History of the Program

The Pro EMS Center for Medical Education, Development, Improvement and Clinical Simulation (MEDICS) is the only EMS educational facility in Massachusetts to be accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs (CAAHEP) upon the recommendation of the Committee on Accreditation of Educational Programs for the Emergency Medical Services Professions (CoAEMSP).

We are also accredited by Massachusetts OEMS as a Training Institution.
The Center for MEDICS received this distinction in recognition of its commitment to providing the highest standards of paramedic education.

The Center for MEDICS was established to serve as an EMS education entity with a primary focus on Professional Ambulance Service (Pro EMS) and to extend course offerings into the wider community.  Pro EMS has provided EMS services to the City of Cambridge for almost 40 years.

The Center for MEDICS Paramedic Program is currently one of the largest and best-resourced of its kind in New England, with paramedic and physician instructors from the top-performing EMS systems and academic hospitals in the state. 

Students receive the intense and profoundly educational experience that an emergency room in a classic urban setting provides. With primary clinical sites that include the teaching hospitals of Harvard Medical School, Center for MEDICS students work alongside seasoned medical doctors and registered nurses, and interact with medical, nursing, and other allied health students.
The Center for MEDICS also prides itself in the relationship we have with our community, and our reputation as a center of excellence, working hard to constantly improve, continues to grow. Paramedic students consistently serve as volunteers to help the Cambridge Department of Public Health with flu vaccinations and regularly participate in EMS drills.

The Center for MEDICS Simulation Lab has trained physicians, nurses, and paramedics from local healthcare facilities, hospitals, fire departments, and EMS agencies. Our instructors conduct classes for outside agencies - providing our paramedic interns with the opportunity to assist with instruction. 

Examples of these classes are:

• Advanced airway management courses for Harvard Medical School's third-year medical students
• Megacode team training for Harvard Medical School's Cambridge Integrated Clerkship program
• ACLS and PALS certification for all Cambridge Health Alliance hospitals and Mount Auburn Hospital
• Emergency Department orientation programs for Cambridge Health Alliance nurses
• 12 lead EKG lectures for Cambridge Health Alliance physicians, physician assistants and nurses
• Simulator-based critical care competencies for Mount Auburn CCU staff
• Specialist airway management instruction for MetroWest Medical Center physicians
• Specialist instruction in neonatal airway management to Mt. Auburn Hospital and Cambridge Health Alliance physician staff
• Initial ACLS training to Harvard Medical School's fourth-year medical students