Texas law requires that all EMS personnel be certified by the State of Texas as an EMT-Basic or higher. Therefore, there are two ways to function as an EMT with Rice EMS: you can either successfully complete Rice's EMT-Basic training course, HEAL 308, or obtain your Texas state certification through an outside agency. This page gives details about both options.

Rice's EMT-B Course

Rice University offers an EMT-Basic course, HEAL 308 every spring semester. Because this course involves hiring clinical preceptors, as well as the purchasing of equipment, uniforms, and other supplies, there is a fee that will be required of all participants. Students who are accepted into Rice EMS after the completion of the course will have the option of having that fee refunded in exchange for a year of volunteer service. Rice EMS makes no guarantee that those who take the course will be accepted into Rice EMS, and as such, not all students will have the course fee refunded. For details, please contact Robert McArthur, the Education Lieutenant.

The nature of an EMT training course makes a small class size necessary. As a result, Rice EMS has an application process to enter HEAL 308. Applications for HEAL 308 are available near the end of each fall semester.

Applicants will be interviewed, and a committee will pick the students who be allowed to enroll in the course. In the interest of providing a maximal learning environment, Rice EMS has to limit the number of accepted applicants to approximately 20 (the actual number depends on the merits of the applicants). However, students who were not accepted into HEAL 308 are encouraged to reapply the following year or take an EMT-Basic class at an outside organization.

Outside EMT-B Courses

If for whatever reason you do not get your EMT-Basic certification at Rice, you are still in luck. Many community colleges offer EMT training classes either during the regular school year or during the summer. Any student who successfully completes an outside EMT-Basic course and receives Texas EMS certification is allowed to apply for a position with Rice EMS. Applicants will be evaluated on several criteria, including knowledge of required skills and topics. Once accepted, EMTs will attend membership orientation and observer shifts. Upon successful completion of these tasks, they will be granted full membership.

Applications for admittance into REMS are made available when staffing needs dictate. For more information, please contact us and we'll let you know more.

Additional Information

Rice EMS is considered to be a department at Rice University, not a club or campus organization. EMTs therefore are considered volunteer staff of the university, and are held to certain standards. These include fulfilling all work obligations, following a code of appropriate conduct (both on and off duty), and following all EMS policies, guidelines, orders, and applicable laws (including medical privacy restrictions). EMTs who fail to meet these standards will be dismissed from Rice EMS, and any EMT who violates the law (for example, disclosing confidential medical information or inappropriate treatment of a patient) may face criminal charges, and may have his or her EMT certification revoked. Those who wish to work with Rice EMS will be held to a higher standard than other students.

EMTs who work for Rice EMS do so on a purely volunteer basis. Rice EMS makes no guarantees that EMTs will receive salaries, payment, stipends, or any sort of monetary compensation. As EMTs advance within Rice EMS, they may be offered the ability to work special events for pay, coordinate the clinical aspects of the EMT-Basic and Intermediate classes, and earn stipends as members of the Rice EMS command staff; however, duty EMS personnel donate their time to enhance the safety and quality of Rice University life.