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Paramedic

Two paramedic students are working with a mock patient inside an ambulance. The students are wearing professional attire and wearing masks.

Paramedics are often the first people on the scene of an emergency. They balance compassion with critical decision-making skills and the ability to take command in a crisis and help save lives.

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Home / Learn / Programs List / Paramedic
Credential
Ontario College Diploma
Duration
Two years
Start Date(s)
September (Fall)
Locations
Belleville
Open to
Domestic Students

Find your career

Graduates will find opportunities working as: 

  • Primary care paramedics in the ambulance system in Ontario, nationally or abroad. 
  • Emergency medical responders with municipal fire departments. 
  • Private ambulance transfer-service members. 
  • Health and safety educators in industrial settings. 
  • Grads are qualified to write the Advanced Emergency Medical Care Assistant (A-EMCA) exam offered by the Ministry of Health.

Our grads get great jobs

  • Paramedic, City of Toronto 
  • Firefighter, Brampton Fire and Emergency Services 
  • Paramedic, Ministry of Health 
  • Paramedic, Hastings-Quinte EMS 

Is it for you?

Have you got what it takes? You may be well suited to a career as a paramedic if you: 

  • Are seeking a challenge. 
  • Can think on your feet. 
  • Want a career where you can make a difference. 
  • Have a clean driving record. 
  • Enjoy interacting with people.  
  • Want to work in an ever-changing interprofessional setting.

I found that I was very prepared for work in the real world because I had so much hands-on experience in school because of the size of the classes. It also prepared me for scenario testing a lot better.

Elliot, Paramedic

How you'll learn

Experiential learning 

Alternate Delivery 

Loyalist is the only college in Ontario that offers a two-year Paramedic diploma through alternative delivery, through a combination of practical, clinical and classroom instruction. 

  • Alternate delivery classes are held on alternate weekends (Saturdays and Sundays), where students can apply the theory concepts and skills, they learned over the previous weeks in simulated scenarios in Loyalist’s state-of-the-art Interprofessional Simulation Centre under the direction of experienced faculty  
  • Participate in live lectures through online delivery, weekday evenings and weekends on campus, and interact with professors and classmates from the comfort of your home. 

Belleville Campus 

Leveraging the best practices of paramedicine established from our Alternate Delivery offering, the Belleville campus is excited to offer a traditional Monday through Friday delivery model utilizing our state-of-the-art, interprofessional simulation centres and experienced faculty to deliver more options to the Belleville community and its future first responders. 

  • Enhance your learning and engage in ‘real-life’ clinical situations with a variety of technological solutions. 
  • Access all of the resources and facilities available through a main campus experience. 

Both programs offer the opportunity to be a part of immersive, experiential learning environments: 

  • Prepare to respond to emergencies and provide care and life support measures in simulated and clinical placement situations ranging from non-urgent to emergent care situations. 
  • Learn to administer care in a variety of environments associated with paramedicine, in the field or in a moving ambulance. 
  • Learn to drive an ambulance through simulated technology. 
  •  Experience the job firsthand during a preceptorship in an ambulance, responding to 911 calls, under the supervision of primary or advanced care paramedics. 

Outstanding faculty make the difference 

  • Our curriculum is continuously reviewed and enhanced by instructors who work full time in the field as members of the allied health care team and are experts in their field of study, including basic, advanced, and critical care paramedics. 
  • Real-world emergency scenarios come to life in the classroom as faculty relate their experiences on the job to that week’s lesson. 
  • Professors come from across the province and country and have a depth of experience, bringing the real world of paramedicine into the classroom.

Courses

ANAT1006 Anatomy & Physiology

This course provides the student with essential knowledge of the structure and function of the human body. This knowledge will allow the student to understand the mechanisms of various physiological conditions and to comprehend the principles underlying medical interventions devoted to maintaining or improving a patient’s condition.

PMED1015 Crisis Intervention

In the course, the student will be introduced to the various principles of human behaviour through a study of good mental health, stress and coping behaviours, through theoretical and practical concepts necessary for intervening in crisis situations and psycho-social behavioural outcomes. Special emphasis will be on crisis intervention, burn out and suicide, including the dynamics of anger and hostility.

PMED1019 Emergency Patient Care 1

This course provides the knowledge and skill to establish the priorities of assessment and treatment for those patients in crisis due to the effects of illness/trauma. The resulting pathophysiological manifestations are assessed to identify the degree of crisis/life threat and appropriate interventions per the paramedic scope of practice are implemented and evaluated for effectiveness of care provision. Co-requisite: ANAT 1006, FITN 1006

FITN1006 Fitness 1

This course provides the student with essential knowledge of physical fitness, wellness and nutrition. Principles of fitness training are introduced and practised through group and individual activity. Special emphasis is placed on occupation-specific lifting devices, safe lifting techniques and proper lifting ergonomics. Co-requisite: PMED 1019

PMED1014 Medical Ethical Issues

This course is designed to help the student better understand the various complex aspects of the legal and ethical implications of performing pre-hospital care. This course is focused on the Acts applicable to the paramedic in the performance of their duty and the associated governing sections of those Acts as they apply to the pre-hospital setting. Legal implications of patient care, as it applies to the pre-hospital setting, will be discussed and explored in the context of ethical decision making.

