Paula J.

Johnson
Statement of Purpose:
Colorado State University; Graduate Specialization Adult Education
and Training
As a representative of higher education in southern West Virginia for the
last twelve years, I have been dedicated to developing competency and
confidence in the minds of many adults seeking a career in the field of
emergency medical services. It is with this passion that I must continue to lead
by example and expand my personal education to show others that regardless
of lifes obstacles, anyone can succeed and become a force for change and
innovation.
At 18 years of age, I was enthralled with a vision of my future as a
professional educator. Sadly, three days prior to enrolling, my father, hypoxic
and exhibiting an altered mentation, was rushed to the emergency department
and later diagnosed with lung cancer. My grandmother, with her antiquated
views of women in society, believed that I had no business leaving for school
and that my place was beside my mother. Respectfully, I reminded her that
my father would never stand for me giving up the chance at a future well
beyond his as a high school dropout and a minimum wage employee.
My time at Concord University was phenomenal. The professors and their
courses were enriching and provided me with an escape from the concern
about my fathers health and his chemotherapy treatments. Unfortunately, in
April of my freshman year, my father succumbed to his battle with cancer. Lost
and broken from the death of my father, I trudged on working as a Resident
Advisor to help pay for school, desperate to find my direction and purpose.
As life would have it, while on duty in the residence hall I encountered a
young woman attempting to commit suicide. As the initial responder rendering
first aid and a listening ear I found a sense of fulfillment I hadnt known. It was
then that I knew why my fathers death affected me beyond the obvious. I felt
as though I shouldve known he was critically ill in the months leading up to his
hospitalization. I wanted to know more. I wanted to learn about
pathophysiology. I wanted to seek the knowledge to impact the lives of others
in a way that I wasnt able to for my father. I enrolled in a local EMT class in
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addition to my college courses and inevitably left college to follow my new

found passion of helping my community in a meaningful way.
After four years of honing my craft, I found a way to marry my fascination
of education with my passion for service. By educating other pre-hospital
providers on proper patient care modalities, I was able to positively affect the
lives of many more patients than I ever could as a singular practitioner of
emergency services. I created my higher purpose in life.
I was met with opposition from many when I began my career as an
educator of emergency services at Mountain State University twelve years ago,
because I had not been a Paramedic for very long. However, that opposition
proved to be my ally, pushing and driving me forward. I re-examined those skills
I learned in college and built upon them to enrich the lives of my students.
Referred to as a chameleon, I constantly seek new ways to excite and stimulate
the men and women of rural West Virginia so they can meet their personal goals
of becoming a professional advanced pre-hospital provider.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the Health
Resources & Services Administration published in 1996 a federally funded
position paper created by the National Association of EMS Physicians and the
National Association of State EMS Directors, entitled EMS Agenda for the
Future. This paper addressed the need for a unified standard of EMS education
across the U.S. and accreditation of quality education programs. Ultimately this
lead to the creation of the EMS Education Agenda for the Future: A Systems
Approach and the National EMS Education Standards in 1998. In 2006, to ease
the transition to the new Education Standards (slated to be mandatory by Jan.
1, 2013), the former WV State EMS Director, Mark King required his Program
Directors to complete a State Accreditation process that mirrored the
Committee of Accreditation of EMS Education Programs (CoAEMSP), a branch
of the Commission of Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs
(CAAHEP). Proudly, I was the first Program Director in the State to complete this
process and earn his recognition. The experienced gained from this process
afforded me to be a key player in the initial CAAHEP accreditation of EMS
Education at New River Community and Technical College in 2012.
Additionally in 2006, to solidify my leadership to the field of EMS Education
and the dedication to my pursuits, I became involved with the National
Association of EMS Educators (NAEMSE). The Association is dedicated to
promote excellence in EMS education and lifelong learning within the global
community. I have participated in its national symposiums to network with
other educators from across the nation and learned techniques developed for
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positive outcomes in my unique field. From the beginning, I was involved in the
work of two subcommittees; the Research Committee, and most recently the
Educational Technology Committee. By participating in the Educational
Technology Committee, I hope to learn and consequently promote new
techniques to deliver EMS education to rural West Virginia. Most recently, I gave
a presentation during a monthly meeting of the Educational Technology
Committee regarding Web Based Solutions for Lesson Plan Development. At
its completion, I had earned support in petitioning publication of my article
devoted to this topic in their national publication series called Domain.
At this point in my career, I am seeking new challenges. Emergency
Medical Services is in danger. Nationwide we are experiencing a depletion in
the number of Paramedics to serve our communities as men and women seek
out other allied health fields. West Virginia is no exception. In the 2010 WV EMS
State Fact Sheet published by the WV EMS Data System there were 1334
paramedics in the state. West Virginias population in 2010 was 1,852,994. Of
this population, only 280,045 lived in the ten major cities leaving 1,572,949 spread
out across the 24,077 mountainous square miles that WV occupies. As a result
patient care is impacted as Paramedics and EMTs alike must meet the
challenges and demands of long transport times with critical patients on board.
Additionally, the men and women living here must travel great distances to
obtain their education as only two of the seven programs are (at the time of this
SOP) currently CAAHEP accredited in the state.
My expectations of the Masters Degree Program at Colorado State
University is to help me seek out new methods for program development
through research in order to identify the technological advances that provide
an ideal learning environment to assist adults of all backgrounds and learning
styles to not only succeed but to also make the education more accessible to
rural communities such as those in WV.
My aspirations for the future include a continued relationship with
NAEMSE, not only as a member of the Educational Technology sub-committee,
but as a leader, serving on its board as a true representative of rural EMS
education. Furthermore, I wish to help mold the future for students and fellow
educators alike by becoming a qualified and competent author and speaker.
As I sought out colleges to see my goals come to fruition, I was drawn to
Colorado State University and its national reputation for high quality, affordable,
education, and the accessibility of online courses allowing me the flexibility to
maintain my professional career while being a mother and wife. Additionally, I
was drawn to Colorado State University as I see the opportunity to expand my
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future knowledge even further through the doctoral studies in Education and
Human Resource.
As I intently read the CSU Graduate Bulletin I was drawn to the statement
made . . . to further the scholarly research and creative artistry with which such
education is intimately linked. I was further intrigued that (t)he faculty who are
responsible for graduate education are themselves researchers or artists whose
responsibilities include the transmission of their own creative skills and abilities to
their students. These statements lead me to believe that Colorado State
University is the ideal environment in which I can bring my own unique creativity,
personality, and tenacity to develop and interact with fellow students and
professors and examine methods to acquire new insight into the adult learner.
I strongly believe that Colorado State University holds the key to unlocking
my potential as an educator and I am petitioning Colorado State University to
accept me as a graduate student so that I can be a shining example of how
students can overcome lifes obstacles and persevere and an excellent
representation of the dedication to quality that Colorado State University
delivers in its graduates.

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