Students
What you need to know to begin your paramedic training.
We're here to help you prepare for the start of your paramedic career.
Our Paramedic Education utilizes a rolling admissions process; students are encouraged to complete the application process and remit all required payments and documentation to ensure a seat in the program.
Students who have not completed the registration process will not appear on the official roster for the course and may not attend any portion of any sessions until the registration process is complete. It is the student’s responsibility to ensure payment for the course.
Admissions Policy
The Paramedic Education Program reserves the right to deny admission or readmission of any individual considered detrimental to the best interests of the Program and Elizabethtown Community Hospital.
Each student must be able to assume the duties and responsibilities of an EMT with or without reasonable accommodation as outlined by the Department of Health. Students must be 17 years of age by the last day of the month of the scheduled Certification Exam. Students who do not meet the age requirements listed are ineligible to enroll in this course. All students must be able to read and write the English language.
All students in an original advanced training course (AEMT, Paramedic) must maintain valid EMT (or higher) certification throughout the program. Students are also required to maintain health insurance for the duration of the course. Failure to maintain a current certification will result in removal from the program.
$11,000 course tuition for 2026 includes:
- iPad tablet and protective case (student will keep)
- Books
- Nancy Caroline’s Emergency Care in the Streets 9th Ed.
- Anatomy and Physiology for Healthcare Providers
- Drug Calculations for Paramedics
- Skills tracking software
- Uniform allowance
- Professional liability insurance coverage
- AHA certification cards (BLS, ACLS, PALS)
- NAEMT certification cards (PHTLS, AMLS)
- CADAVER anatomy and procedural skills lab
Tuition & Fees
Course | Tuition | Fees |
|---|---|---|
EMT Original | $770 | $425 |
EMT Refresher | $335 | $300 |
Advanced EMT – Original | $1,175 | $400 |
Paramedic Original | $9,050 | $950 |
Paramedic Refresher | $750 | $100 |
Student Financial Responsibility
Upon acceptance into the program, the candidate will accept their receipt and submit a deposit for $500.00. This fee will be applied to the overall fees of the program. Students are ultimately responsible for any and all costs associated with their course. This may include but is not limited to:
- Travel
- Parking
- Uniforms
- Equipment
- Fees
The Paramedic Education Program reserves the right to alter the tuition and fee schedule at its discretion.
Tuition Reimbursement
Tuition support from NYS DOH BEMS can only be provided for active members of certified NYS DOH EMS agencies which have a valid PCR agency code and participate in the PCR system. Students not affiliated with an EMS agency by the start date of the class are NOT eligible for tuition support from NYS DOH BEMS.
Click here to view tuition reimbursement rates
It is a common misconception that funding originates with the student’s agency. Unless specific paperwork has been filed with the Paramedic Education Program to defer financial responsibility for tuition, the agency is not accountable for any balance due.
Payment Information
Accepted forms of payment include checks, money orders and credit cards.
The application deadline is December 1, 2025.
The paramedic application will open 90 days before the anticipated start of a program. Students wishing to apply to the program with have an active EMT or higher card in either New York or Vermont. The applicant will also be at least 17 years old at the time of application.
The applicant will submit:
- Three letters of recommendation
- A valid EMS provider card
- A valid CPR card
- Proof of physical within one calendar year
Upon receipt of these documents, the program will:
- Review the candidate's application
- Offer an interview, consisting of an oral board and a panel interview with program staff
The Paramedic Education Program follows equal opportunity admission policies. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits discrimination because of race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. Federal law also prohibits other types of discrimination such as age, citizenship, disability, veteran status, attainment of benefits, and participation in union activities. The laws of most states and many localities also prohibit some or all of the above types of discrimination as well as some additional types including, but not limited to, discrimination based upon ancestry, marital status, parental status, sexual orientation, or source of income. This list, however, is not exhaustive of the grounds on which discrimination is prohibited.
What started as a grass roots effort by the Elizabethtown Community Hospital Auxiliary, is now an effort to help students fulfill their educational goals without sustaining a financial hardship.
Helpful Links
- New York State Department of Labor Career Training
- New York State Department of Education Adult Career and Continuing Education Services
- National Association of Emergency Medical Technicians Foundation
- Boundtree Legacy Scholarship Program
- Rural Health Information Hub: Scholarships
- Platinum Educational Group Annual Scholarship
The Role of the Preceptor
The student arrives with the foundation for their career as a paramedic. Their initial clinical preparation has brought their foundation together within a somewhat controlled treatment environment to develop their basic patient interactions, thought processes and psychomotor abilities. During the clinical experiences and field internship, it will be the preceptor's responsibility to help educate, evaluate, critique and positively influence the students. You will be their guide to a strong and effective development towards a career as a paramedic.
Preceptor Expectations
The preceptor is crucial to the success of the student. Under the guidance of the preceptor, a student will develop and refine their psychomotor skills and obtain valuable experience assessing and treating patients.
Program integrity relies on fair and just evaluations. Our community deserves the very best and it is our mission to prepare entry-level practitioners — not reward participation. Be fair, be honest and please evaluate the student based on the performance you see today.
