A Paramedic, through performance of patient assessments and provision of emergency medical care, strives to meet the goals of preventing and reducing mortality and morbidity due to illness and injury. Paramedics primarily provide care to emergency patients in an out of hospital setting. The Paramedic program prepares the graduate for a career as a certified EMT Paramedic. A graduate of the Paramedic Program is a highly-skilled, health care provider.
The curriculum includes a balance of paramedic and college level courses. The paramedic courses are designed to assist the student to maintain high-quality patient care. The graduate will be able to recognize, assess, and manage medical emergencies of acutely ill or injured persons in any pre hospital settings. Paramedics are responsible and accountable to medical direction, the public, and their peers. Paramedics work in the field under the direction of a physician through written standing orders and radio communications. Graduates of the program are eligible to sit for the National Registry (NREMTP) Certification Exam.
Program Contact:
Amanda Combs
acombs@newriver.edu
304-929-5038
Students must be EMT-B certified prior to their first semester of the program.
Total Program Hours: 49
This program is available at the Greenbrier Valley Campus, Nicholas County Campus and the Advanced Technology Center.
The New River Community and Technical College’s Paramedic Program is accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs (www.caahep.org) upon the recommendation of the Committee on Accreditation of Educational Programs for the Emergency Medical Services Professions (CoAEMSP).
Contact
Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs
25400 U.S. Highway 19 North, Suite 158
Clearwater, FL 33763
www.caahep.org
Committee on Accreditation of Educational Programs for the Emergency Medical Services Professions
8301 Lakeview Parkway, Suite 111-312
Rowlett, TX 75088
Phone: 214-703-8445
Fax: 214-703-8992
www.coaemsp.org
Goal
The New River Community and Technical College’s Paramedic Program Goal is: To prepare competent entry-level Paramedics in the cognitive (knowledge), psychomotor (skills), and effective (behavior) learning domains with or without exit points at the Advanced Emergency Medical Technician and/or Emergency Medical Technician, and/or Emergency Medical Responder levels.
What does a paramedic do?
The Paramedic Program prepares a student to become highly skilled health care providers. Paramedics primarily provide care to emergency patients in and out of hospital settings. Through the performance of patient assessments and provision of emergency medical care, paramedics strive to prevent/reduce mortality and morbidity due to illness and injury. The paramedic certificate program prepares graduates for careers as certified Emergency Medical Technicians/Paramedics. Graduates of the Emergency Medical Services Program are prepared for careers in areas such as ambulance services, air ambulances, fire service, military medics, tactical Emergency Medical Technician, Park Ranger/Search and Rescue and Overseas Paramedic.
Learning by Doing
Interested in becoming a paramedic? Click here for the technical standards expected of an individual entering the program.
New River CTC’s Paramedic Program is offered at the campuses in Beaver, Lewisburg and Summersville. The programs are structured to include significant hands-on learning opportunities. Students participate in community outreach activities and laboratory exercises to learn and refine patient assessment and treatment skills. Students have the opportunity to sit for the National Registry of EMT’s (NREMT’s) paramedic certification skill examination at New River CTC and the written examination at any participating Pearson Vue testing center.
The facilities include mobile laboratory skill stations and Fixed-Position High Fidelity Simulation Stations at the Raleigh County and Nicholas County Campuses. The mobile skill lab hosts both low and medium fidelity patient simulators to prepare practitioners to perform advanced level procedures including, but not limited to: Patient Assessment, Intubation and Ventilation management, IV establishment, Cardiac Arrest simulation through ECG monitoring and electrical therapy.
Transfer of Credit Policy
Prospective students requesting credit earned for previous training at another post-secondary institution must apply at the time of enrollment or prior to starting their program. For credit to be considered, the institution where the credit was earned must be accredited by an agency recognized by the United States Department of Education (USDE), the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA), or the military, and the credit must originate from a similarly titled course. New River CTC does not accept credit earned through challenge examinations, achievement tests, advanced placement, or experiential learning.
Outcomes
| Year | Attrition | Positive Job Placement | National Registry Written Exam | National Registry Psychomotor Exam |
| 2017 | 43.80% | 79.30% | 72.70% | 100% |
| 2018 | 61.90% | 100% | 100% | 100% |
| 2019 | 38.50% | 87.50% | 62.50% | 100% |
| 2020 | 35.60% | 93.10% | 65.50% | 100% |
Enrollment and Retention 
Community Partners
The success of the EMT/Paramedic program is in part by the input and direction of the EMT/Paramedic advisory board members and employer partners/supporters. For a full list of Community Partners, please click here.
