Students will develop an organized, systematic approach for assessing a patient in various wilderness settings. We will discuss unique diagnoses and treatments for various wilderness-related topics including altitude, avalanche, heat- and cold-induced injuries, lightning, submersion, dive medicine, water disinfection, dentistry, dermatology, eye injuries, ENT injuries, infectious diseases, musculoskeletal injuries, wound management, and common medical problems. 

EMD 440 - Advanced Pediatric Prehospital Emergency Care
This course will provide an overview of the initial assessment and emergency management of children according to the pediatric assessment triangle. The key to this course will be the recognition of critically ill children in a prehospital setting to place them into appropriate standing order sets. Course topics will include airway obstruction, croup, bronchiolitis, pneumonia, asthma, cardiac arrest, dysrhythmias, shock, sepsis, altered mental status, traumatic brain injury, seizures, neonatal resuscitation, and special needs/technology-dependent children.

EMD 450 - EMS Special Operations
This course is designed to provide an EMT, Paramedic, or military equivalent with an overview of the unique aspects of EMS special operations. The course will start with an overview of some of the issues that are common to providing emergency medical services in the unique environments that we will later discuss. Then we will go into some of the specific challenges of Tactical EMS, EMS in HazMat operations, medical support of the technical rescue, and providing EMS at special events. 

EMD 460 - EMS Disaster Medicine
This course provides a broad overview of emergency medical services providers' response to disasters and how they are a critical component of disaster medical response. Students will learn about types of disasters and other special events, management strategies, triage, incident command, and out-of-hospital disaster medical management strategies. A wide variety of events are covered, including pandemics, mass fatalities, natural disasters, and more. 

EMD 493A - EMS Internship
This course is an internship course designed to provide students with on-the-job experience in EMS. This course is only open to students who have already identified a pair or volunteer EMS internship site. Internship sites may be The University of Arizona EMS Agency (students must already be general members) or any other location where the student volunteers or works in EMS. Students will be tasked with activities throughout the semester and will report to the instructors on their progress. Students are expected to attend trainings, events, shifts, and other activities as assigned by their EMS agency. Course Prerequisite: Approval by the student's advisor or course instructor.  

EMD 493B - EMS Leadership
This course is an internship course designed for leaders at their EMS agency (either The University of Arizona EMS agency or an outside EMS agency).  Examples of EMS leadership positions include Chief officers, Executive Advisor, CQI Officer, Training and Preparedness Specialist, Field Training Officer, etc. Rather than clinical work as in EMD 493A in this course (EMD 493B) students will be tasked with leadership activities throughout the semester and will report to the instructors on their progress. Course Prerequisites: Approval by student's advisor, internship site mentor/preceptor/supervisor, and course instructor. 

EMD 498 - Senior Capstone
This senior-level capstone course provides students with the opportunity to showcase the skills and knowledge they have acquired through the completion of other Emergency Medical Services courses. For this course, students must choose a project to (research project, quality improvement project, scientific publication, development or revision of a prehospital protocol based on new scientific evidence, etc.) implement or report.  All projects require prior approval from the course manager and director. The course is available for 1-4 credits. Both the student and faculty instructor will agree upon the number of credits before the start of the course. A minimum of 45 hours of student work is required for each unit of credit. Course Prerequisites: Senior standing and completion of at least one core EMD course or exception with the consent of the faculty advisor.