The preceptor agrees to:
- Assist the student in attainment of goals and objectives of the program
- Provide the necessary training, support, and mentorship to achieve program goals
- Review student performance and establish realistic expectations for the shift
- Monitor and verify hours spent with the student
- Communicate with faculty as needed and immediately report any student problem that develops
- Provide daily written evaluations of the student, along with periodic evaluations assessing overall progress and growth
- Respect the opinions of your colleagues, remain neutral when students present comments, questions or opinions about other faculty, staff or preceptors
- Do not counsel or aid students in circumventing institutional polices or regulations. When confronted with situations in which students have violated or circumvented established policy, the team member is obliged to refer the situation to the appropriate agency.
The Role of the Lab Instructor
The lab instructor is an important part of the educational team. The lab instructor is tasked with teaching the hands-on psychomotor skills necessary to become an effective EMS provider.
Lab Instructor Expectations
The lab instructor may be asked to:
- Teach specific skills required of an EMS provider.
- Participate in planning dynamic interactive lab sessions (simulations) and evaluating students.
- Lead small group instruction, an effective technique to reinforce or reteach specific skills and concepts maintaining reduced student to instructor ratios.
- Ensure that confidentiality is maintained with respect to all communications and records considered confidential. Unless the student gives written permission, information disclosed in the educational realm must remain confidential.
- Recognize the limits of your training, expertise and competence and refer students in need of further expertise to qualified individuals possessing the appropriate qualifications.
Be fair, be honest and please evaluate the student on the performance you observed during the assigned period. Please don’t reward participation or have an unfair bias in your evaluations.
Interested?
Please contact us if you are interested in being a preceptor or lab instructor.
Clinical
Throughout the program, students will engage in a variety of clinical learning environments in various healthcare settings, that will include but are not limited to:
- Emergency Medicine - 80 hours
- Physician time - 24 Hours
- Operating Room / Ambulatory Surgery - 24 hours
- Obstetrics - 24 hours
- Ambulance - 100 Hours
Once clinical learning experiences commence, it is mandatory for students to complete at least four (4) clinical / field shifts per month. The student must schedule their time to effectively meet program goals. Students will need to schedule appropriately to have at least 12 contacts per month Failure to maintain an adequate clinical schedule will result in advisory meeting / counseling.
The clinical portion of this program holds the same value and standards as the classroom or didactic component and is held to the same Code of Conduct. Students are reminded that the time list above is an estimated time, skill acquisition and patient contacts will need to be met, and scheduling will be adjusted to ensure these metrics are complete.
Paramedic skills may only be performed in the Hospital during scheduled Hospital Clinical shifts with a Hospital Adjunct present. At no time is the Paramedic Student permitted to perform any advanced skill outside of the hospital during Hospital Clinical. Performing advanced skills when not trained or permitted to do so is considered practicing medicine without a license. Any student who in violation may face disciplinary action.
The Paramedic student is only permitted to perform basic and advanced skills when they are acting as an additional crew member in the presence of a Clinical or Field Evaluator present during the approved timeframe of Clinical experience and while scheduled.
Students who do not successfully meet the objectives in a single phase shall receive a written warning notice for failing to meet required objectives and will be counseled by program staff. A corrective action plan will be put into place. Students who do not successfully complete two phases consecutively or fail to abide by the corrective action plan may be dismissed from the program.
The Clinical Coordinator and/or Program Director have the authority to suspend the students for the following:
- Chronic tardiness of three clinical shifts
- Any uncommunicated clinical absences
- Failure to document shift reports and data in a timely manner
- Chronic failure to respond to three chart audits
- Participating in a clinical shift when not scheduled
Any student found in violation may face disciplinary action according to the Code of Conduct. This may include dismissal from the paramedic program.
All non-employees (personnel not on UVM Health payroll) and affiliates, with potential for patient contact, must be screened for health impairment that may be detrimental to patients and/or other personnel. This is accomplished by completing the following Certificate of Health form and submitting it to the Elizabethtown Employee Health.
All students attending the Paramedic Program must have a physical examination and Certificate of Health filled out with a primary care provider. Copies of lab work, vaccines and titers are required to be sent in along with the Certificate of Health to the Elizabethtown Employee Health.
Documentation of immunity is required. Complete age-appropriate vaccination records must be provided. If insufficient record, then antibody titers are required.
Proof of immunity to the following is required:
- Measles
- Mumps
- Rubella
- Varicella
- QuantiFERON-TB Gold blood test or 2 step PPD (within six weeks of clinicals)
- Tetanus/Diphtheria/Pertussis
- Proof of 3-part Hepatitis B vaccinations or positive titer is required
- Recommended flu
- Recommended COVID-19 Vaccine series
Vaccination is required if insufficient vaccine record and negative or equivocal antibody titer.
While antibody titers are not required by Elizabethtown Community Hospital or NYSDOH if proof of well-documented record of age-appropriate vaccination is available, some external clinical sites within and outside of New York State may require antibody titers to participate in their clinical programs.
You may submit evidence of these titers if you have copies of them. Fee for any titers ordered will be the responsibility of the student or billed through their health insurance provider.
Annual Health Assessment
The NYS Department of Health Code (405.3) requires reassessment of the health status of all personnel as frequently as necessary, but no less than annually, to ensure that personnel are free from health impairments which pose potential risk to patients or personnel, or which may interfere with the performance of duties. This requires completion of the Annual Health Assessment form, annual screening for tuberculosis, and update of immunizations, when necessary. Routine health maintenance (in the form of a self-report questionnaire) is also addressed.
Please have immunizations and proof of physical within the last 12 months ready for 1st day of class, to ensure that clinical clearance is not delayed.