It is that time of year again.  The kids are getting back on the big yellow bus, and parents are letting go of their babies at college.  More importantly the Center, once again, opened its doors to a new Paramedic class.  The Center for Emergency Medicine of Western Pannsylvania, Inc. started its Paramedic Class of 2009 on Friday August 22nd with its annual class orientation.

This year's class will start with an initial class size of 48 students.  There are 2 students that were not able to make it to orientation but may be part of this years class which will bring the total number to 48.  With a New Paramedic Program Coordinator, Guy Guimond, this years class will utilize lab curriculum that was used several years ago and will participate in 2 labs on Monday or Wednesday.  Students will rotate through Foundations Lab and Medication Administration Lab this semester for 2 hours each.

GOOD LUCK CLASS OF 2009!!!!!

May at the Center is always an interesting month of highs, lows, and hard work.  May is the month in which the Paramedic class has both its testing days for the national registry and for the Center.  Also in the month of May is the recognition day that brings to a close the nine months of hard work and dedication that students in the Paramedic program have but forth while working to complete the difficult requirements of the Center's Paramedic Program.

On Saturday and Sunday, May 17th and 18th, students participated in the annual 'Hell Weekend' events which test our students in the skills and abilities that they have learned over the past nine months while giving them the opportunity to practice for the National Registry exam that is the following week.  This year students participated in skills testing and scenarios on Saturday and a Mock Registry Practical test on Sunday.

Following 'Hell Weekend' students attempted the National Registry Practical Test on Monday or Tuesday, May 19th and 20th.  Out of the 43 students that attempted the test on either day only 4 have retests pending which is about a 91% passing rate for this class on the National Registry practical exam.

By the end of this year's class students had done the following:

- 21,088 hours of Field time
- 12, 294 hours of hospital time
   - Total 33,3382 hours of clinical and field time
   - A total of 720 clinical and field shifts
- Started 3,614 successful IVs
- Intubated 328 patients successfully
- Administered 3,509 medications to various patients
- 375 hours of classroom instruction
- 120 hours of practical lab sessions

On behalf of the Faculty and Staff at the Center we would like to congratulate again the class of 2008 on a great job and the successful completion of the Paramedic program.

Please visit the Paramedic Class page for pictures taken during this year's program, including a class photo.

New pictures for the class of 2008 have been posted in the Medic Class Picture area of the website.  These are pictures of our current medic students in action during their practical lab sessions here at the Center.  You may access the pictures through the paramedic class page link to the left of every Centerem.org web page. 

Class of 2008 students, remember that you may submit pictures for posting if you wish to share them with the rest of the class.  Also remember that we would love to have some of your pictures for use at our recognition dinner at the end of your class.  Please submit any photos to Micheal Hahn.

For those who have been waiting for the class calendar for 2008 your wait is over.  The courses and classes being offered for the 2008 calendar year have been posted to their respective pages and to the Office of education calendar posted on the website which has its own link to the left of every page.  Please contact the respective coordinators for any information on the class that you are looking to sign up for.

Thank you for your patience while we confirmed our dates for the classes and finalized our schedule..

Like last year, we have finally been able to post some of the pictures that have been taken of this year's Paramedic class.  We will continue to post new images as we are able to and invite all those involved with the program to send us your pictures and we will see if we can put them in the gallery.

Access the picture gallery through the paramedic class page or by clicking here

The Center for Emergency Medicine of Western Pennsylvania, Inc. was proud to host 14 South Korean students during a 4 month EMS training program that consisted of an Anatomy and Physiology course, and EMT-Basic course with clinical observation, and other EMS related talks and tours.  The students were selected from their respective provincial and metropolitan fire stations and were sponsored by the South Korean National Emergency Management Agency.  This will be the 7^th group that the Center has hosted from South Korea.  Please congratulate our students on work that was well done.  The Center wishes the well in their future work in EMS and hopes that they will have the opportunity to return and visit us in the future.  Congratulations and Good Job!

Mark your calendars for the 2008 Tools and The Talent conference.  This year's years conference will be held on February 8th, 2008 at teh Radisson Pittsburgh Green Tree with registration starting at 7:30am.  More information will be posted on www.centerem.org in the next couple of months.  This year's keynote speaker will be Dr. Paul Paris who will present his famous Vital Signs lecture ( a lecture that any medical provider at any level should hear).  Contact the Center for more information or visit the Conference website at www.centerem.org/page.php?42 and get the latest information on the conference.

The students of the Paramedic Class of 2008 began there program on August 24th with their program orientation and started classes the following Monday, August 27th.  The class is quite large this year starting with 54 students.

The Paramedic program runs from August 2007 until the students' graduation in May of 2008.  Please look for pictures of our 2008 students in action in one of the many Class Picture galleries that are sure to come.