Patient care hours · Guide

Do volunteer EMT hours count for PA school?

By The Prereq Club, a pre-PA student and her mom (not PAs or admissions advisers). Every program rule below names its source and the month we checked it: October 2026.

Short answer

At some programs yes, at others no. CASPA lists EMT work as patient care experience, but it doesn't settle paid versus volunteer. Programs do. Albany Medical College accepts volunteer hours. UNC Chapel Hill counts only paid patient care. UW MEDEX counts volunteer EMT work only in an all-volunteer emergency service.

Where volunteer EMT hours go on CASPA

Not under "Volunteer." CASPA's Volunteer category is for work "done outside of the health care field," like Habitat for Humanity. EMT is one of CASPA's examples of Patient Care Experience, meaning work where you are directly responsible for a patient's care. CASPA also says each program's definitions vary, so the category you choose doesn't decide whether a program counts the hours.

Three programs, side by side

ProgramVolunteer EMT hoursEMT course hoursMinimum hours
Albany Medical College
page checked Oct 2026		Can count (volunteer OK if in a licensed health care setting)Don't count1,000
UNC Chapel Hill
Jan 2027 entry cycle		Don't count (paid only)Don't count1,000
UW MEDEX Northwest
2026–27		Only if your service is all-volunteerDon't count2,000

UW MEDEX's exact rule: experience must be paid, and "the only exception is work as a paramedic or EMT when all emergency services are provided only on an all-volunteer basis." Rules shown are for the cycle named; check each page again when your cycle's requirements post.

What about the EMT course itself?

An EMT course takes real time. Utah's EMS handbook, for example, says its EMT course is at least 120 hours and notes that the National EMS Education Standards recommend at least 150. But at the four programs we checked, the clinical time inside the course doesn't count: Albany, UNC, UW MEDEX and Yale all exclude experience gained as part of your schooling or training. Count hours from your first shift on a crew.

If you volunteer, do this

  1. Check every program on your list for the words "paid," "volunteer" and "training." Note the cycle and the date you checked.
  2. Know your agency's setup. If you apply to a program like UW MEDEX, find out whether your service is entirely volunteer, and say so in your CASPA job description.
  3. Log volunteer and paid shifts separately, so you can see your total at a paid-only program and at a program that counts both.
  4. If a page doesn't say, email the program before you plan your hours around it.

Free: the Patient Care Hours Starter Kit. A 3-step check for whether a job counts at your schools, CASPA's categories on one page, and a simple hours log. Built from the same program pages as this guide.

Get the free kit →

Quick answers

Do volunteer EMT hours count as patient care experience?

CASPA lists EMT work as patient care experience, but each program decides about volunteer hours. Albany Medical College accepts volunteer hours, UNC Chapel Hill counts only paid patient care, and UW MEDEX counts volunteer EMT work only in an all-volunteer emergency service.

Should I put volunteer EMT under Volunteer on CASPA?

No. CASPA's Volunteer category is for work outside the health care field. EMT work is one of CASPA's examples of Patient Care Experience.

Do EMT course clinical hours count?

Not at the programs we checked. Albany, UNC Chapel Hill, UW MEDEX and Yale exclude experience gained as part of schooling or training.

Sources (all opened October 2026)

Rules can change from one cycle to the next. Before you count on any of this, check each program's own admissions page or email the program. This guide is educational only and isn't admissions advice.