TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (WIAT) — Tuscaloosa City Council officially approved a partnership plan with the University of Alabama's Capstone College of Nursing.
With this possibility, nursing students will get real-world experience as they work alongside paramedics.
Heather Gann is a junior UA nursing student who wants to be a flight paramedic. She's excited to participate in the program.
"I feel like this is a great opportunity for nursing students," Gann said. "You're not going to get all the learning and growth [from just textbooks] so I think it will help me a lot."
Kim Parker, a clinical assistant professor at the Capstone College of Nursing, is also glad students will have a chance to get real job experience while in school.
"We are excited about offering the opportunity to do prehospital nursing, to show them what it looks like before that patient comes into the emergency room so they can see and know what to expect and what happened before the patient came in," Parker said.
Tuscaloosa Fire Department's EMS Chief Chris Holloway says 30 nursing students will participate in the program. Holloway says this will be a great experience to see how paramedics provide care to patients in emergencies.
"Even though nurses typically do not operate in the pre-hospital, it's going to benefit them so much to come and ride with us and see what we do," Holloway said. "Because when that nurse ends up working in the ER they will know what happened before they get there."
Tuscaloosa Fire and Rescue, Northport Fire Department and Northstar Ambulance will be a part of the program, which will start in September.