By EMS1 staff
CLAYTON, N.J. — Eighteen EMT students are graduating from the Gloucester County Emergency Medical Services EMT Training Academy without paying a dime of tuition.
The program was created as a way to create and teach the needed skills for open positions with the county and GCEMS.
“The GCEMS initial EMT Training Academy is unique in that the one-year program was offered tuition free to the students and could result in employment with the County of Gloucester,” Dan Christy, liaison to GCEMS, said. “By training future EMTs, GCEMS can provide their outstanding education and practices to those accepted into the program without the $1,500 price tag it would cost to be privately trained. This is an exceptional opportunity for someone who is interested in pursuing a career in EMS.”
The students have been training since September 2018, and have attended didactic sessions, completed clinical observations in emergency departments at the Shady Lane Nursing Home, as well as with GCEMS crews and Inspira Mobile Intensive Care crews.
“This creation of this EMT Training Academy is the first of its kind,” Freeholder Director Robert M. Damminger said. “We are very excited that we will have eighteen graduates of this tuition free program that will make them eligible to transfer to part-time employment within GCEMS.”
After graduation, students will take a three-month internship with the GCEMS crews and once complete, they can transfer to the County of Gloucester and GCEMS for part-time employment.
GCEMS is currently accepting applications for the 2019 EMT Academy.