Canadian College of Emergency Medical Services

We started our company as the Canadian First Aid School in 1986-87. When we first started teaching first aid and CPR we used the Red Cross method of First Aid. It was a good programme, but didn't meet the specific needs of our unique clients. In 1987 we sought our own approval for first aid training with Alberta Occupational Health and Safety, under an equivalency process they offered.

In the early 1990's we incorporated to become the Canadian First Aid School Corporation. Our courses were offered in many locations across Alberta, and we also taught overseas for International Clients, primarily due to our ability to specialise course content.

In the early 1990's we contracted SAIT to provide us with EMT training. We hosted several private courses and help graduate our earliest EMT's with SAIT's assistance. In 1996 we received approval to offer our own EMT courses, approved by the Alberta Health Disciplines Board in conjunction with the (then) Alberta Prehospital Professions Association (APPA). From that till approximately 2010 we provided hundreds of EMT's their training. Our EMT courses were full-time offerings and we graduated students who continually demonstrated top marks in provincial exams. Our students also had a very high rate of being employed in the field quickly upon graduation.
1998 - We received approval to offer the new EMR programme, and graduated thousands of students in this area of training. We were the first school to combine EMR and Advanced First Aid certification together for our grads. This allowed them to work in industry, and/or to apply for provincial testing and subsequent registration. The EMR programme offered at that time was supposed to be a "bridge" programme only towards EMT. It was never intended to be a stand-alone level of training, as Alberta was in serious need of EMT's and not enough schools were offering it.

Also in 1997-98 we received approval to teach the EMT-Paramedic course. Our approval was for the longest full-time course ever offered in Alberta. Our Alumni completed 23-25 straight months of full-time education, 3 - 3 month practicums and tested in the top places in Alberta. Our Paramedic alumni hold many management and supervisory position in Alberta to this day, with several in Medical Schools as Physicians.

2010 - After many differences of opinion with the Alberta College of Paramedics about accreditation and course approvals, we voluntarily withdrew our EMR and EMT programmes from the Approved Programmes List with the Health Disciplines Board.
It was a very difficult decision to downsize, but the "climate" at that time was challenging for all private schools offering EMS programmes.
Since that time, we've focused on our continuing role as a provider of EMS for Special Events, something we've done since our beginnings in 1987. We've also been providing Paramedics and EMT's to industrial sites for clinic work.
Our training has been focused on First Aid, CPR, and speciality certificate courses offered in conjunction with the NAEMT in the USA. This connexion with the NAEMT since 1997 has allowed us to offer their educational courses. This includes PreHospital Trauma Life Support (PHTLS), Advanced Medical Life Support (AMLS), Emergency Paediatric Care (EPC), and most recently the Tactical Combat Casualty Care (TCCC) Course.

We have a more extensive history with Dentistry, Athletics, and Militaries around the world. We've provided quality education and training to these specialty groups for many years, and continue to do so.

Feel free to email me if you'd like further information about our organisation. Thank you for taking the time to visit our Facebook Page.

Greg Clarkes, EMT-P, NRP, MICP
Paramedic/Owner