Paramedic
What is paramedicine?
Why paramedicine?
Career paths
Paramedics have many jobs to choose from once they become certified and licensed. Here are just a few of the places where you can work as a paramedic:
- Ambulance services
- Fire departments
- Emergency Departments
- Intensive Care Units
- Casinos and theme parks
- Military careers
- Helicopter services as a flight paramedic
- Schools and other educational institutions
- Federal opportunities such as forest service and disaster assistance teams
OSU-OKC Paramedicine Program Mission Statement
To educate students in the profession of Paramedicine, thereby enabling them to provide the highest level of prehospital care, professionalism, and leadership.
Process for Admission:
- The paramedic program is selective admissions process. Please download the paramedic application packet here
- Clinical Hours Breakdown
- Information for Online/Hybrid Paramedic Program
Paramedic Documents and Downloads:
Our online/hybrid paramedic courses begin each fall around the third week of August! This is a 17-month long program that begins in August and will be completed December of the following year. Enrollment for fall courses usually open towards the end of March.
Our next traditional (in-class) paramedic courses begin each spring. This is a 17-month long program that begins in January and will be completed May of the following year. Enrollment for spring courses usually open towards the end of October.
- Programmatic Commitment
This program is very time-intensive. Students may be able to complete this program while working full time. However, it is advised to plan far ahead in order to ensure you have enough time to complete all of the required tasks of the program. The entire degree program is 74 credit hours. Most students are eligible to sit for the National Registry exams after completing around 47 credit hours of core course work. The core paramedic courses can be completed in as little as 16 months.
- Clinical Rotations
OSU-OKC has clinical contracts with many agencies across the state. We do shifts with hospitals, fire departments, EMS agencies, OSU football games, and other facilities here on our campus. If you are a distance learner, contact us to see if we have agreements with agencies in your area. If we do not, just let us know what agencies you would like to work with and we can get an agreement set up.
During clinicals, the Clinical Coordinator is available 24/7 to assist students with clinical concerns. Many of the hospital clinicals will have an OSU-OKC clinical instructor available to them during the entire shift.
OSU-OKC uses Fisdap to schedule all clinical (hospital) and field (shifts). Fisdap is an online scheduling tool that each student is required to purchase prior to the start of class. All clinical and field shifts are scheduled by week 3 of the semester. Students are able to select the shifts that best meet their own personal or work schedules.
A complete listing of our clinical requirements are listed in the enrollment packet.
- EMT Certification Requirement
In order to become a paramedic, you must first be a certified and licensed EMT. However, there is a small grace period where you can enter the paramedic program even though you have not yet passed your NREMT exam. Students may enter Paramedic Care 1 with successful completion of an EMT program but do not yet have their EMT certification. In this case, the student must successfully obtain their EMT certification in order to successful pass and complete Paramedic Care 1.
Note: If you have been previously certified as an EMT, please contact the National Registry of EMTs for information on becoming recertified.
- Advanced Placement for Working Professionals
Interested applicants that are already a nurse, respiratory therapist, physician, EMT-I, AEMT, or military medic, may request advanced placement within the program. These requests are reviewed on a case-by-case basis by the program director.
Degree Sheet
For more information, contact:
Cindy Drake
Administrative Assistant
cyndrak@okstate.edu
405-945-9190
Vickie Wilkins
Academic Advisor
405-945-3313
vickie.wilkins@okstate.edu
Schedule a virtual advising appointment
Frank Strange
Paramedicine Program Director
405-945-9179
405-945-8622 Fax
frank.strange@okstate.edu