15 Best Paramedic Programs In Tucson, AZ (2022 Updated)

I started the Respiratory Therapy program in 2007, as a non-traditional student seeking some sort of career in the medical field, but having no background in medicine whatsoever. It was hands down the best decision I ever made in terms of career choices. My instructors and the Program Director were patient, knowledgeable, and so caring. I graduated and was able to find work in the field right away here in Tucson. I loved the culture at Pima Medical Institute so much that I came back 10 years later to teach, helping to educate future RTs in the field. I would recommend PMI to anyone needing more individualized attention than a university setting generally provides, as well as anyone who needs a structured school schedule that is designed to still allow for work.Samandrea Barkley

I whole heartedly recommend PMI-Tucson nursing program. This is not your typical nursing school. Yes, it is accelerated, but they care! I am a student that travels from Phoenix every week to attend school, and both the program director Mrs. Wiebelhaus and the clinical director Mrs. Morelli regularly check-in to make sure I am doing okay. When I got sick and had to miss two weeks of class, my instructors made sure I had all the notes and homework so that I did not fall behind. I have learned so much in this program, and I know I am being set up for success!Gianna Emery

PMI is a wonderful school to attend for nursing! I absolutely love my instructors, and I know they genuinely care about me and the level of education I receive. So much thought is put into each individual class, and there are many resources to reach out to if you need additional help. Mrs. Arnold and Mrs. Morelli are two instructors out of many that really put forth effort into personalized help as well as an overall rounded education, and I'm grateful that I have them and all the other instructors at PMI to lead me into my nursing career.Kat Weaver

This is not a day class, or a college course, or a scam. This is a Boot Camp led by a team who will force you to become a good EMT and have fun. Get up at 7 am to be there by 8, grab some coffee and start taking vitals and comparing homework or checking in with your group, attend lectures and complete assignments. Lots of demonstrations, videos, and the instructors tell tons of stories from their fields. I heard the most hilarious stories from Dan and Loren but everyone there has good humor and entertains while lecturing. Caleb was my favorite, the guy is so knowledgeable and concise and has a great voice. Everyone is pretty passionate about the subject matter and knows how to prevent boredom from setting in. We learn whole chapters and at a time during lectures and they give plenty of time to directly and thoroughly answering questions. After lectures, there's a lot of hands-on learning with mannequins\other people. At first it's just taking turns helping people stand up and learning how to take blood pressures or give epi but they get more and more realistic, by the end we'd get dispatched over the radio for a 911 call and have to push through a barricaded door into a dark room with music blasting and someone sobbing with open wounds or help a burn victim after an explosion. Maybe someone calls for a headache and I know that's just Nicole, but she's very good at her job so she's confused and losing consciousness and it 100% feels like a real patient having an emergency and sometimes we succeeded in saving the patient and sometimes we didn't. Every scene was a mystery and wrong decisions had consequences and it was designed to feel serious, everyone's rushing to set up the O2 tank or stop bleeds or figure out why the patient can't breathe. Jessa and Paige and John and the guy who looks kinda like Jack Black all gave us a hard time and really got in character with props and attitudes and as a theater kid myself I was impressed, they went the extra mile with everything. It was good information to have but it was fun, too. Class lasts around 12 hours but after the adrenaline and cramming and socializing, it often feels later. Get back to the hotel(a good discount is offered through Unitek) and study notes to pass your quizzes, do homework, type patient care reports. Or go to the bar with your new friends and talk about needing to study and end up getting a solid 3 hours of sleep. Tea, coffee, and hot cocoa are always available. There's always leftover lunches and dinners in the fridge as well. Lunch and dinner include a main dish, side dish, and sometimes a dessert. It's real food, too, the chicken might be kinda dry but it's no sack lunch. There's also vending machines and a nearby circle k in case you need another energy drink. It's an extremely challenging, stressful class and a lot of people wereconvinced at one point that they were going to fail or have to quit. It feels impossible to achieve everything expected for graduation and everyone has such a different background that it starts to feel hopeless at times, but the staff just push you through to the end and before you know it you're reciting all the acronyms and procedures and walking out with your certificate. The staff there are awesome, supportive, and trustworthy, everyone instructor was someone's favorite. Everyone cares a lot there. I would recommend this for anyone with determination and willingness to trust the process, regardless of skill level or experience, because they've seen it all and they've got your back. I already kinda miss it. 10\10 recommended, I'm lucky I came here.Green

