Cookeville Paramedic Class Exceeds National Average In Exam

Vol State’s Cookeville paramedic class completed its national registry exam with a 92 percent first attempt pass rate.

The rate nationally is 69 percent. Paramedic Instructor Karen Billingsley said this is the type of success she expects from the Cookeville class.

Billingsley said she is proud to see the class complete their journey after times when it would have been easy to give up.

“It is a very hard career, it’s taxing physically, emotionally,” Billingsley said. “For these students to want to get out into their communities and care for these sick and injured patients and you watch how they evolve.”

Billingsley said that many students already work full-time in EMS, while fitting in 600 hours of clinical time and 16 hours of class time a week. She said these future paramedics have become the Swiss Army knife of first responders, having skills ranging from cardiology to delivering a baby.

“The students here in Cookeville always give 110 percent,” Billingsley said. “They pushed forward when they felt like giving up and they’re just an excellent group of students that have their heart into their career and they did everything and anything they had to in order to pass.”

Billingsley said the class passed the physical exam with a 100 percent pass rate. That is the psychomotor exam, where they perform six different hands on skills in front of state evaluators.