Emergency Medical Services
People's lives often depend on the quick action and comprehensive care of Emergency Medical Services (EMS) professionals. Members of the EMS profession provide direct care to those patients as EMTs and paramedics. Typically, EMS providers respond to incidents such as automobile accidents, heart attacks, drowning, childbirth, and gunshot wounds which all require immediate medical attention. The Dyersburg State Community College (DSCC) EMS program faculty will prepare you as an EMT, AEMT, or a paramedic to provide vital Interventions for patients at the scene of an emergency, or someone in need, and for continued care during transport of the sick and injured to an appropriate medical facility.
DSCC offers the following educational levels for EMS:
Emergency Medical Technician - EMT
The EMT Certificate provides a student upon graduation, the skills and abilities to function in the workforce as an Emergency Medical Technician.
Advanced Emergency Medical Technician - AEMT
The Advanced EMT Concentration provides a student the competencies necessary to assume the role of a leader in Emergency Medical Services or Public Safety. Upon completion of this concentration, the graduate possess the skills and abilities to function in the workforce as an Emergency Medical Technician.
The Paramedic Program will provide the education and training to the student that enables them to enter the workforce as an entry-level Paramedic. We follow Standard II.C – Program Goals of the Committee on Accreditation of Educational Programs for the Emergency Medical Professions (CoAEMSP) which states:
“To prepare competent entry-level Paramedics in the cognitive (knowledge), psychomotor (skills), and affective (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.”
NOTE: Each level of education must be completed and proof of licensure must be provided to DSCC before moving forward to the next course offering.
DSCC offers the above levels as certificate programs or degree tracks (please see appropriate catalog for details). DSCC also offers EMS State of Tennessee Refresher courses through its Continuing Education Department to maintain licensure requirements. Continuing Education also facilitates the following non-credit EMS Courses:
- Emergency Medical Responder
- Critical Care Paramedic
Do you have to be vaccinated for COVID-19?
DSCC does not require the COVID-19 vaccine; however, clinical partners do require it. The two classes that have a clinical component where a clinical partner does require vaccination are Phlebotomy and Patient Care Technician. You may file for an exemption at the clinical site for West Tennessee Healthcare. The links have been provided: