You must first become an EMT (Emergency Medical Technician) before you can enroll in a paramedic program. To become an EMT, you must have a high school diploma or GED and enroll in the EMT 100 course at CCSF. Students enrolled in EMT 100 must also obtain BLS Provider CPR certification (EMT 12 or EMT 14) prior to starting the course. Students enrolled in EMT 100 will be required to pass a certified background check, obtain immunizations, and complete a minimum of 24 hours of clinical experience (and 10 patient contacts) on an ambulance or in a hospital emergency department.

Once you have completed an EMT course and become a certified EMT in California, you should gain work experience, preferably with a local EMS provider. Most paramedic programs prefer prehospital EMT experience of paramedic program applicants. Paramedics are healthcare professionals licensed by the State of California Emergency Medical Services Authority.

You should also take the prerequisite course, Biology 106 (college level Human Anatomy and Physiology with lab). It is recommended that you take an ECG course, such as ECGT 101, prior to enrolling in the paramedic program. A preparation for paramedic course, such as EMT 104, is also advised. 

Yes, the CCSF Paramedic Program is accredited by the Commission on the Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs (CAAHEP) after review by the Commission on the Accreditation of EMS Education Programs (CoAEMSP). The CCSF Paramedic Program accreditation number is 600218 and the program is accredited through 2029.
 

Yes. We have both a certificate and associate degree program in paramedic.
 

The EMT program is one semester. After successfully completing all course competencies for EMT 100, the student is eligible to take the National Registry of EMT's (NREMT) exam and apply for the State certification as an EMT. The paramedic program includes eleven courses. The didactic and clinical phases take 12-15 months to complete. The field internship takes approximately 4-6 months to complete.
 

The CCSF Paramedic Program contracts with San Francisco General Hospital, Bay Area Kaiser Permanente facilities, and many other hospital organizations around the Bay Area for clinical hospital time completed in the Emergency Department, OR, Pediatric Clinic, Labor & Delivery, Psychiatric Emergency, and other specialty care centers. In addition, field experience is completed with many field providers and outreach teams in San Francisco.

Capstone field internships may be completed through one of the CCSF contracted field internship providers which include American Medical Response (22 counties in Northern California), the San Francisco Fire Department, King American Ambulance, and other Bay Area EMS provider agencies.
 

The EMS classrooms and skills labs are located at the John Adams Campus at 1860 Hayes Street (x Masonic) in San Francisco near the panhandle of Golden Gate Park. There are day and evening sections of the EMT 100 course on Monday, Tuesdays and Wednesdays. Paramedic courses meet on Wednesdays and Thursdays during the Fall and Spring Semesters. Clinical rotations are scheduled in addition to class time in the Spring semester and continue through the Summer semester. Field internship placements take place in the Summer and Fall of the second year of the paramedic program. Hospital and field internship hours are completed in addition to classroom hours.