Whether it's a bicycle collision or difficulty breathing, the UA community can count on quick help from students trained and certified as EMTs.
 
The University of Arizona Student Emergency Medical Services, or UASEMS, group has been operational for three semesters and provides assistance in medical emergencies. Its leaders emphasize thorough training and certification.
 
"We're students at the UA who happen to be EMTs. We're not student EMTs," says Derek Smith, manager of UA Student Emergency Medical Services and a non-degree-seeking graduate student.
 
When Brandon Murphy arrived at the UA three years ago, he didn't find any options for students to work in EMS on campus. He met up with two other students – who've since graduated – to begin brainstorming a program that students could run. They looked at other universities that have student EMS programs and modeled a club after the best practices they found around the country. It took two years to work through the administration and risk management officials, but they were able to start as a club with ASUA funding and began responding in spring 2012.
 
UASEMS switched to funding from the student service fee and began expanding hours in fall 2012. As the fall progressed, the group did too, taking on additional days until they were operating from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. seven days a week.
 
UASEMS this year was the sole EMS provider at the Tucson Festival of Books, saving the festival $4,000 by not using the Tucson Fire Department. UASEMS also works stand-by at Spring Fling, football games and tailgating and when requested for special events, like the Susan G. Komen Race For The Cure.
 
"Anything that occurs on campus, we can be there," Murphy says. "Our members do get put into emergencies where they're the only person there, so we make sure they're held to the same certification. We weren't going to settle for a CPR certification or anything else. We make sure everyone has state certification."
 
UASEMS finished the semester with 32 student members, most of whom are certified Emergency Medical Technicians, with the same Arizona training and certification as a Southwest Basic Life Support Ambulance. Two EMTs staff each 12-hour shift, sometimes along with an additional Certified First Responder, and typically respond to at least two calls for service. On its busiest day, UASEMS responded to 12 calls in a 24-hour period.
 
Common calls for service deal with fall victims, injuries from pedestrian, bicycle or vehicle collisions and respiratory distress.
 
"It's part of our emergency mission to provide a quick, rapid response and be the first to provide care until further medical care arrives," Murphy says.
 
By checking vital signs and reporting to paramedics, the student EMTs can eliminate a step and save valuable time if a patient needs to be taken to a hospital.
 
"There are calls where we take the blood pressure while waiting for TFD and give the information right to them so they can load and go. They appreciate it," Murphy says.
 
Many students join out of an interest in a future medical career, some have even gone on to medical school already, while others are considering EMT as a career. Interest is growing; the group has received 80 applications since the fall that they haven't been able to accept. They're hoping to take on as many as 10 in the fall and hope to expand to providing EMS service around the clock, seven days as week.
 
UASEMS has a golf cart and two bicycles, all equipped with emergency gear. UAPD ride-alongs are a mandatory part of the orientation, which includes 20 hours of vigorous bike training and instruction on bloodborne pathogens and health privacy laws. The members participate in monthly continuing education courses and perform mock drills during the week.
 
"It's real-life, in-the-field experience they can't get shadowing somebody in a hospital," says Murphy, a junior in communications from New Jersey. "Here, you're set to a standard and you have a responsibility. That is your patient until further medical attention arrives."

Thanks to the service-oriented nature of the University of Arizona community, the institution has for years been one of the nation's top-raking producers of Peace Corps volunteers.

And that's not all. The UA also ranked second on the newly released Peace Corps' 2013 list of top Paul D. Coverdell Fellows programs, which are administered at institutions across the nation.

For Peace Corps volunteers returning to the U.S. states, the Coverdell Fellows program provides them with scholarships, academic credit and other support toward a graduate degree. In addition to their studies, fellows are able to complete internships in underserved communities in the U.S.

"The University of Arizona has established an impressive record of top rankings in the Paul D. Coverdell Fellows program,” Janet Allen, the Peace Corps West Coast regional manager, said in a prepared release.

