When someone calls 911 for a medical emergency in Missoula, there is a good chance the paramedics responding are graduates of the University of Montana’s Paramedicine Program.
For the past five years, UM has partnered with Missoula Emergency Services Inc. to provide the Paramedicine Program at Missoula College. The program has produced highly trained paramedics, many of whom work for ambulance services and fire departments in Missoula and across the state.
“We see our students graduate and they are immediately providing care to our community,” said David McEvoy, director of the Paramedicine Program. “They are the people showing up in your time of need.”
Earlier this year, the program received accreditation from the Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs, which establishes the national standards for paramedic programs.
McEvoy expected to receive the CAAHEP accreditation shortly after the program launched in the fall of 2020. But due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the accrediting agency became backlogged and wasn’t able to review UM’s program until last year.
UM’s program operated as if it was already accredited, under provisional status, but now it can let students know the accreditation is official, McEvoy said.
“It is a confirmation of our commitment to having an excellent program,” McEvoy said. “We have fulfilled the needs and expectations of the industry. We are now able to officially say to students that we are an accredited program.”
The accrediting agency made a site visit to Missoula College last year to examine the program. The site visitors looked closely at its processes, how it supports its students, community involvement and backing from the program’s advisory board and medical director.
The visitors were impressed and recommended accreditation, making UM’s program the third accredited paramedic program in Montana.
“From my understanding, the program had one of the cleanest evaluations they’ve ever done,” said Jack Pickhardt, a firefighter and paramedic with the City of Missoula Fire Department who was in the first cohort of students in UM’s program.
Pickhardt, who serves on the program’s advisory board, said he has enjoyed watching the program grow over the past five years since he was a student.
“I almost wish I could go back through the program,” Pickhardt said. “From day one, the instructors and curriculum were really great. It prepared me to go out into the field and work as a paramedic.”
A highlight of the program for Pickhardt was the clinical experience. Each student is required to work in a variety of medical settings such as emergency rooms, labor and delivery rooms, pediatric intensive care units and in ambulances and fire engines.
“It builds a well-rounded experience that you come out of school with,” Pickhardt said.
The program regularly receives positive feedback about the quality of students who graduate, McEvoy said. After completing the program, students have a 100% passing rate on their paramedic examinations and immediately join ambulance and fire firefighting services. Some students are even offered jobs while still in the program, McEvoy said.
“We are very proud of our students and the impact they are having,” he said.
McEvoy works to give his students more opportunities in the medical field. Students in the program regularly work with other health professions in Missoula College such as the human anatomy and physiology program, which runs UM’s Cadaver Lab.
The program also offers students an opportunity to transfer to UM’s School of Integrative Physiology and Athletic Training to earn a bachelor’s degree. And when UM launches its Physician Associate program next year, it will be another opportunity for paramedic students.
“We are working hard to have our program integrated with the main campus,” McEvoy said.
With accreditation and plans to grow the program, McEvoy is proud to train the next generation of paramedics to serve across Montana.
McEvoy, who has worked as a paramedic in Missoula for over 30 years, understands the commitment and responsibility required to pursue the career. He and his instructors share that knowledge with students and reminds them they are often the first on scene at emergencies and must perform at a high level.
“We take that responsibility very seriously and so do our students,” McEvoy said.
By Kyle Spurr, UM News Service