For 12 months, Karem Scott-Kotb’s schedule felt like an endless routine he couldn’t escape.
He worked a 24-hour shift at the fire station. Went home for a few hours to sleep. Woke up and dragged himself to class. Returned home. Slept. Woke up. Went to a 12-hour clinical.
The cycle then repeated for the remaining 51 weeks of 2015.
“You just are a zombie,” Scott-Kotb said. “You don't have time to do anything else.”
That zombie schedule came as a result of Scott-Kotb, who is currently an assistant chief for Alachua County Fire Rescue, simultaneously attending Santa Fe College’s paramedic program and working 48 hours a week for ACFR.
“But was I a good paramedic after Santa Fe?” Scott-Kotb said. “Absolutely.”
Now, ACFR is partnering with Santa Fe to launch a fast-track paramedic certificate program. The program, the first of its kind in the state, will allow students to place their full focus on school instead of struggling to balance working at the department and studying as a student.
The program aims to quickly get medics in service, addressing the personnel shortages within ACFR. Agencies statewide are struggling with a lack of qualified paramedics, ACFR Chief Harold Theus said.
“With the growth of fire rescue, it's been harder and harder to find individuals who are fully trained to fill the vacancies that we have,” Theus said.
Although many firefighters are cross-trained as paramedics, the two roles differ in training intensity and focus. Firefighters mainly suppress fires and perform rescue operations, while paramedics provide advanced life support — stabilizing and transporting ill or injured patients.
The pressures of retiring service members and expanding medical units over the past few years pushed ACFR leadership to find a solution that could speed the process of adding new medics, Theus said.
The fire department will sponsor 12 employees to attend school full time and maintain their $48,426 base salary as an entry-level firefighter emergency medical technician. Salaries vary depending on pay raises and seniority.
If employees succeed in the program, their pay could be increased up to $67,000 — an $8,500 base paramedic incentive and another $10,000 if promoted to a lead paramedic.
“We're doing all we can to invest in our employees,” Theus said, “ultimately so they can provide a better service to the public.”
In partnership with Santa Fe, the program will “prepare entry-level paramedics within a condensed academic timeframe,” said Thomas Ackerman, the director of Santa Fe’s Institute of Public Safety, via email.
Starting Aug. 17, students will complete a traditionally 12-month program in eight months. They will attend class and lab on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m., then clinicals on Tuesdays and Thursdays for a 12-hour shift, according to Theus.
During class, students will gain medical science knowledge that will help them quickly assess and treat life-threatening conditions, according to an article from UCLA Prehospital Care and Ackerman’s description. In the lab, trainees will apply the information in a safe, stable environment where mistakes are OK, according to Ackerman.
However, in clinical, the students will be interacting with real patients, and the consequences of mistakes are dire.
Success will be defined by how many paramedics pass the National Registry of Emergency Medical Technicians paramedic examination — the final certification exam. If pass rates are high, Santa Fe may consider establishing a recurring program.
“Although I'm optimistic that it will become a recurring program, our experience with the first cohort will inform our decision,” Ackerman said. “We will listen, learn and adapt as needed.”
The program is rigorous, but Santa Fe has implemented the necessary support systems to foster students’ success, retention and well-being, Ackerman said.
Faculty are good at hand-holding, he said. Instructors are either actively working in the field or are retired service members, giving students relevant EMS insight and practical mentorship.
One-on-one tutoring, provided through Santa Fe’s Learning Commons, will also be available to provide extra help, Ackerman said. Trainees will be in discussion with the college and ACFR about how they are managing the workload.
“The goal is not to eliminate people,” Scott-Kotb said. “The goal is to have 12 start and 12 pass.”
Scott-Kotb approached Michael Anderson, Santa Fe’s associate director of emergency medical services programs, in August 2025 and began discussing the nuts and bolts of the program in September. ACFR has been sending its employees to Santa Fe’s EMT and paramedic school for years.
ACFR Lt. Sarah Powell, who has worked as a paramedic for seven years, helps train paramedic students during their clinicals. She said there is a clear distinction when a paramedic is considered great.
“These students come in, and they learn to look at an entire big picture,” she said, “and then be that voice of reason and that calming presence for people when they're really stressed out.”
In the field, knowledge is not the only thing that matters, she said.
“What really sets a good medic apart from a great medic is a great medic truly cares,” she said.
It’s about going the extra mile, Powell said, not just about doing everything by the book.
“They pour their heart and soul into it. They treat the patient as if it was their own family member,” she said. “They go above and beyond to be helpful and to care.”
Raven Miranda is a contributing writer for The Alligator.