It's very rare that you are thrown into a room between 40 other people who all have the same goal in mind, and who are all phenomenal individuals in their own right. Unitek was an incredible experience. The structure of the lessons and the pace of learning are very well researched and thought out. Each chapter was well involved, and the instructors left plenty of room for questions. This is, by far, the best EMT course in the nation. Everything combined made it the perfect way to learn and to push yourself. One of the other guys in the class had taken another EMT course, and had taken the NREMT, and said that he learned way more at Unitek than his other course. If you have the right attitude and determination, this course is for you.Sean Dickson

Incredible instructors. Each one has practical experience and shares that knowledge with the students. An intense course that prepares you for the EMS profession. Definitely prefer it over a longer and more drawn out course. They do an excellent job balancing lecture and hands-practice and you will come out of it prepared to work. I passed my NREMT exam on the first try because of the excellent job they do preparing you for the test. They also pay for your first two attempts and for a review service that was extremely helpful. Would 100% recommend, the instructors will do everything in their power to see you succeed and truly care about their students.Trey Holloway

Our daughter graduated from this school for EMT and she is now working full time as an EMT and is close to completing the paramedic program. We highly recommend this program not only for the first rate instructors, top notch education, but for how understanding they are of the schedules and life situations that the students have. I want to be clear the course is difficult, but with studying and effort, if you want to be a paramedic, this the best! Brief update. She finished the paramedic class and passed all her exams the first try. Great school!Karla Jensen

I just graduated from the EMT-B program and couldn't be happier with my choice to go to AAES. My lead instructor was fantastic and I learned so much in this school. When the time came to take the National Registry exam I felt extremely prepared. All of the instructors, proctors, and staff here want you to succeed. That much is obvious from day one. If you really want to succeed this is the school for you. (Also THANKS TANNER! Best teacher ever right here)Alex Moore

Beware graduation rate is very low. You don’t get much skills training which is so important when your work to save someone life. You won’t be prepared well if you graduate. Go to Phoenix college there you will get a good education.Valdez

Just visiting to get my daughter moved in for her first year. Spent the day walking around the campus. It is a nice walk with a light rain. Not too hot today. Lots of students, lots of building. The student union is fast food central with all the popular eateries present. Communication with parents could use some improvement. We expected to attend some sessions with my daughter but once we arrived we were informed it was for students only. Closing out the evening watching the marching band in their first public performance. My daughter loves the campus and is looking forward to the start of classes next week.Stacey Brewer

Went to football game and had lots of fun. But I was surprised when I found out the hard way that the concession stands don't take cash. They only take cards. It made it hard because we took cash. Luckily it was a night game because we wouldn't have been able to sit in the sun without water. Also lots of people had to go back to their cars and leave their purses and bags. Most people had their phones and car keys.Susanna Hernandez

The Arizona Sands Club is so wonderful. The atmosphere is second to none and the food is phenomenal. Chef Hogg is a master of his trade. I've never had a bad meal here. I've eaten things I never would have tried just because I know Chef combines incredible flavors. The service is top notch! Everyone is so friendly. I love coming here.Michael Tucker

Instead of allowing the girl sitting inside the old main entrance door to take my temp and let me in to go straight up the elevators and 50 ft over into the sleep dentist office far away from sick people, administration it more suitable for my safety to expose me to God knows what from the new main entrance walking over a quarter of a mile through two elevators and three different floors of patients to get there 🙁 yes after my quarter mile John through covidland I walked right by the girl I mentioned sitting at the desk trying to stay awake doing nothingMatt greenthumb

