The Pasco County Commission has approved a request for the Pasco County Fire Rescue Department and the School of EMS to pursue a contract to allow students to participate in patient care activities.
The agreement, approved last month, calls for students to gain experience in a prehospital setting through an established clinical program, when the students are enrolled in the paramedic program at the School of EMS.
Currently, students that are employed by Pasco County Fire Rescue and enrolled in the School of EMS program to obtain paramedic credentials are not able to practice and apply paramedic exercises toward their certification hour allotment requirement.
Firefighters hired by Pasco County Fire Rescue agree to a “Condition of Employment” to elevate their Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) status to Paramedic (a medically advanced treatment designation in the emergency services field more appropriate for service delivery through a premier organization within three years of employment with Pasco County Fire Rescue).
Establishing this agreement is expected to provide students with the opportunity to apply skills mastered in the classroom within a “real-world” setting while under close supervision and mentorship from their colleagues, and substantially increase efficiency in the educational advancement path of the county’s firefighters, according to the Oct. 26 agenda materials.
Published Nov. 24, 2021
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