Intermediate Life Support

The Emergency Medical Services Academy (EMSA) is a division of the Department of Emergency Medicine at the University of New Mexico Health Science Center. Located within a Level 1 Trauma Center, the EMS Academy is able to offer the most complete and well rounded Emergency Medical Technician training in the Southwest. Graduates of the EMS Academy are among the most well trained and qualified in the country.

Students at the EMS Academy benefit from the vast array of resources found within the School of Medicine. These include direct physician input in curriculum development, state of the art lab facilities and equipment, the Health Sciences Center Library and multiple state and local agencies that contribute to the training program.

The EMS Academy EMT Intermediate training program began in 1977 with a single 40 hour course. Today it consists of three parts: didactic, lab and clinical that total approximately 150 hours of instruction.

Approximately fifty four hours of Didactic Instruction includes the minimum standard Department of Transportation (DOT) curriculum as well as additional curricula that prepares and EMT Intermediate to stay on the forefront of prehospital field techniques, as well as updating the advancing and changing knowledge base of prehospital care.

Approximately fifty four hours of Laboratory Instruction includes individual instruction in intravenous fluid therapy, Imunizations, Intra Osseous/IM/subcutaneous medication administration, I.V. medication administration, nebulization therapy, patient assessment skills, and many other treatment modalities utilized by the EMT-Intermediate.

Following the successful completion of the Didactic and Laboratory aspects of the class, the student will complete at least seventy two hours of Clinical Rotations/Field Internship. This offers students the opportunity to apply their skills in both a clinical and/or field setting. The EMS Academy has clinical arrangements with many of the major hospitals and EMS services in New Mexico, and can usually afford students the opportunity to complete their clinical and field internships in their local community.

The EMT-Intermediate course can be taken for either credit or non-credit here at the University of New Mexico, and at various branch and community colleges around the state. A description of the course can be found in the current UNM Catalog. Graduates of the program are awarded a certificate upon completion, and are eligible to sit for the New Mexico state licensing exam.

Admission to the course is based on performance on an EMT-Basic curriculum pre-test, as well as a short math test and essay. Other factors, such as EMS service affiliation and Medical Director support are also used in the decision making process. Admission to EMT-Intermediate classes held away from the UNM EMS Academy may have different admission requirements. Please contact the instructor of the particular class for more information.

Applicants to all of the EMT-Intermediate classes affiliated with the EMS Academy must hold a New Mexico EMT-Basic license. Applicants from out of state must submit supporting documentation as to their level of education, certification, and/or licenser at the time of application.

The Academy offers education programs, provider and refresher courses at the First Responder, EMT-Basic, EMT-Intermediate and EMT-Paramedic levels. A variety of special courses such as: Vehicular Extrication, Farm Rescue, and Mobile Intensive Care Paramedic are taught at various times during the year. The EMS Academy is proud to be one of the few institutions to offer a Bachelors Degree of Emergency Medical Services.

Fee an general information can be found by calling the Academy at (505)272-5757 or fax (505) 244-1505: e-mail emsacad@unm.edu.