Former College of Medicine IT services employee. I just want to say… Don't work here. I'm happy to provide more details via direct message, but, just don't work here, it's not worth it. Especially not now that you can apply for so many great companies as a remote worker.Tommy Lightfoot

Open 24 hours and we were staying at the hospital, tired of cafeteria food we went at 1 am to Nico. The food was hot, good and fast. Very reasonable. I got the chicken tacos.Jessica Kennedy

I recertified here for both ACLS and PALS while on vacation from Wisconsin. The classes were both low stress but remained educational and professional. I'll probably return here in the future when this chore is due again.Blaise Vitale

Been going to Wizard Education Paramedic refresher for 14 years now. Enjoy the 6 days of classes and hands on education. Would recommend them for your paramedic recertification class.Rick Guttery

Easy to follow instructions, and it truly was a great overview. The information provided by the professors was not too much and not too little. The quizzes and final exam are great way to study for the NREMT as well. I liked that the professors gave their personal examples on the scene during lecture when going over the topic. Customer service was also extremely helpful. I had a lot of questions since this was my first time rectify my license. They answered them all and were extremely polite.Khalida Kakar

The class was very convenient. It was easy to find and purchase. Customer service was very helpful and prompt to answer questions. Our instructor was friendly and qualified. They did have to reschedule our virtual part of the course a few days before but otherwise it was a great refresher and I would definitely recommend it to others.Manny Medina

I have used EMS University for two previous NREMT recertifications and have been very satisfied with customer service, online CE, and quizzes to the VILT instructors. Thank you for making this process simple and to the point! Keep up the great work.Aria Larson

Signed up and was expecting an in person class with hands on instructors most of the time. But the course was mostly over zoom video with another class in Phoenix. I felt the zoom instructions had a lot of experience and knowledge but also felt like the Tucson class was just an afterthought for them and at one point I heard the speak about giving the Tucson student pre recorded lectures. When we did have in person instruction it’s was awesome Jeff is by far one of the best instructors I’ve ever had the pleasure of learning from. And Jannette was awesome too coming in on her own personal time to make sure we had a dedicated place to learn and also helped us practice our skills. I wouldn’t say it was a bad experience just not what I expected. Be ready to read and learn a lot of things on your own and make sure to ask lots of questions when you do have in person instructors I can’t say enough good things about Jeff and Jannette without them I feel like this would have been a terrible experience. As far as my class results we all passed the NREMT and are working in emergency service. I was hired by a fire department soon after graduating so over all I was a success for me.Adan Prescott

Customer service is top notch, all though you may get a voice mail they are very attentive and quick to reply, There were several course options and times available at a decent price. It would have been nice to have different time options but the selection of days was great. The course it self was very easy to follow, the instructor was very knowledgeable and had real life experiences that he could share so the class would be more relatable. The instructor took time to ask and answer all questions anyone had and made sure we understood the content before moving on as well as stayed on and passed along his contact info in case we had issues or questions. Will use this course again as needed and would definitely recommenced to others.wesley doyle

Website said in-classroom instruction but it's mostly Zoom based. The director was our instructor for the second day of class and apparently forgot he was supposed to be teaching because he started rambling a lot and our 5 minute breaks would turn to half hour breaks…we paid to be here to learn, not to go on 30 minute breaks or listen to your ramblings! Since I attended the course and signed the Fast-track no-refund policy before class, it waived my right to a refund. If you care about learning the information, don't attend this, at least not until they have in classroom opportunities again.Jake Brown

The cashier staff is disrespectful towards students. When I asked for a printed receipt from an online payment made I was told I wouldn’t be given one and to go to pimabursar@edu, which is not a website, it is an email address. When I pointed this out to the gentlemen to understand what exactly I needed to do, he became very aggressive and firmly stated,”I am not going to give you what you want here.” When I asked to speak to a supervisor he said he was not going to give me that either. When I asked for a supervisor’s name, again, he said he would not give me that. Then he threatened to call campus police on me. I am consistently treated like a bratty child at all of the campuses, especially by the cashier staff and the testing services staff. It’s no surprise that Pima was at risk for losing accreditation. They are not an asset to this community and teach tolerance, well as long as it’s the students tolerating their disregard of respect and decency.kah252

