Syllabus
EMS2603 Paramedic I Lecture Fall 2013

Instructor Information

Jon Berryman
Associate Professor/Program Chair 
EMS Programs
Health Care Professions Division
Office GCHE 351
(850) 558-4529
berrymaj@tcc.fl.edu

Diane Morris
Assistant Professor
Health Care Professions Division
Office GCHE 353
(850) 558-4532
morrisdi@tcc.fl.edu

Office Hours:
Monday-Friday 12p-1p, 4p-5p
Communication
General course related questions/comments should be posted to the discussion board forum titled Online Office. If your question is of a personal nature, please contact me by email, phone, in person during scheduled office hours, or schedule an appointment to speak with me in the virtual classroom. I will try to respond to all emails and postings within 24-48 hours, Monday thru Friday.
1. Please put “EMS2603” subject description in the subject line. 
2. Include your phone number so we may contact you at home or by cell. Sign emails (not all emails are set to display your name) 
Course Description
Prerequisites: Acceptance into the paramedic program; and anatomy and physiology prerequisite course(s). Corequisites: EMS2603L Paramedic 1 Lab and EMS2666L Paramedic 1 Clinical. This is the first course in the sequence of paramedic level courses and introduces the student to such topics as EMS pharmacology, paramedic preparatory, patient assessment, respiratory emergencies and cardiac emergencies. The course incorporates basic concepts of pharmacology, including pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics, adverse reactions, mechanisms of action and drug interactions for commonly used groups of drugs. Includes mathematics of drugs and solutions and principles of patient education regarding drug treatment. Includes instruction on proper methods of medication administration as it pertains to the paramedic.  Paramedic preparatory topics are designed to provide the student with the foundation necessary to understand the paramedic’s role within the medical community, with focus on the paramedic’s roles and responsibilities, the well-being of the paramedic, injury protection and medical-legal and ethical issues, as well as specific topics in pathophysiology and therapeutic communications.Patient assessment topics provide the paramedic student with the knowledge and skills necessary to thoroughly, accurately and rapidly assess patients found in the prehospital setting, with focus on history taking, techniques of physical examination, clinical decision making, communications and documentation. Respiratory and cardiac emergiency topics focuses on the rapid, thorough assessment and pre-hospital treatment of patients with pulmonary and cardiac problems. The student will become knowledgeable of causes,complications, signs and symptoms and the full range of pre-hospital management of these serious patients. Contact: 8 hours per week.
Learning Outcomes
Upon successful completion of the course the student will be able to:
•	During simulated patient situations, apply the general concepts of pathophysiology to assess and manage emergency patients. (Critical thinking activity)
•	List his or her roles and responsibilities within an EMS system, and describe how these roles and responsibilities differ from other levels of providers.
•	Describe the importance of personal wellness in EMS and serve as a healthy role model for peers.
•	Describe the legal issues that impact decisions made in the out-of-hospital environment.
•	Integrate the principles of therapeutic communication to effectively communicate with any patient while providing care.
•	Use the appropriate techniques to obtain a medical history from a patient.
•	Explain the pathophysiological significance of physical exam findings.
•	Integrate the principles of history taking and techniques of physical exam to perform a patient assessment.
•	Apply a process of clinical decision making to use the assessment findings to help form a field impression.
•	Follow an accepted format for dissemination of patient information in verbal form, either in person or over the radio.
•	Effectively document the essential elements of patient assessment, care and transport.
•	Integrate pathophysiological principles and assessment findings to formulate a field impression and implement the treatment plan for the patient with cardiovascular disease.
•	Demonstrate how to use a monitor/defibrillator to monitor, pace, cardiovert and defibrillate.
•	Integrate pathophysiological principles of pharmacology and the assessment findings to formulate a field impression and implement a pharmacologic management plan.

Required Readings, Textbook, and Plugins
Paramedic Care: Principles and Practice, Vol 1-4. Current edition, Bledsoe, Brady. 
Anyone Can Intubate, Whitten, KWPublications 
Basic Arrhythmias, 7th edition, Walraven.
Advanced Cardiovascular Life Support Professional Provider Manual, American Heart Association
This textbook can be purchased through the TCC Bookstore, (850) 575-9200.   Ensure you have the computer plugins necessary to view all the material available in a distance learning course by visiting Browser and Media Plug-in check. 

