Frequently Asked Questions
Q: How do I register for a course?
A: Select the tab corresponding to the campus and schedule that you are interested in attending. Scroll down and pick the start date for that course you want to register for and select the ENROLL NOW tab. Create your profile and pay for the course. If the link says “FULL/WAITLIST” you can add yourself to the waitlist. See below about what being on the waitlist means. Registration is done online only.
Q: By when do I need to submit payment for the course that I registered for?
A: As stated in the CIEMT course catalog, a minimum deposit of $200 is due by 10 business days prior to the start date of the course you are registered for. The remainder is due by the start date of the course. You can make payments in any increments that you wish, so long as the previously stated conditions are met. If the deposit is not made before ten working days prior to the start date of the course, you will be removed from registration. See the CIEMT Course Catalog for current pricing.
Q: How will I know that I am confirmed in a course?
A: You will receive an e-mail confirmation at the time of registration, however, your spot in the class is not secured until a payment has been received. If you receive a receipt of payment from Paypal or other Credit Card payment method, then your registration is confirmed. If you send a money order or personal check, as soon as we receive it you are confirmed in the course. Aside from the initial registration confirmation and course information packet, CIEMT does not send out any other emails or mailings regarding your enrollment. You will receive course documents and more information on the first day of class.
Q: What do I need to bring on the first day?
A: Bring your note-taking stuff, dress appropriately for the CPR training (considered a Skills day, see dress code question below) and bring the $40 cash if you need a CPR card to be issued to you from us. If you already have a CPR card, bring it with you so we can make sure it’s the proper level, and take a copy for your file. Bring a copy of your high school diploma to add to your file as well. (See question regarding prerequisites for the course for more info on that)
Q: Do you offer financial aid?
A: Our courses are too short to qualify students for federal aid. However, we will accept payment from any organization that offers student scholarships, so long as the payment is made out to CIEMT in the exact tuition amount.
Q: What are the prerequisites for the EMT course?
A. The only prerequisites for the course are a high school diploma and a CPR card. We will need a copy of your high school diploma. An unofficial transcript will suffice as well, so long as it states the month and year you graduated. A college diploma or transcript will work too. The CPR training is done on the first day of the class you are registered for, you do not need to complete that training prior.
Q: How long do the courses take?
A: All courses are 21 total days of instruction. The night courses are all four weeks. The morning courses meet three days a week and last for seven weeks. The Wilson campus in Hawthorne has a schedule that is given over nine weeks. To find the last day of any course, simply count 21 days of scheduled instruction from the start date.
Q: Where is the Wilson Campus?
A: The Wilson Campus is located in the city of Hawthorne, near the LAX airport, at: 13933 Crenshaw Blvd. Hawthorne CA 90250.
Q: When do I take the CPR/AED prerequisite?
A: Right after going over the rules and enrollment agreement on the start date of each course, CIEMT runs an AHA CPR/AED course. If you’re enrolled in the EMT course, you’re automatically enrolled in the CPR training. If you do not have a current CPR card from previous training, you will pay an extra $40 as a CIEMT student (discounted from the non-student rate of $65), and a card will be issued to you upon successful completion of the training. If you have an acceptable CPR card (AHA Healthcare Provider or Red Cross Professional Rescuer), you will still undergo the CPR training with the other students on the first day, but you do not have to pay for it and will not be issued a new card from us.
Q: How do I pay for the course?
A: There are several different ways to pay for the course. If you wish to pay with a credit card, you may do so via the CIEMT web site after you complete the registration form. You may also pay through PayPal, with check, cash or money order. You may send the check or money order to our main campus office at 2669 Myrtle Ave. #201 Signal Hill, CA 90755, or pay via cash at the office. (Please note on the check or money order the course start date and the registered students full name).
Q: How do I pay just the deposit?
A: You may pay the deposit via the CIEMT web site after you complete the registration form. You may also pay through PayPal, with check, cash or money order. You may send the check or money order to our main campus office at 2669 Myrtle Ave. #201 Signal Hill, CA 90755, or pay via cash at the office. (Please note on the check or money order the course start date and the registered students full name).
Q: Can a student be absent for class?
A: The short answer is no. This is a certification course and students are required to complete a specific amount of hours. All course material is vital to your training and no part of the course can be missed. However, students are given the opportunity to make-up ONE missed non-mandatory lecture class meeting. The hours must be remediated at a rate of $35 / hour. Of the twenty-one days of instruction, six days are considered mandatory and are not eligible for make-up for any reason, those days being skills practical days and review days.
Q: How do I get certified?
A: Once you successfully complete the program, you must take the State Certification exam (National Registry Exam). This is done at a separate testing facility. See the NREMT website, a link to it is on the bottom of our homepage. After passing the exam, you will take your NREMT card, your completion certificate from the EMT course, and your CPR card, after having completed the LiveScan background check, to the local EMS agency and make application for certification. Each county has and EMS agency, pick one. There is also a link to LA County’s EMS Agency’s website on the bottom of our homepage.