GNED1100 Becoming a Global Changemaker

This Loyalist College graduate attributes course will help shape your perspectives, broaden your understanding of important issues affecting our societies today, and equip you with invaluable knowledge and skills that will inform your ability to influence your community in a meaningful and impactful way. By exploring topics such as cultural competency, Indigenous education, entrepreneurship, sustainability, health and wellness, and ecological literacy, you'll be equipped with a powerful toolkit that extends far beyond the classroom.

PMED1008 Advanced Skills for Primary Care Paramedics 1

The emphasis of this course is on critical thinking related to advanced cardiac assessment, interpretation of assessment findings and their implications for patient management. The student will understand and deliver the Ministry of Health EHSB protocols (ALSPCS) for Semi-Automatic External Defibrillation, the use of current pre-hospital defibrillators, and lead II rhythm interpretation. Prerequisite: ANAT 1006, PMED 1019 Co-requisite: PMED 1018

PMED1018 Emergency Patient Care 2

This course builds on the foundational skills and assessments developed in PMED 1019. Students will develop the knowledge and skills required to identify and manage patients who are experiencing crisis due to illness, trauma or medical condition and further refine their abilities to determine appropriate interventions that align with the paramedic scope of practice, while continuously evaluating treatment and care to ensure that care remains patient-centred. Prerequisite: PMED 1015, ( PMED 1007 or PMED 1019 Co-requisite: PMED 1008

PMED1009 Emergency Vehicle Maintenance & Operations

In this course, students learn techniques to ensure driver and vehicle readiness for emergency service. Students acquire skills to maintain emergency vehicles, prepare and operate emergency vehicles, and drive defensively, avoiding hazards and controlling skids.

FITN1007 Fitness 2

Students continue to develop physical fitness and lifestyle management strategies in preparation for a career in the paramedic field. Principles of fitness training, with an emphasis on cardiovascular, muscular strength/endurance, and flexibility are emphasized. Students engage in a variety of fitness, nutrition and stress management activities designed to enhance overall wellness. Lifting mechanics and proper patient transfer techniques are assessed. Prerequisite: FITN 1006

PMED1017 Pathophysiology

This course is designed to familiarize students with the groundwork and understanding of pathophysiological processes that lead to the varying medical and traumatic conditions which students are taught to manage in Emergency Patient Care. Prerequisite: ANAT 1006

PHAR1005 Pharmacology

This course focuses on basic pharmacology with a special emphasis on drugs used in the treatment and management of pre-hospital care. Prerequisite: ANAT 1006

GNED General Education Elective

General Education Courses

PMED2028 Advanced Skills for Primary Care Paramedics 2

Prerequisite: PMED 1008

PMED2027 Emergency Patient Care 3

This course builds on the knowledge and skills from Emergency Patient Care 2 to further assess and treat a variety of patients experiencing an emergency. Through both theory and lab simulation, students will examine clinical presentations, strengthen clinical decision-making skills and provide patient care during dynamic high-fidelity simulations. Students will apply established knowledge and skills in pathology, pharmacology and advanced skills to execute treatment and transportation plans while developing an awareness of the entire health care continuum. Prerequisite: PMED 1008, PMED 1018 Co-requisite: PMED 2028

PMED2021 Hospital Clincal

Through observation and supervised participation in various hospital departments including the Emergency Department and simulated pre-hospital care situations, students are given the opportunity to apply the theoretical content learned in previous courses while assessing and developing treatment plans for hospital patients in the acute care setting. They will gain an understanding of the role of hospital staff, paramedics and other allied agencies in the continuing care of pre-hospital patients. In addition they will have the opportunity to perform intravenous cannulation on patients in an Operating Room. Prerequisite: ANAT 1006, FITN 1006, PMED 1014, PMED 1015, FITN 1007, PHAR 1005, PMED 1008, PMED 1009 Co-requisite: PMED 2027, PMED 2028

PMED2029 Paramedic Communications and Documentation

This course focuses on the paramedic's art and skill of professional verbal and written communications. This course is designed to refine competency and confidence with Ambulance Call Report completion, radio patch communications and approaches to Base Hospital Physician patches, while introducing the programs and equipment used in the field to facilitate this. This course also incorporates discussion of strategies aimed to assist us in the navigation of face-to-face communications with the diverse populations encountered in the communities we are preparing to serve.

