An “Earn While You Learn” program of American Medical Response has more applicants than slots available. That could be because the classroom is an ambulance, where hands-on training helps develop and hone the abilities needed for the hectic but rewarding job of paramedic.

On top of that, throughout the lessons students are paid the salary of an Emergency Medical Technician, which is around $20 an hour, according to Christopher Williams, director of the Rocky Mountain region of Global Medical Response. The company owns American Medical Response, known as AMR, the primary ambulance contractor locally and the nation’s largest medical transportation business.

“It’s a true apprenticeship system – they’re doing the assessments and skills, and our paramedics are with them to make sure the work is being done appropriately,” he said.

Student Brooke Taylor said she doesn’t know where she’d be without the model.

“This program has meant so much to me. It’s given me the opportunity to progress,” she said.

Taylor, 52, was working as an emergency medical technician after becoming through Pikes Peak State College, when two years ago her husband was diagnosed with advanced cancer.

That left her as the family breadwinner as well as her husband’s main caretaker and chauffeur for chemotherapy treatments.

“I could not stop working; I had to have the insurance and income for him,” she said. “I had no way to pay for school and no way to go forward.”

Getting accepted into the “Earn While You Learn” track gives her an opportunity to test for licensure, advance in her career and get a raise.

“I’m really enjoying the experience,” Taylor said. “There’s constantly a need for good paramedics.”

Paramedics provide temporary care and stabilization for sick or injured patients in an emergency situation and are trained to perform critical, life-saving procedures such as cardio-pulmonary resuscitation, trauma response, oxygen administration and other procedures.

The life-or-death job can be highly stressful, and an accelerated format of the Earn While You Learn approach prepares students for handling the environment, said Bailey Eichers, who completed the program in 2023.

She had earned an associate’s degree from Pikes Peak State College and was working as an EMT for American Medical Response. She’s now a paramedic field training officer for the company.

“The typical paramedic program is two years long, this one is nine months to a year,” she said. “It’s already difficult – every paramedic will tell you paramedic school is the hardest thing – and this program is more intense because it’s accelerated. But you work hand-in-hand in relationship with medical directors, who teach and lecture, and it’s so valuable.”

Paramedic school usually costs around $14,000, Eichers said.

But people accepted into Earn While You Learn don’t pay out of their pocket for tuition, books and exams, said Williams, the Global Medical Response director.

“When I was training, you had to pay for school and figure how to support yourself while you were going to school,” he said. “You’d end up working part-time or full-time and going to school full-time and taking out loans.

“Our program gives them the ability to just focus on becoming a good paramedic. They don’t have the distractions. It’s less stressful for them.”

Eichers, 27, said she loves her job because it presents different scenarios and challenges every day. Like sprinting in a 100-meter dash, with adrenaline rushing through your body and top-level performance required.

“It’s short bursts of high intensity, and you never know when you’ll have to run,” Eichers said. “It’s not a typical 9-to-5 job.”

Someone who is driven, capable of multitasking, exhibits compassion and works well under pressure can excel in the position, she said.

The six-month didactic book portion of the course is held at CommonSpirit Health’s Penrose Hospital, where St. Anthony Hospital of Lakewood, which is also in the same management network, provides lessons for five students per session, or 10 per year, who qualify. That’s out of about as many as 30 EMTs who apply each year, Williams said.

Since the program was upgraded in 2020 as the pandemic got underway, 50 EMTs in Colorado Springs and 100 statewide have completed the program, Williams said.

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projects employment for EMTs and paramedics to rise 5% from 2024 to 2034, with about 19,000 openings annually, to replace retirees and meet communities’ needs in emergency services.

The progression from EMT to paramedic seems natural, Taylor said, with advancement carrying more responsibility and decision-making capability.

“As an EMT, you’re providing support to your partner, and you can take some of the calls. But the scope of your practice is very limited,” she said. “As a paramedic, you’re looking at ‘I have a breathing patient, what is causing this issue so I can help resolve the situation, maybe with medications or fluids, and get them relief until I can get them to a higher level of care.’”

Eichers also likes that there’s no difference between the classroom and the job site.

“The program is closely integrated with the actual field you’ll end up working in,” she said. “You don’t have a big gap of ‘This is what I learned in school, and this is what happens in professional life’ because you’re immersed in all of it the entire time.”

Taylor completed the classroom portion in March, when she moved into the phase of performing 200 clinical hours. She recently started the final leg of 300 hours of internship in the field.

And then she’ll give at least two years on the job in return for AMR’s training program, which Taylor said she views as “job security” in her chosen field.

“I really enjoy the patients,” she said. “You’re the first person to see people in their worst situations. Getting to provide comfort and relief and make that person feel like ‘This is going to be OK’ is something I have in my power. You can build rapport and try to make it a little easier for them.”