Emergency Medical Services: Academic overview
Learning outcomes
Emergency Medical Technician-Paramedic AAS degree outcomes
Curriculum
Catalog – Emergency Medical Services courses
Certificates are stackable. Completion of the Career Pathway Certificate – EMT applies to the Emergency Medical Services One-year Certificate course requirements and the completion of that certificate applies to the Paramedic AAS Degree course requirements. This allows for students to earn credentials, work, come back, or continue their education at PCC and earn another advanced credential, certificate, or degree. See the catalog links below for more information about the course requirements and sequences.
- Less than One-year: Career Pathway Certificate – EMT
- EMS 105 and EMS 106 are sequential classes that cannot be taken concurrently.
- Emergency Medical Services One-year Certificate
- Paramedic AAS Degree
- Paramedic coursework must be completed in sequential order.
Technical standards
Paramedic functional job analysis/technical standards
Grading
See the College policies section for the Portland Community College academic standards and refer to PCC’s Grading Guidelines.
The grading scale for each course is contained in each course syllabus. Students are expected to maintain a “C” grade (or Pass) for each course in the program.
Competencies for graduation
Due to an Oregon Health Authority mandate issued to all Oregon EMS programs, the EMT program is converting to competency-based education starting in Fall 2024. These competencies will be shared in the EMS 105 and EMS 106 courses.
CoAEMSP requires paramedic students to pass all psychomotor, cognitive, and affective competencies before program completion. These competencies are provided and reviewed in EMS 238.
Advising and counseling
All faculty are available to all students for conferences and advising. See Support services for available resource offerings at PCC.
Learning support
Course instructors are available to students concerning course assignments, exams, quizzes, content, course progress, etc. Course syllabi will state instructor availability and appointment scheduling options.
Options to remediate
If an instructor identifies a student as having difficulty with the coursework, the instructor will have a conversation with the student and submit a course progress note (CPN). The student may also contact the instructor directly with any questions or concerns the student may have with the course. Remediation options may include extensions, re-test attempts, additional skills training, additional lab time, meetings, or an “Incomplete” grade. If there is no resolution, the instructor or student may contact the faculty department chair or program director. If there is still no acceptable resolution, the instructor or student may contact the program dean or pathway dean for assistance.
Remediation options are not guaranteed and are at the discretion of the course instructor, faculty department chair, and program director. If a student is unable to meet program requirements after remediation attempts, the student may undergo a dismissal review process. See the Due process for violations.
Withdrawal and re-entry
Program withdrawal process
Students should confer with the EMS course instructor, program director, or faculty department chair before withdrawing from the course for program planning purposes. Consult the academic calendar for add/drop and withdrawal dates. Students receiving financial aid are strongly encouraged to speak to someone at the Financial Aid office to discuss the implications of withdrawing may have on their financial aid.
Re-entry and readmission procedures
Students who leave or fail EMS 105 and wish to rejoin must re-apply to the program. EMS 105 is offered every term. The student must meet all EMT admission requirements before admission to the course.
For students who leave or fail EMS 106, the date of record for exit (for re-entry purposes) will be the end of the last term attended. The re-entry process must be completed such that the student will re-enter the course no more than one year from the date of exit. The student must keep their CastleBranch account current (see EMT requirements and expectations in the Fieldwork section. This includes updated vaccinations, TB test, and CPR certification as needed. Drug screen and background check results must be within 3 months of entry into the EMS course.
Students who withdraw from the Paramedic program (in good standing) and wish to rejoin must re-apply to the program. The decision to re-admit a student will be at the discretion of the program director, faculty department chair, and medical director. Students who fail to complete a class with a “C” grade or higher may need to restart the paramedic program course sequence. Paramedic courses are offered once a year.
Academic resources
The following are commonly used links that are helpful for the academic journey.
- Find these on the top bar of every college webpage:
- Academic Advising
- Bookstore
- Catalog
- Enrollment Services: Contact information to get help with registration.
- Register for classes: A guide on how to register.
- General Education/Discipline Studies
- Grading guidelines: Refer to this and the Catalog Grades and Transcripts guidelines. Note that in some programs, the grading standards are different from PCC’s guidelines. Certain programs must comply with standards set forth by national board exam and regional testing agencies.
- Student Records: Update your contact information, request transcripts, and get help with tasks such as:
- Advanced Placement
- Credit for prior learning
- Transfer credits to PCC: Students who are transferring coursework to Portland Community College must complete the following steps:
- Follow the instructions on the Transfer Credits to PCC page.
- Work with program admissions, program advisor, program director, or faculty department chair to submit requests for course substitutions as appropriate.
- University Transfer
- Transfer articulation agreements – check to see if there is an arrangement with your program of study and your transfer college.
- Steps to graduation: Includes information about accessing GRAD Plan.