PMED2024 Professionalism, Research and Leadership

This course focuses on the development of professionalism, research literacy and leadership abilities within the paramedic field. Critical thinking skills will be developed by examining research and discussing issues that are relevant to the practice of paramedicine. Students will look at the importance of research, knowledge, theory and practice, and how evidence-based practice and the research process apply to ethics and clinical practice in the pre-hospital setting. This course will also encourage students to understand the professional role of paramedics to be leaders and/or agents in the advancement of their profession.

GNED General Education Elective

General Education Courses

PMED2013 Paramedic Comprehensive Review

Students consolidate key concepts of pre-hospital care. Course participants relate and integrate theoretical concepts previously learned with clinical situations. Challenges of the student-to-paramedic transition will be thoroughly discussed. Students receive feedback following a comprehensive evaluation of their theoretical and practical skills. Co-requisite: WKPL 2081

WKPL2081 Paramedic Field Experience

This course provides an overall review of the core concepts of paramedicine and pre-hospital care. It will correlate the concepts of clinical, field care and theory and its application to the patient. It will correlate the concepts of clinical, field care and theory and its application to the patient while working as part of a paramedic crew in an ambulance. Prerequisite: PMED 2021, PMED 2024, PMED 2027, PMED 2028, PMED 2029 Co-requisite: PMED 2013

*Courses subject to change.

A group of four students and professor are working in a room with a mock patient sitting on a wheelchair. Fourteen green graphic circles are in the lower lefthand corner of the image.

Admission requirements

Required academic preparation 

  • OSSD/OSSGD or equivalent with courses at the general, advanced, (C), (U) or (M) level with: 
  • Grade 12 English (C) level or equivalent 
  • Grade 11 or 12 Biology AND 
  • Grade 11 or 12 Chemistry

OR 

  • Recognized Ontario College Pre-Health program 

OR 

Additional requirements upon entry 

  • Driver Abstract, Full Class G upon entry, Class F prior to graduation. 

Additional requirements prior to first clinical 

  • Up-to-date tetanus and diphtheria, polio, measles, mumps, rubella, varicella (chicken pox), Hepatitis B (incl. Hep B within the last 24 months) and TB skin test. Some placement sites may require an updated COVID-19 vaccine and/or a recent flu vaccine. 
  • Standard First Aid and CPR HCP certification. 
  • Criminal Record Check and Vulnerable Sector Check. (Certain criminal convictions may prevent participation in placements and program completion may not be possible).  
  • Paramedicine is a physically demanding profession. It is strongly recommended that all applicants have a high level of fitness. Students will be required to successfully complete comprehensive lifting and fitness evaluations in the first and second year to be successful in the program. 

Additional requirements 

  • Upon completion of this program, graduates must be successful in a theoretical examination set by the Ministry of Health, Emergency Health Services Branch, Ontario in order to be certified as a paramedic and thus to be eligible to work in an ambulance service in Ontario. The cost for the examination process is the responsibility of the graduate. 
  • Strongly recommended academic preparation 
  • Grade 11 or 12 Math (C) or equivalent 

Prior learning assessment and recognition (PLAR) 

Do you have work experience or other types of non-credentialed learning? Through Loyalist’s PLAR program, applicants and current students may be eligible to receive academic credit for relevant educational, work and life experiences.

Costs

Approximate costs (2024 – 25) 

  • Domestic Tuition: $2,722.08 
  • Full-Time Ancillary Fees:* $1,367 
  • Total: $4,089.08 
  • Additional Program Costs: $1,550 (books for year one) 
  • Students must have a tablet or smart phone to access the tracking app used throughout the program, meeting minimum College requirements. 

Additional costs, such as supplies, travel and parking, may be incurred during workplace visits, etc.   

*Fees related to programs that are less than or greater than two semesters will be adjusted accordingly. Fees are subject to change. Please visit the Tuition and fees page for a list of the many services, activities and items included within the ancillary fees, and the related policies. 

Paying for college 

At Loyalist College, we believe that cost should never be a barrier to your success. We’re here to help you navigate the costs of college and connect you with a variety of financial aid programs, resources and donor-supported awards. Explore paying for college.   

A paramedic student is helping a patient inside an ambulance. Fourteen blue graphic circles are in the lower lefthand corner of the image.

Further study

Pathways and university transfer 

What’s next? Build on the knowledge and skills you learned at Loyalist by continuing your academic journey. Return to Loyalist to complete a second diploma or a post-graduate program in as little as a year, or receive credit recognition for your Loyalist studies when pursuing a degree at a university. Explore pathway opportunities.  

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