Pima is a school that employs mostly part time, low quality teachers. I have had teachers who opened with a rant against masturbation and insisted that we call Jamestown "the lost colony". I have had an English 102 teacher that literally never actually thought a lesson, instead making us get in groups instead of doing any work herself. I have had teachers that would throw rages at students who corrected mathematical errors. And the factually will NEVER intervene on behalf of the student's welfare. Can you get a decent education at Pima? Possibly, but you are likely to spend a year learning nothing of value form professor who are unfit to teach. Spend your time and money at a place that values education. Spend your time elsewhere.keler777

This location host Pima's adult education, refugee and paramedic programs. All these programs have outstanding staff and volunteers to support students. The buildings are an old elementary school that could use work but have been adjusted to support the program needs.Morgan Phillips

Excellent course, Dale and Wade are fantastic instructors. Class sizes are small usually 2-4 students so you will get plenty of time behind the wheel on the yard and road. Pima also gives plenty of quality handouts unlike other schools who either dont give any or are copies off a cheap copier. If you can go to Pima for your CDL do it.John Brown

The staff was excellent there. Everyone in the office was very patient and friendly. All of the trainers were very informative and took their time with the students.Adam Hilt

I went to this school around 2002. They actually gave college credit to learn to drive. I thought that was a deal breaker. I had to go. Learned a lot.Chris Monroe

Great BLS AHA class. Instructors are knowledgeable & professional yet friendly & encouraging to students. Easy directions to Training Center. Will be back for updates & recertsJacque Ballew-Prater

Took the Healthcare Provider CPR/AED refresher class. Great instructor, informative, and not boring. Bought the digital cpr/aed manual through AHA and did not need it.Jill Gibbon

My son attends the JTED program for Medical Assistant. The staff is very professional and friendly. We are excited about the training he is receiving while also being able to attend high school. This is a great head start and foot in the door for our children. This is the second child we have had attend this program and we are very greatful for their service.Allen Mims

The teachers and the administration have been very helpful to me as a mom of JTED student. Each have been very helpful and passionate about helping my daughter succeed in her program. I would recommend JTED to students in High School.Sue Stallard

Such a great knowledgeable instructor that puts on excellent refresher courses . I definitely recommend you take Jeff's class .Jon Penderghest

The front desk lady was very nice although the lady in student services whose name is Susana was very rude. She lacked customer service skills she had no warmth she didn't greet with a smile and spoke in a harsh tone of voice. I didn't do or say anything to warrant such a rude attitude. I have no clue why she was in such an unhappy mood. This made me feel very unwelcomed. At the end of the meeting I asked to have a copy of the information that I had turned in. She said no and I asked again and explained that I wanted a copy or timestamp to have proof that I turned it in since I have heard that paperwork can get lost. She refused to give it to me so I just had no other choice than to accept that and left. My interaction with Susana in student services was not at all a pleasant one. I really feel that somebody needs to give her a lesson about customer service skills.violet Madrid

Good Meeting Site! Pros: I've been to this location several times for meetings, conferences, and events. The receptionist is very friendly. The conference room is conveniently located on the 1st floor. The video screen is nice and large, and there is plenty of room for seating. The restrooms are nearby as well. This campus is clean and well maintained. Plus, it is located near downtown. There is plenty of parking as too. Cons: There are no cafes or eateries within the facility. Yes, there are restaurants nearby, but they're not conveniently located within walking distance. Be sure to bring your own snacks and/or lunch. Hence the reason for three stars.SmartSysta Knows

Apparently Pima implemented a new policy where you have to make payments or pay for you classes within DAYS of registering for the next semester. A lot of students depend on financial aid, and awards don't issue until a few weeks before or during the semester. How can they expect students who are dependent on financial aid to pay when that's why they're applying for financial aid in the first place? Pima has definitely lost tough with their student's needs since I last went there. Ridiculous!Alanna Felix