Online/Hybrid Paramedic Program
In addition to our traditional-format paramedic classes, we offer an online/hybrid paramedic program for working adults as well as distance learners in Oklahoma. This is an intense program that allows the student to complete their paramedic training in as little as 16 months.
Our EMS program offers many unique features in order to ensure a diverse educational experience for all paramedic students. All students will receive their Basic Life Support for Healthcare Provider, Advanced Cardiac Life Support, Pediatric Advanced Life Support, and NIMS (FEMA) certifications. The program also has one of the only full-size hi-fidelity ambulance simulators in the country.
All online paramedic students are expected to complete the same requirements as any of the traditional students. This includes all lecture material, lab material, and clinical experiences. All policies and procedures that apply to the traditional program also apply to the hybrid program. All students must be able to show competency in the cognitive, psychomotor, and affective domains in order to complete the paramedic program at OSU-OKC.
Application Requirements
In addition to the application requirements of the traditional Paramedic program, students must have completed the ACT or the COMPASS exam. Contact the Testing and Assessment Center for details on fees and scheduling.
About the Program
- Curriculum Details
The following is a breakdown of how our online and hybrid classes operate:
- ECG Interpretation (pre-requisite for Paramedic Care 3) 100% online
- Typically taken with Paramedic Care 1
- Pharmacology (pre-requisite for Paramedic Care 3) 100% online
- Typically taken with Paramedic Care 2
- EMS Operations (can be taken any time) 100% online
- Typically taken with Paramedic Care 4 or before
- Human A&P (co-requisite for Paramedic Care 1) 100% online
- Typically taken with OR during Paramedic Care 1
The 4 courses listed above are offered as 100% online with the exception of some of the written exams. All of the didactic material is available through our online classroom, otherwise known as Desire2Learn (D2L). Several of the exams for these courses need to be proctored. If you are unable to come to our campus to take these exams we can set up a partnership with an academic institution in your hometown in order for you to have a secured, proctored facility for testing. Note: Any costs associated with outside testing sites would be the responsibility of the student.
- Paramedic Care 1 Hybrid course
- Paramedic Care 2 Hybrid course
- Paramedic Care 3 Hybrid course
- Paramedic Care 4 Hybrid course
The 4 courses listed above are hybrid courses. All of the lectures for these 4 courses are taken online through D2L. Students do need to come to the OSU-OKC campus for labs. The labs scheduling is different for each semester but, generally, they are scheduled every 3-4 weeks on a Friday, Saturday, or Sunday. These labs are 9 hours with a lunch break. Final practical exams are all taken on the OSU-OKC campus.
- ECG Interpretation (pre-requisite for Paramedic Care 3) 100% online
- Classwork & Exams
All lectures are completed via our online classroom. Students will need to come to campus for all labs and practical exams.
Labs are scheduled as 9 hour days with a lunch break. The labs for the first semester are roughly every 3-4 weeks. All subsequent semesters have lab every 2-3 weeks. Lab days will be posted prior to the beginning of class on our website.
Some of our exams can be taken at home. However, some of our exams require they be proctored in a secure environment. All proctored exams will be available in the OSU-OKC testing center here in Oklahoma City or in a proctored online environment. If you are a distance learner, we can also set up proctored exams at an academic institution near you. Other institutions may charge a small fee for each exam which the student would be responsible for. It is also the student’s responsibility to notify their instructor ahead of time if they need to have a test proctored in their local area.
- Clinical Rotations & Partnerships
Clinical rotations are offered with many hospitals, EMS agencies, and fire departments across the state in order to allow students to do many of their clinical rotations in their hometown. We offer both a traditional in-class program as well as an online/hybrid option. We have clinical rotations for Intensive Care Unit, operating room for intubations, emergency department, EMS, pediatrics, labor & delivery, psychiatric, respiratory, dialysis, trauma ICU, and poison control.
We also partner with several other departments and programs within the OSU system. Students do rotations with OSU-OKC’s Veterinary Technology Program in order to practice intubations on feline cadavers. This gives students excellent experience managing the airways of newborns. All OSU-OKC EMS students participate in hi-fidelity simulations with the OSU-OKC Nurse Science Program. We also do rotations with OSU-OKC’s Child Development Center.
In a unique partnership with OSU athletics and LifeNet EMS in Stillwater, students will complete a clinical rotation at all Oklahoma State University home football games. Students are paired with a paramedic preceptor and will provide medical coverage before, during, and after the football games.
Some of the clinical rotations must be taken here in Oklahoma City. For instance, in Paramedic Care 4, there is a clinical rotation in a pediatric emergency department. Since there are no other dedicated pediatric emergency departments in the state, the student must attend this specific clinical site. However, for many of the clinical requirements, the student will be able to complete them in or near their hometown so long as we have a clinical affiliation with the requested agency or clinical site.