A partnership between AMR and Miramar College, the Earn While You Learn academy is a 16-week program in which cadets will be trained to become emergency medical technicians (EMT) and will be hired by AMR upon completing the academy and passing a national EMT exam, known as the Registry of EMT’s exam.
AMR will cover the cadets’ costs for tuition and books and pay them for the hours they attend class. Cadets will also be eligible for medical, dental, vision and 401K benefits.
“What better time to launch this academy than during Women’s History Month,” said Carlos Valdez Acosta-Meza, an Operations Manager with AMR. “Women play a critical role in the field of emergency medical services, including here at AMR. This academy will help put more women on a promising and rewarding career path while bolstering the ranks of female EMTs and paramedics in the San Diego region.”
When the cadets are not in class, they will shadow AMR paramedics and EMTs as they respond to actual emergencies across San Diego County, for which they will also be paid.
The academy will teach cadets a wide variety of EMT skills, including driving an ambulance, delivering a baby, performing CPR, using an Automated External Defibrillator (AED), and administering an EpiPen to someone experiencing a life-threatening allergic reaction, among other skills.
While this is the first all-female Earn While You Learn academy that AMR has sponsored, the company has held two others over the past year and a half with women and men.
The academy will begin this fall at Miramar College. To request an application, go to www.amrsandiego.net/ewylinfo.