Paramedics graduated from Cypress Creek EMSac A total of 16 students graduated from Cypress Creek EMS training this week.[/caption]

Eighteen students graduated from the Cypress Creek Emergency Medical Service paramedic program on Saturday.

The ceremony, which was held at the CCEMS administration building on Five Forks Drive, is a reward for all of the time students devoted to training since the class began last April, said Rob Atripaldi, the program’s lead instructor.

Atripaldi said the students received about 1,032 hours of training, which includes classroom time and experience in a clinical environment.

Atripaldi said the program partners with local hospitals, which assign the students rotations in the emergency room, obstetric ward, intensive care unit, behavioral unit, pediatric unit and the operating room.

After the completion of the course, Atripaldi said the students take several exams to become nationally certified and are issued a license by the Texas Department of Human Services.

Eight students from this graduating class have taken and passed the exams and two are already licensed paramedics, he said.

The next paramedic course begins on May 31 and will end next year on May 28. Applications for that class are closed as the class has reached the program's 25-student cap.

Atripaldi said students who wish to join the program must be certified emergency medical technicians.

“We require [most] of them to be EMTs,” Atripaldi said, “Whether they are on an ambulance or not doesn’t concern us. Some folks have no EMT experience, just the EMT certification.”

Interested students must complete a barrage of entrance exams, which Atripaldi said inform both the applicant and the program whether the two are a good fit.

“When we bring them in, they go through initial testing,” Atripaldi said. “[We] let them know what they’re getting into, it’s not just driving in an ambulance with the lights on. There’s compassion and emotion involved with this.”

Atripaldi said it’s not uncommon for applicants to decide they are not ready for the program after learning about the commitment required.

Atripaldi said there are a few keys to success:

  • Students must be able to manage their time wisely. Atripaldi said that with the classroom and hands-on workload, it’s difficult for students to catch up after falling behind.

  • Students must make time for themselves because the program can be emotionally taxing.

  • Students should take care of personal matters—such as weddings—before the class starts, because it can be difficult to find time during the program, he said.

  • It is important for students to let their family know what their schedule is going to look like for the duration of the program.


“They are part of this process,” Atripaldi said. “You don’t have the time you used to have for them. The family needs to be informed and almost sign off on it.”