EMS Paramedicine program exposes students to real-life scenarios

The EMS (Emergency Medical Services) Paramedicine program at CWU has recaptured its momentum after experiencing some uncertainty over the past couple of years.

One of the ways CWU is setting itself apart is by offering modern, industry-relevant equipment and technology to train its students. The program recently started teaching portable ultrasound technology to students, and it will begin offering the state’s only paramedic critical care training program next fall.

As Director Emily Gonzalez explains in a new promotional video, she and her team have been working hard to reestablish CWU as the place to go in the Northwest for aspiring Emergency Medical Technicians (EMT) and paramedics.

“The field of paramedicine, and its scope of practice, is advancing,” said Gonzalez, a two-time CWU graduate who joined the faculty in May 2024. “As times continue to change, the paramedic scope has to change. To do that, we have to make sure our education matches what our students may utilize in the field.”

Gonzalez explained that the CWU Paramedicine and EMS programs are committed to educating students to be exceptional first-responders, pointing to new, state-of-the-art facilities that include four simulation suite rooms that allow students to go through real-life scenarios. The exercises performed in the “sim suites” are captured on video, allowing instructors and fellow students to observe their work and learn from it.

“It’s that practical application, where they can practice picking up a patient in the bathroom of our sim suite and … then transition into transporting the patient,” Gonzalez said.

The program also features a simulated ambulance inside the Health Sciences building, as well as an actual ambulance that the students and instructors take into the field for training exercises.

“We have two fully equipped ambulances here, and one that drives around outside to give us the full experience of what to expect when we come out of this program,” said Reid Farnes, this year’s Paramedicine class captain.

The EMS Paramedicine program at CWU is the only one of its kind in Washington state, and is one of just 13 nationwide. Since arriving on campus last spring, Gonzalez has been committed to bringing back the “Purser model,” named after program founder Dorothy Purser.

Like Purser before her, Gonzalez believes in giving students an opportunity to engage in practical learning of paramedic skills in both clinical and field environments alongside their academic studies.

“I have found that the immediate practical application of the skills students are learning in the classroom leads to better retention,” Gonzalez said. “We provide applied learning experiences from the very beginning, and we feel like this is going to provide a lot of added value for our students, as well as our field partners.”

Gonzalez hired an almost all-new program staff last fall, bringing in well-known textbook author Daniel Limmer and former Tacoma Community College colleague Ken Davis as instructors. She also hired two female lab instructors and has started a female mentorship program, hoping to increase diversity in the profession.

She is known for her scholarly research in the mental health and EMS fields, and for her contributions to promoting gender equity and the professional advancement of women in EMS education and careers.

Gonzalez holds a bachelor’s degree in paramedicine (’21) and a master’s degree in public health (’22) from CWU, and she is currently working toward her Doctor of Education (Ed.D.) degree from City University of Seattle.

She has been a certified EMT with the state of Washington since 2015 and earned her paramedic certification in 2018. She continues to actively practice as a 911 paramedic, and also holds various Washington state certifications, including Emergency Services Evaluator (ESE) and Senior EMS Instructor (SEI).