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December 06, 2005

EMT-Paramedic Program Gets National Accreditation
GTC First in state to initiate, receive accreditation

Gwinnett Technical College’s EMT-Paramedic program recently became the first and only program in Georgia to be accredited by the Committee on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs (CAAHEP).

“In the profession it means we are doing what we are supposed to be doing and that we are meeting national expectations,” said Steve Moyers, director, emergency services education,
Gwinnett Tech.

Accreditation is a tool, similar in ideology to certifications or licensures, that helps ensure a well-prepared and qualified workforce is providing health care services. And in the case of health-related disciplines, accreditation serves as a very important public service.

The college entered into the process voluntarily as there is no state or national requirement for such accreditation. However, by doing so, the college is essentially verified as having met nationally accepted standards in its EMT-Paramedic education program.

The accreditation process is a rigorous and time-consuming one. For Gwinnett Tech’s EMT-Paramedic program, it meant reviewing and documenting current processes for the entire program, including analyzing its outcome measures in an intensive self-study. This self-study was submitted to the Committee on Accreditation of Educational Programs for the EMS Profession (CoAEMSP), the working accreditation arm of CAAHEP – and upon completion of that review a site team visited Gwinnett Tech to conduct further on-site reviews of the program. The site team met with current students, graduates, clinical sites, medical directors, faculty, administrators and employers.

Passing the review phases and the on-site visit with flying colors, the CoAEMSP then recommended to CAAHEP that accreditation be awarded to Gwinnett Tech’s EMT-Paramedic program.

“It sets us apart from the competition because we are the first and only program to become accredited [in the state],” Moyers said.

CAAHEP, headquartered in Clearwater, Fla., is the largest programmatic/specialized accreditor in the health sciences field.

For more information on CoAEMSP, visit www.coaemsp.org; or about CAAHEP, visit www.caahep.org. To learn more about Gwinnett Tech and its accredited EMT-Paramedic program visit www.GwinnettTech.edu or call 770-962-7580.

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About Gwinnett Tech
Gwinnett Technical College, one of Georgia's largest technical colleges, is committed to delivering relevant knowledge to meet the workforce training needs of its community. The college offers more than 50 associate degree, diploma and certificate programs and hundreds of seminars, workshops and courses providing specialized training. GTC is Gwinnett County's largest provider of corporate training and now serves residents and businesses in north Fulton County. Gwinnett Technical College is accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools to award the associate degree. Contact the Commission on Colleges at 1866 Southern Lane, Decatur, Georgia 30033-4097,404-679-4500, www.sacscoc.org for questions about the accreditation of Gwinnett Technical College. For more information, visit www.GwinnettTech.edu.

A unit of the Technical College System of Georgia.