Emergency Medical Service

EMT – Emergency Medical Technician

Location: Lincoln Campus Room 312
Date: October 27, 2025 – March 30, 2026
Time: Monday and Wednesday – 6 pm – 10 pm
Plus several Saturdays 8:30 am – 5 pm

Course Description

The 245-hour Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) course follows National EMS Education Standards. This course includes all skills and course information necessary to provide emergency care of sick and injured patients at the basic care level. EMTs work for a Basic Life Support ambulance service, fire service, or other specialized rescue agency. Upon successful completion of the EMT course including classroom instruction, psychomotor skills competency, driver training and affective behavior training, the student will be eligible to sit for state and national written examinations.

** Each student must complete 48 hours of Ambulance Clinical Ride Time **

HOW DO I REGISTER?

David Belk Cannon Room 160

• First Day of Registration is August 4, 2025
• Last day to register is October 20, 2025

The class has a limited enrollment of 20 students and is on a first come first serve basis.

YOU MUST BRING THE FOLLOWING ITEMS TO REGISTER FOR EMT COURSE:

• Completed registration form
• Diploma, GED, transcripts or reading test results
• Tuition and fees paid in advance through college business office
• Note: Pay by credit or debit card, cash or check at Gaston College Business Office within 24 hours of registration. You can call to make card payments 704-922-6414.

COST LIST FOR EMT CERTIFICATION COURSE

Note: Other items required for class: Black EMS pants, Black work shoes, Black belt, safety eyewear, reflective safety vest.

Note: Malpractice Insurance, Background check, Textbooks, and additional material costs are not included in tuition waiver.

**BACKGROUND CHECK REQUIRED**

$30 background check and must be completed at www.gastoncompliance.com no later than October 23, 2025 ($30 paid directly to Complio)

**Textbooks**

AAOS, “Emergency Care and Transportation of the Sick and Injured,” 12th Edition, ISBN: 9781284227222, Essentials Package $167.95
Discount code P24V15 for 15% off at psglearning.com/catalog
(also available at Campus Bookstore)

AHA BLS Provider Manual, ISBN: 9781616694074, $17.50

READING COMPREHENSION TEST NO LONGER REQUIRED!!

All students must present one of the following: a diploma, GED certificate, high school transcripts or complete a reading comprehension placement test at a Gaston College Testing Center. Call 704-922-2433 for information. In order to sit for the exam, you must present a valid, current photo I.D. Notification of test results will be available the same day. Placement reading test results must demonstrate minimum of 11th grade level in order to register for the EMT Course. Go to the Gaston College Website following this link: https://www.gaston.edu/testing/college-placement .

For more information: Department for EMS Education Office 704-922-6241, Email: [email protected]

For the schedule of EMS Continuing Education classes, click here.

Paramedic Refresher

Paramedic Refresher courses allow currently-credentialed Paramedics to re-credential upon completion of the refresher course. Most of our Paramedic Refresher courses are structured as hybrid courses, with a significant portion of the course delivered online and practical review and assessments conducted in a traditional classroom/lab setting. 

Prospective students with expired Paramedic credentials should contact the North Carolina Office of Emergency Medical Services to determine what steps they must take to recover their Paramedic credential.  While these recovery steps may include a Paramedic Refresher course, they may also include additional requirements such as completion of the state Paramedic credentialing exam. 

Instructor Methodology Hybrid Online

This course provides students who are clinically competent in a specific EMS content area with the instructional knowledge, resources, and skills to effectively deliver quality EMS education. Instruction is based on the 2002 National Education Guidelines for Educating EMS Instructors. This course meets the Instructor Methodology course requirement for credentialing as an NCOEMS Level I EMS instructor. In-class meetings will be scheduled closer to the course start dates. Additional separately scheduled presentation time will be required of students for presentation monitoring purposes. Preregistration required $69 + books and materials. For more information and a list of required materials contact EMS Education at [email protected] or call 704.922.6241.

EMS Education Administration Course

The course is designed to provide the Level EMS Instructor with the next level of understanding for EMS education program coordination and management. This course is designed to train the participants to serve as the lead instructor for EMT-Intermediate and EMT-Paramedic courses as well as the lead EMS educational program coordinator for either basic or advanced educational institutions. This course will be approved by and follows the 2002 National Education Guidelines for Educating EMS Instructors and guidelines established by the NC Office of EMS. Preregistration is required. $72 + Books and materials. For more information and a list of required materials contact EMS Education at [email protected] or call 704.922.6241.

Advanced Medical Life Support Provider (AMLS) Provider

NAEMT’s Advanced Medical Life Support (AMLS) course is the first EMS education program that fully addresses how to best assess and manage the most common medical crises in patients, offering a “think outside the box” methodology.  It is for all levels of practitioners with a strong commitment to patient care, including emergency medical technicians, paramedics, nurses, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, nurse anesthetists and physicians.

The course emphasizes the use of scene size-up, history, interactive group discussion on potential treatment strategies, and physical exam to systematically rule out and consider possibilities and probabilities in treating patients’ medical crises. The course offers an initial assessment-based approach that progresses to a diagnostic-based approach to quickly develop the best treatment plan.

Offered by the National Association of Emergency Medical Technicians (NAEMT) and sponsored Gaston College Department for EMS Education. Recommended for experienced providers and instructors. AMLS is a 16 hour, two day course. Tuition and Fees $87 + Book and Materials. Preregistration is required. For more information and a list of required materials contact EMS Education at [email protected] or call 704.922.6241.

Prehospital Trauma Life Support Provider (PHTLS)

PHTLS courses improve the quality of trauma care and decrease mortality. The program is based on a prehospital trauma care philosophy, stressing the treatment of the multi-system trauma patient as a unique entity with specific needs. This may require an approach to the trauma patient that varies from traditional treatment modalities. PHTLS promotes critical thinking as the foundation for providing quality care. It is based on the belief that, given a good fund of knowledge and key principles, EMS providers are capable of making reasoned decisions regarding patient care. The PHTLS course is continuously updated and revised to keep up with the advances in the field, ATLS Guidelines and feedback from PHTLS participants. Offered by National Association of Emergency Medical Technicians (NAEMT) and sponsored by Gaston College Department for EMS Education. PHTLS is a 16 hour, two-day course. Tuition and fees $87 + Book and materials. Preregistration is required. For more information and a list of required materials contact EMS Education at [email protected] or call 704.922.6241.

Education for Prehospital Professionals (PEPP)

Developed by the American Academy of Pediatrics, PEPP specifically teaches prehospital professionals how to better assess and manage ill or injured children. PEPP is designed to give prehospital professionals the education, skills, and confidence they need to effectively treat pediatric patients.  Preregistration two days prior to course start date is mandatory.  For more information and a list of required materials contact [email protected] or call 704.922.6241. Cost of the course is $72 + Book and Materials.

COURSE EXPENSES

All registration fees must be paid before a student is considered “registered” for a course.  All other fees must be paid prior to the announced deadlines provided to the student. Non-Degree Continuing Education classes are not covered by financial aid. If you are an active volunteer or work with an EMS provider, fire department, or law enforcement agency, you may qualify for a registration fee waiver. Please contact Gaston College Department for EMS Education at [email protected] or call 704.922.6241 for additional information concerning such waivers. Also, you should consult with your department representative, company officer, or supervisor to determine if there other financial aid is available. Some companies and/or agencies may purchase students’ textbooks or reimburse certain expenses upon completion of the program.

Contacts

For more information, email [email protected] of phone 704-922-6249.