EMT

Emergency Medical Technician

Where it all starts! Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) is the stepping stone to all Emergency Medical Services careers. Are you interested in medicine, helping people, becoming a firefighter and volunteering in the community? If so, EMT training will provide insight into many different careers. Columbia Basin College offers EMT each year in the spring and fall quarters.

The field of Emergency Medical Services (EMS) is built upon a foundation that begins with basic CPR/First Aid and ends with the advanced care provided by a Paramedic. Throughout EMS, you will find various levels of education that all focus toward the "chain of survival". This chain of survival is an ideal of how patients can best be treated, whether suffering a heart attack or being involved in a motor vehicle accident.

CBC Emergency Medical Technician Program
What is an EMT?
  • EMT is the basic certification level that comprises the largest population of EMS responders and is often considered the backbone of EMS.
  • EMT's perform basic life-saving skills which include:
    • control of bleeding
    • stabilizing fractures
    • assisting patients with medications
    • providing oxygen and other necessities to avoid the development/progression of shock
    • transportation to the emergency room
  • EMT's in Washington State are also trained to place intermediate airway devices, administer epinephrine to patients in anaphylactic shock and use semi-automated external defibrillators.
Information Sessions

Please take the time to attend one of the EMT, Paramedic or Fire Science Information Sessions. Your questions will be answered by an Advisor/Counselor or a program representative.

Visit the CBC Events Calendar to find the next available session and register to attend or email cbcoutreachFREECOLUMBIA_BASIN for assistance.

Information sessions are scheduled for one hour and are free and open to anyone interested in a CBC Health Sciences program.

  Explore Courses
  Visit
  Request Info

Application Process

The EMT program application is now available for Spring quarter, April 2025, and Fall quarter, September 2025. The EMT application process is competitive. Applicants must be 18 years of age at the beginning of the quarter they are applying to.

The EMT courses for theory and lab will be held during the day on Tuesday's and Thursday's weekly; theory at 10am - 1pm and lab at 2:30pm - 5:30pm each day.

There are no academic prerequisites to take the EMT course. However, the following courses are highly recommended:

• Completion or placement in ENGL 099 or higher
• Completion of Math 050 or higher placement
• Completion of HSCI 147 - Medical Terminology

Apply Today!

Application Requirements

The following criteria are required to apply to the EMT program:
  • a typed letter of intent outlining how the applicant plans to use their EMT certification
  • applicant must be 18 years of age
  • have a valid driver's license
  • two letters of recommendation
  • take the EMT entrance exam and participate in an assessment

The EMT entrance exam is mandatory to be considered for acceptance into the program. Applicants who do not attend the exam will be disqualified from the application process.

Criteria for the assessment is teamwork, communication skills, reading and comprehension skills.

EMT Program Acceptance

Students are accepted based on the scores received from the EMT entrance exam and assessment.

Accepted students will receive an email outlining the next steps to start the program such as starting a background check with the college approved vendor, drug screening, immunizations, textbook and agree to a specific code of ethics.

Accepted students will be required to attend a training class for the American Heart Association BLS Provider CPR certification. Attendance for this class is mandatory for all students.

Washington State Credentialing

Entry into the field in Washington State requires certification through the Department of Health.

Education
Successful completion of DOH approved emergency medical technician (EMT) course. Initial course completion certificate issued by the training program.

Applicant must also possess a high school diploma or GED.

Postgraduate Professional Work Experience
Applicants are required to be associated with one of the following: an EMS agency licensed by the Department of Health (aid or ambulance service), a law enforcement agency, business with an organized industrial safety team, or senior EMS Instructors or coordinators teaching at department approved EMS training programs who are unable to be associated with approved agencies.

Applicants must be recommended for certification by the physician medical program director (MPD) of the county in which the applicant will be working. 

For more information, please click on the button below for the WA State Department of Health (DOH) website.



 

 

Professional Licensure Outside of Washington State

Each state, the District of Columbia and the U.S. protectorates vary in what professions they require to be licensed and the educational requirements for those licenses. It’s important to understand whether the degree or certificate you obtain from CBC will meet the educational eligibility requirements for a license in the state in which you plan to practice.

View educational licensure requirements by state.




 

 

National Background Search & Drug Screen Requirement

As part of the admission requirements for Health Science programs, applicants must successfully pass a criminal background check and drug screen prior to working with patients in clinical areas. The background check and drug screen are paid by the student and administered through a third party company, CastleBranch. In addition to the background check required by CBC, each clinical facility reserves the right to conduct its own criminal background check prior to allowing a student to enter its health care facilities for clinical participation.

Certain criminal convictions, pending charges or negative actions may automatically disqualify a person from having unsupervised access to vulnerable adults, juveniles and children. Clinical facilities reserve the right to accept or decline a student’s placement in its facility.     

EMT skills can be useful for other careers and employment opportunities such as:

  • Firefighters
  • Police
  • Military service members
  • Emergency Room (ER) technicians
  • Dispatchers
  • Emergency response teams
  • Hospitality, entertainment and cruise industries
  • Public Education
  • Ski patrol

Program Learning Outcomes for the Emergency Medical Technician Short-Term Certificate

Program learning outcomes are the knowledge, skills, and abilities that students will achieve before they graduate. The outcomes below were developed by the faculty in the Emergency Medical Technician program with input from accrediting bodies, advisory committees, employers, etc. This collaboration ensures that the outcomes are relevant for careers that this degree leads to.

Students who complete the EMT course will be able to:

  1. Comprehend, apply, and evaluate information relative to the role of an entry-level EMT. 
  2. Demonstrate technical proficiency in all of the skills necessary to fulfill the role of entry-level EMT. 
  3. Use critical thinking skills, demonstrate the appropriate and correct application of psycho-motor skills and exhibit the appropriate behavior to effectively, and safely manage emergency scenes. 

In addition, upon course completion, the EMT candidate will be eligible to sit for the National Registry of Emergency Medical Technician Exam.

contact

Medical Science Center