Technical Help and Support Resources:
Not sure how to use Blackboard or need technical assistance? Click the Resources tab located at the top of the Blackboard site for links to all the available technical support resources here at TCC.
•	View Blackboard Tutorials on the Distance Learning pages. 
•	Help Desk online information and tutorials can be found on the Help Desk web pages. 
•	Phone or email help is available for Blackboard and IT from the Help Desk at 850-201-8545 and helpdesk@tcc.fl.edu. 
•	One-on-one technical and application assistance and media project support can also be obtained on campus at the Learning Commons and Academic Computing Labs.
Assessments & Required Activities
Assignments: Homework and Drug Profiles
•	Due:  by the next class meeting, on the dates posted on the course Calendar.
•	Location: Instructions and grading rubrics for all writing assignments are provided in Course Information area of the course.
•	Submitting: All homework assignments will be turned in to the instructor during the class meeting.
•	Missed assignments: Missed assignments may be submitted late for a reduced grade. 10 points will be deducted from your grade for each day the assignment is late.
Tests: 
Weekly Tests: 
•	Due: Sunday, 11:00pm EST, on the dates posted on the course Calendar.
•	Location: Weekly chapter tests will be completed through Blackboard in the weekly folders.
•	Submitting: All tests are submitted through Blackboard.
•	Missed tests: Missed tests may be submitted late for a reduced grade. 10 points will be deducted from your grade for each day the assignment is late.
•	Types of questions: Multiple Choice  
Mid-Term and Final Exams:
•	Due:  During the week of the scheduled exam as posted in the course outline.
•	Mid-Term: Online, mid-term exam will be submitted through blackboard.
•	Final Exam: In class, see outline for date. The class will meet in the same room as scheduled for EMS2603.
•	Missed Exams: Make-up exams will be considered on a case-by-case basis. The student must submit in writing a request for a make-up exam including the following information: the exam to be missed, date, and reason for missing the exam. If a make-up exam is permitted the student will be notified by the instructor of the new date and time.
•	Types of questions: Multiple Choice

Grading 
Student performance is based on a combination of Chapter Tests, Assignments (Discussion Board, Case Study, Radio Report, and Article Review), and Exams (midterm and final).
Assessments
	Percentage of grade	 	Grading Scale	Grade	
Chapter Tests	20%	 	100 pts – 92 pts	A	
Assignments	10%	 	91 pts – 85 pts	B	
Midterm Exam	30%	 	84 pts – 80 pts	C	
Final Exam	40%	 	79 pts – 70 pts	D	
 Total	100%	 	69  pts - below	 F	

Posting of Grades & Feedback
Posting of Grades: All grades will be posted on the Blackboard course site in ‘My Grades’ within one business week.
Feedback: 
If you see an underlined grade in ‘My Grades’, this means your instructor has added comments and/or uploaded a document to your submitted Homework assignment. Click on the grade and read your instructors comments. Click View if your instructor states that you are to read the attached document for further comments or to see your grading rubric. You can also view comments in the gradebook by clicking on the View Comment button to the right of your grade.
Attendance: 

TCC’s academic policies state: “Students are responsible for completion of all work assigned in class whether they are present or not.  Students reporting to class late or leaving early may be considered by their instructor to be absent.  In case of absence, it is the responsibility of the student to contact the teacher. …any student absent, from any class, for more times than that class meets in one week may be withdrawn by administrative action (AW).” 
 
If you are more than 30 minutes late to class, you will be considered as ‘absent’. 

Administrative Withdrawal: 
Please contact the instructor to discuss your academic concerns.  It is the student’s responsibility to protect his or her own academic record and initiate withdrawl  from the course or risk receiving a grade of “F” in the course. Administrative Withdrawal (AW) will not be used. Students wishing to withdraw should do so themselves or send your instructor an e-mail in which you clearly state that you wish for your instructor to submit an immediate request to Enrollment Services that you be dropped from the course. Your instructor will forward your email and submit the request to Enrollment Services. You may also drop the course in person if you attend other classes on the TCC campus or wish to drop on the last day to withdraw. 
Student Expectations: 
Students are expected to participate fully and complete all assignments on time. It is assumed that all college students are mature, intelligent, self-disciplined adults. All students are advised to be aware of and to carefully follow the guidelines located in the TCC Student Handbook and TCC Catalog. Students who fail to observe college regulations or to maintain acceptable standards of personal conduct are subject to disciplinary action.
Academic Dishonesty: 
Plagiarism and cheating are serious offenses and may be punished by failure on exam, paper or project; failure in course; and or expulsion from the College. For more information, refer to the Academic Dishonesty policy in the TCC Student Handbook. You may also wish to visit: TCC information on plagiarism. 
College Policies: 
All college policies concerning withdrawal deadlines, incompletes, audits, academic dishonesty and other policies are in effect for this course. All students are advised to be aware of and to carefully follow these guidelines located in the TCC Student Handbook and TCC Catalog.
ADA Provisions
Students with Disabilities:  Tallahassee Community College provides accommodations to eligible students in full compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act Amendments Act (ADAAA 2008). Reasonable accommodations are available for students with a documented disability. If you have a disability and may need accommodations to fully participate in this class or accurately assess achievement of learning outcomes, please visit the Disability Support Services (DSS) Office.  All accommodations MUST be approved through DSS (Student Union, 172). Please stop by or call 850-201-8430 to make an appointment with a counselor.