Today, 52 returned Peace Corps volunteers are enrolled in the UA's 12-year-old Coverdell Fellows program. Since 2001, 159 UA students have completed the program.

"I had the honor of meeting this year's Fellows cadre during the UA's Peace Corps Week," Allen also noted. "They bring an impressive wealth of Peace Corps experience to their graduate work and a strong service ethic to the UA and the greater Tucson community – it's a win for everyone."

Other institutions that made the top producing list for the Coverdell Fellows programs include the University of Denver, Johns Hopkins University and Brandeis University.

"Every year, hundreds of Peace Corps volunteers make a difference by combining meaningful service with graduate studies through Peace Corps' Master's International and Coverdell Fellows programs," Peace Corps Deputy Director Carrie Hessler-Radelet said in a statement.

"After completing Peace Corps service, volunteers return to the United States as global citizens, with leadership, cross-cultural understanding and language and technical skills that position them for success in today's global job market," Hessler-Radelet also noted.

Since 1961, a total of 1,147 UA alumni have served in the Peace Corps, with 41 currently serving overseas.

Holly Bryant, who served as a community health volunteer before becoming a fellow at the UA, said her classroom-based education was greatly reinforced through her service work.

"This allowed me to test the limits of my comfort zones and my knowledge as it is applied in the real world," said Bryant, a student in the UA Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health.

"Flexibility is the key, being able to move with the flow of what's happening in the moment," said Bryant, who served in Uganda from 2008 to 2010. "These traits were integral during my Peace Corps service."

The University of Arizona Eller College of Management's internationally recognized MBA program will be available online beginning this fall. Applications for the program now are being accepted.

"Business schools need to be responsive to the changing needs of their students, and we are committed to offering many modes of graduate business education," said Len Jessup, dean of the Eller College. "Making the MBA program more flexible for highly qualified students is part of our broader effort to expand access to the University of Arizona and will go a long way toward increasing its footprint in Arizona and beyond."

Hope Schau, associate dean of Eller MBA programs, added, "Offering our program in an online format opens it up to a new segment of students. We pride ourselves on meeting the needs of highly qualified students at all stages of their careers, and this new offering reflects that commitment."

With a focus on innovation, application and communication, the Eller MBA experience is designed to give graduates what they need to effectively lead in today's changing global marketplace. Like its full-time, evening and executive MBA formats, the Eller online MBA program is fully accredited by the International Association for Management Education.

The UA has chosen Academic Partnerships, or AP, one of the largest representatives of public universities' online learning in the United States, to help convert the program into an online format, recruit students and support student retention efforts. AP will work closely with Eller faculty to ensure that the new online degree program maintains the highest educational standards.

The company also will use its integrated marketing and branding strategies to extend the University's reach, increasing the enrollment of highly qualified students.

The UA's new online MBA program will begin in September 2013. Click here to apply or learn more about the program.
 
The Eller College is internationally recognized for pioneering research, innovative curriculum, distinguished faculty, excellence in management information systems, entrepreneurship and social responsibility. U.S. News & World Report ranks the Eller undergraduate program No. 14 among public business schools and three of its programs are among the top 20 – entrepreneurship, MIS and management. 

U.S. News & World Report ranks the Eller MBA full-time program No. 44 in the U.S. and No. 21 among public business schools. The college leads the nation's business schools in generating grant funds for research.

In addition to a full-time MBA program, the Eller College offers an evening MBA program and the Eller Executive MBA. The Eller College supports approximately 5,700 undergraduate and 700 graduate students on the UA campus.

Academic Partnerships helps universities convert their traditional degree programs into an online format, recruits qualified students and supports enrolled students through graduation. Serving more than 40 public institutions, AP is one of the largest representatives of public universities' online learning in the United States. 

The company was founded by social entrepreneur Randy Best, an 18-year veteran of developing innovative learning solutions to improve education. AP is guided by the principle that the opportunities presented through distance learning make higher education more accessible and achievable for students in the U.S. and globally.