Curriculum
time spent in field/clinicals
time spent in labs
time spent in the classroom
Student experiences
As highly trained pre-hospital care providers, paramedics are responsible for patient care employing advanced life support care. The Emergency Medicine Paramedic Program includes classroom learning, labs, field internships, and clinical rotations. During the program, you will observe and be involved in care related to real and simulated medical and traumatic emergencies.
Classroom learning
The classroom portion of the program is instructed by medical professionals with many years of experience. Mayo Clinic School of Health Sciences has a distinct advantage by having some of the best faculty and resources available to students.
Classroom topics range from learning about body systems and structures to the science of medical emergencies and beyond. In addition to classroom lectures, we also incorporate self-guided classroom learning to ensure we meet a wide variety of learning styles.
Labs, clinicals, and field rotations
Labs, clinicals, and field rotations are a major component of the curriculum for paramedic students. They allow you to refine your skills and learn in a safe, controlled environment. During these experiences, you’ll observe and get hands-on practice as you learn the skills, procedures, and protocols needed to become a paramedic.
Students will have access to state-of-the-art technology in the Mayo Clinic Multidisciplinary Simulation Center, cadaver labs, and clinical treatment areas at Mayo Clinic's campus in Rochester, Minnesota.
The field and clinical rotations may require travel to cities other than Rochester. This diversity in rotation locations ensures that you have well-rounded experiences in large as well as small medical centers and EMS sites.
Schedule
Learning schedules include eight- and 12-hour days. The days of attendance each week vary according to classroom, clinical, lab, and field internship schedules. Expect to attend day and night rotations in the clinical and field internship.
- Associate degree track. Credit hours average approximately 16 credit hours per semester with an internship and classes during summer session. This credit average is required to attain the degree within 20 months.
- Certificate track (for college graduates). This track combines didactic coursework with a lab, clinical, and field internship. The certificate track is composed of 40 credits, which will run concurrently with students in the associate degree track. This is a part-time option for students who already possess at least a two-year associate degree and meet all prerequisite coursework.
Grading or evaluation
Mayo Clinic School of Health Sciences uses these evaluative tools:
- Written and oral examination
- Psychomotor skills evaluations
- Self-assessment exercises
- Faculty, clinical, and field preceptor reviews
- Affective evaluation
Mayo Clinic's system of evaluation provides students and faculty with a comprehensive look at individual performance. This allows faculty and administrative staff to direct students who are experiencing academic difficulty to the appropriate support resources, including tutoring programs and counseling opportunities.
Students must pass all courses at RCTC and Mayo Clinic School of Health Sciences with a "C" or better.
Graduation and certification
- Associate degree track. Students successfully completing the associate degree track of 35 credit hours at RCTC, along with successfully completing the 40 credit hours of the Emergency Medicine Paramedic Program, will receive an A.S. degree from RCTC and a certificate from Mayo Clinic School of Health Sciences.
- Certificate track (for college graduates). Students successfully completing the 40 credit hours of the Emergency Medicine Paramedic Program will receive a certificate from Mayo Clinic School of Health Sciences.
All graduates are eligible to take the cognitive and psychomotor exams from the National Registry of Emergency Medical Technicians.
Facilities
Mayo Clinic
The Mayo Clinic campus in Rochester, Minnesota includes an extensive outpatient complex, Mayo Clinic Hospital — Rochester, and substantial research and education facilities. This Mayo Clinic site is among the largest, most advanced medical centers in the world.
Mayo Clinic Medical Transport
Mayo Clinic Ambulance Service offers significant options for field internships, including 11 Mayo Clinic Ambulance Service locations and three Mayo One helicopter locations in Minnesota and Wisconsin. Rotations at these locations are a major component of the field internship requirement.
Rochester Community and Technical College
Mayo Clinic School of Health Sciences works collaboratively with Rochester Community and Technical College (RCTC). RCTC provides classroom and lab space for students in the Emergency Medicine Paramedic Program.
Meet the faculty
The Emergency Medicine Paramedic Program is coordinated and taught by the clinical, scientific, and technical staffs of Mayo Clinic. Faculty members are chosen for their commitment to teaching, as well as their clinical practice and research. Many have published and lectured extensively and are highly regarded in their fields. You have direct access to these individuals throughout your training, giving you the opportunity to learn from experienced paramedics and experts in emergency medicine.
