MESA, Arizona – September 4 , 2025 – A two-day event preparing Emergency Medical Services (EMS) students for the real-life experiences they will encounter as first responders was held Aug. 29-30 at Mesa Community College on the Red Mountain Campus.

The Immersive Total Patient Management Experience (ITPME), an innovative, hands-on approach to training students for careers in paramedicine, consists of mock scenarios mirroring real-life medical emergency situations. 

The cross-disciplinary educational event, held each academic semester, “immerses paramedicine and entry-level EMS students in realistic emergency situations,” said Jamie Tate, MCC program director for Allied Health-Paramedicine. “Participants apply their medical and clinical knowledge to assess, treat and manage simulated patients, reinforcing their skills and building confidence in a high-pressure, team-based environment.”

He added that each scenario “is intentionally designed not only to challenge the paramedic students clinically but to introduce additional stressors and logistical complications for the responding rescue teams to manage.”

Seven scenarios per day include: 
● Adult patient experiencing heart attack

● Pediatric drowning

● Self-inflicted gunshot wound complicated by a language barrier with
   family/bystanders

● General illness

With whining sirens, fake blood and screaming patient volunteers, scenarios can be intense and fraught with raw emotion, Tate added. To assist the EMS students in these mock emergencies, volunteers from the college’s Allied Health, nursing, theatre and psychology departments and the Maricopa County Community College District Police act as victims, bystanders, family members and other roles as each emergency demands.

“Some scenarios are straightforward and take about 10-20 minutes to complete while others are more complex and can take 30 minutes or more to manage,” he noted.

Event staging was situated in the EMS Simulation Center with spaces designed to replicate hospital receiving and trauma bays, fast-track units and triage areas. 

Community support for the ITPME event came from  American Medical Response Ambulance, Maricopa Ambulance and Grand Canyon University.

MCC offers new simulators for realistic experience
Students also benefited from the center’s newest feature–two EMS ambulance simulators that arrived in early July, adding true-to-life training to its EMS program. “MCC leads Arizona in offering this valuable experience to our students, giving us an advantage in our EMS course offerings,” said Michael Pennington, MCC Allied Health department faculty chair. 

Full-scale replicas of real ambulances, the simulators were purchased with Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education grant funds. They are fully equipped with gurneys, airway management tools, defibrillators and other life-saving devices. The simulators also feature hydraulics that mirror driving conditions causing the interior to move and respond as an ambulance normally would on the road.

“Students get to practice assessment, treatment and transport in a life-like setting closely resembling emergency scenes they’ll face in the field,” Pennington said, adding that they provide a safe, hands-on and controlled environment for common, rare and high-risk situations. “They can make mistakes and learn from them immediately, sharpen their decision-making and reduce errors during actual emergencies.

“The realistic set-up, hydraulic movement, tight spaces and genuine equipment mimics the stresses and spatial challenges of working inside a moving ambulance, preparing students for the real deal.”  

Visit the MCC website for more information about the EMS program.

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Media Contact: Dawn Zimmer, dawn.zimmer@mesacc.edu, 480-461-7892

Mesa Community College (MCC), which is celebrating its 60th anniversary during 2025, is nationally recognized for its excellence in university transfer, career and technical programs, civic engagement, and innovative education. Serving more than 25,500 students annually, MCC offers a range of degree and certificate programs across its two campuses and additional locations. MCC students contribute more than 8,500 hours of community service annually. MCC serves as a key resource for education, workforce development, and lifelong learning. The college enhances student success through Guided Pathways with Integrated Support Services. A Hispanic Serving Institution, nearly 50% of MCC students are first-generation college attendees, and it boasts the largest Indigenous student population among Maricopa County Community College District (MCCCD) colleges, supporting students from 22 Arizona tribes and additional out-of-state tribes. Our award-winning faculty are committed to helping students achieve their goals through high-quality education, training and undergraduate research opportunities. Located in the East Valley of Phoenix, Arizona, MCC is one of 10 MCCCD colleges. Learn more at mesacc.edu/newsroom.

MCC is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission (HLC), hlcommission.org.

The Maricopa County Community College District (MCCCD) is an EEO institution and an equal opportunity employer of protected veterans and individuals with disabilities. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, or national origin. A lack of English language skills will not be a barrier to admission and participation in the career and technical education programs of the District. MCCCD does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, disability or age in its programs or activities. For Title IX/504 concerns, call the following number to reach the appointed coordinator: (480) 731-8499. For additional information, as well as a listing of all coordinators within the Maricopa College system, visit www.maricopa.edu/non-discrimination.