Emergency Medical Services (EMS) agencies, and local fire and ambulance departments in northeast Iowa are working together with Northeast Iowa Community College to address an ongoing workforce shortage of certified Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) and Paramedic professionals.
The need for more trained EMS personnel to meet increasing demand in northeast Iowa communities, like Dubuque, follows a similar trend throughout the state. The Dubuque Fire Department, for example, has seen a gradual decrease in the number of new-hire applications over the last 10-15 years, according to Sam Janecke, EMS supervisor.
Northeast Iowa Community College partners with local EMS services to deliver EMS training to help meet hiring needs. To meet the demand for trained personnel in the Dubuque area and in surrounding rural communities, NICC introduced a HyFlex EMT training model district-wide. EMT students attend course lectures online using Zoom and participate in lab sessions in-person. This approach helps address EMT workforce needs without placing the burden on one EMS service to meet minimum class enrollment requirements.
The College will also roll out a new EMT course for several Dubuque high schools in spring 2023 to introduce students to the EMS field.
Students enrolled in an EMT course through NICC develop their skills in pre-hospital assessment and care for patients of all ages with a variety of medical conditions and traumatic injuries. Visit NICC.edu/emt and NICC.edu/paramedic for more information.
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