Q: When can I take the NREMT exam?
A: Right away after your course is over!!! If you wait over two weeks to take the exam your chances of passing are greatly diminished. It’s a computer based exam that you will take at a Pearson View testing center. There are several in the L.A. County area. Make sure that you are registered and paid for the exam before the end of your course to ensure timely authorization from CIEMT to sit the exam.
Q: What is the dress code?
A: Clothes would be good. The only dress code for class is that flip flops or short skirts are not permitted on skills days. There is, however, a dress code for your clinical ride-alongs. The ambulance company that you choose will dictate exactly what you will need to wear.
Q: With whom and when do we do our clinical ride-alongs?
A: You will choose from several ambulance companies that CIEMT is contracted with to perform your ride-alongs. These are scheduled outside of class time, at the discretion of the ambulance company, with regard to availability. You must have them completed by the designated date for your course, which will be set by the CIEMT program director. If the clinical hours and contacts have not been completed by the designated date the student will not complete the course.
Q: What do I need to do to renew my EMT certification? (Continuing Education)
A: Okay, here’s how it works. In California, for most positions, you are not required to renew your NREMT card. (If you want to, you can. This will require three times as many CE hours, which will increase the cost greatly). You must renew your state certification that you applied for through your local county EMS agency. State certifications are renewed every two years and require 24 hours of CE (continuing education) and a skills validation exam. You may do that by coming to any 3 of our regular lecture classes (7 hrs each, the schedules are available at the bottom of the CE page on our website) and then attending our 6 hour CE and Skills Testing session that is given at the end of each month (times and dates are available under the CE link on the website). Another option is the 24hour Refresher course given over 4 consecutive days, every other month, at our campus in Hawthorne, which includes the CPR training, 24 hours of CE’s, a Skills Validation, and the current LA County Scope of Practice. If your cert is expired, you cannot work as an EMT, but you can still renew by doing the following:
Up to 6 months expired: 24hrs CE and a skills validation (same requirements as a timely renewal)
6mo-12mo expired: 36hrs CE plus the skills validation.
12mo-forever expired: 48hrs CE plus a skills validation, and retake the NREMT
Q: What if I want to renew my NREMT?
A: You would need to complete the 24hr Refresher Course (We provide this course at our Wilson campus in Hawthorne, which includes CPR/AED training and a skills validation) plus 16hrs more of continuing education at our Long Beach Campus or you may do all 40 hours (CE and Skills Testing) at our Long Beach Campus. That’s 40 hours of CE’s in total. Please remember 20 hours out of the 40 hours must be in specific subjects. You can find those hours on the NREMT web site.
Q: How much does it cost to complete a typical renewal?
A: Each lecture class is $30 to attend, and the skills review and testing is $85. Therefore, a typical (not expired more than 6 months) renewal would cost you $175. If you need more CE hours, just do the math. The Refresher Course is $180, including the CPR/AED training and skills validation.
Q: What does it mean if a course is says “FULL/WAITLIST” before the start date?
A: This means that regular registration for that start date is full. You cannot register online for a course that is full. You can, however, be entered into the waitlist. To be put on the wait list you must use the FULL/WAITLIST link and electronically enter your full name, address and phone number. Here’s the way the waitlist works: 10 business days (about 2 weeks) prior to the start date of the course, students that have not paid at least the minimum deposit forfeit their seats. Those seats become available to students on the waitlist. We will email the waitlist about available spots all at the same time. You must then be able to go online and pay the tuition amount or minimum deposit immediately. When the available seats are filled the site will go back to waitlist mode.
Q: What are my chances of getting into a course off the wait list?
A: Typically 8-12 students are added off the waitlist for each class. It is first-come, first served. The odds of getting in from the waitlist depends less on how many students are ahead of you on the list, and more on how many of those students actually answered and were able to pay immediately. If the prospective student does not answer or can not pay immediately we will give the next person on the list the opportunity to get into the course.
Q: How long is the wait list?
A: It varies, but it’s not so much a matter of how long the waitlist is, as much as it is a matter of how readily available the students are when it comes time to contact them. When we leave a message for someone, we immediately move on to the next prospective student. See the above question.
Q: Can I ‘crash’ a course that is full?
A. Only at the Signal Hill (Long Beach) campus can you attempt to add a course by crashing. If you were not able to be added to a course from the waitlist, you may still be able to get in. Come early to the scheduled start time, and put your name on the crash list. If anyone that is paid for the course does not show up on the first day, they forfeit their seats to students that are trying to crash. The crash list is first-come, first-served. You will need to be prepared to pay the full tuition amount with cash, credit card or money order if you are offered a seat in the course.