Jeff Schultz, N.R.P., Program Director
Jeff Schultz graduated from Lansing Community College, Lansing, Michigan, in 1984 with his diploma in paramedicine. Jeff completed his associate degree in paramedicine from Rochester Community and Technical College, Rochester, Minnesota, in 2009. In 2017, he earned his bachelor’s degree in natural resources through Oregon State University.
Jeff began his EMS career as an Emergency Medical Technician with Croswell EMS, Croswell, Michigan, in 1989 and transitioned to Tri-Hospital EMS in Port Huron, Michigan, as a paramedic, where he also served as an educator. He moved to Rochester, Minnesota, to pursue his career with Mayo Clinic Medical Transport in 2001, where he became a valued team member as a paramedic for Gold Cross Ambulance and the Mayo Clinic campus Emergency Response Team.
While with Mayo Clinic Medical Transport, Jeff has been instrumental in both internal education development for staff EMT’s and paramedics, as well as external education with Mayo Clinic Health System. He has instructed for Rochester Community and Technical College EMS programs. Jeff is now the Program Director of the Emergency Medicine Paramedic Program at Mayo Clinic School of Health Sciences. His current responsibilities include conducting both classroom and lab activities. He holds the academic rank of Assistant Professor in Emergency Medicine at Mayo Clinic College of Medicine and Science.
Ashleigh Erdmann, Primary Instructor and Clinical Coordinator - Duluth
Ashleigh Erdmann has been with the Emergency Medicine Paramedic Program since 2021, and a paramedic with Mayo Clinic Ambulance Service since 2019. Before coming to the Duluth area, she spent two years in Rochester, attending paramedic school at Mayo Clinic School of Health Science. Prior to that, she attended the University of Minnesota-Crookston for her undergraduate degree, leaving with a Bachelor of Science degree in Health Sciences and a minor in coaching.
Ashleigh says, "My goal as an instructor is to help our students continue to grow in the field of emergency medicine and become outstanding paramedics wherever they may choose to go after graduation. The field of paramedicine can be challenging, but it is also very rewarding and shouldn't be taken lightly.
I believe our goal as a program is to help all our students leave the program with an above-basic level understanding of what life as a paramedic can be like. That is why we have our students in the field, riding with trained preceptors from the very beginning. This allows our students to see first-hand from the start what a job as a paramedic looks like and the pressure that can bring right from the start. This helps them learn not only the instructors in the classroom, but some very skilled paramedics in the field."
Thom Linville, N.R.P., Instructor
Thom Linville graduated from Navea Hospital Paramedic Program in Albert Lea, Minnesota, in 1988 with his diploma in paramedicine. He started is EMS career in 1994 with Minnesota City Fire Rescue. He has worked for Am-Care Ambulance and Winona Area Ambulance prior to moving to Gold Cross Ambulance (which is now called Mayo Clinic Ambulance Service) in 2008.
Thom has been involved with education throughout his career in EMS. While working for Winona Ambulance Service, he taught first responder and EMT classes for local volunteer services and industries. With Mayo Clinic Ambulance Service, Thom has been a Field Training Officer since 2009, and he also teaches classes for the Field Training Evaluation Program, locally and nationally.
Thom had various roles in the Emergency Medicine Paramedic Program at Mayo Clinic School of Health Sciences since the program began in 2014, but he became a part-time instructor for the program in 2021. Thom's goal as an instructor is to provide quality education and a welcome learning environment for all students.
Katie Meyer, N.R.P., Instructor and Clinical Coordinator
Katie Meyer is a 2016 graduate of the inaugural class of the Emergency Medicine Paramedic Program at Mayo Clinic School of Health Sciences. She completed her associate degree in Applied Sciences at Rochester Community and Technical College in 2016 as well. Her career prior to Mayo Clinic consisted of approximately 15 years of business, sales, and hospitality experience in southern Minnesota, working closely in the private aviation and hotel sector.
She began her EMS career at her local community volunteer service as an Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) with Hayfield Ambulance service. During her paramedic education, she worked for Gold Cross Ambulance (now called Mayo Clinic Ambulance Service) as an EMT and was able to secure a position as a paramedic immediately upon graduation.
Currently, Katie is an integral team member, working full-time as both an instructor with the Emergency Medicine Paramedic Program, and working with Mayo Clinic Ambulance Service as a paramedic and paramedic preceptor. She works actively with her team to promote workplace comradery by developing team events, meals, and assists in coordinating EMS appreciation week events. Katie is a hard-working person, dedicated to the betterment and elevation of the paramedic career and education standard through professional development and continued education.