Northwestern's only for students, by students, EMT-B certification course. Two quarters long, only $350, and a direct line into emergency medicine.
NEMO's annual EMT-Basic course is the largest student-run pre-clinical training program at Northwestern. We partner with MedEx Ambulance Service — a state-licensed EMS provider — to deliver the same Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) approved curriculum that anchors paid commercial programs across the Chicago area.
The course runs across Winter and Spring quarters. Lectures, hands-on skills sessions, simulation labs, and clinical rotations are scheduled around academic loads. By the time students sit for the National Registry of Emergency Medical Technicians (NREMT) cognitive and psychomotor exams in late spring, they've logged the lecture hours, clinical hours, and competency check-offs required for state and national licensure.
For anyone who wants to make an impact in their community, this is one of the cheapest and most accessible routes into meaningful clinical exposure that actually counts on an application.
Private EMT programs in the Chicago area run between $1,800 and $4,400. We've worked extensively with the student government at Northwestern and MedEx to bring that cost to $350. We teach the same IDPH-approved curriculum, with the same NREMT exam at the end which is included in your tuition — because NEMO takes no margin and outside funding offsets infrastructure costs.
NEMO runs on its mentors. Past NEMO graduates and working EMTs come back each year to help facilitate the course alongside our instructors.
You don't need to have taken NEMO to mentor. If you hold an EMT-B license, you can apply at any time.
Apply to be a mentor
NEMO EMTs volunteered on the medical team at the 2026 Bank of America Chicago Marathon.
NEMO mentors helped teach emergency response skills to Evanston Township High School students.
NEMO hosts their annual mass casualty event to prepare students to respond in a real-life emergency.
Everything you need to know about the course, the application, and what the year looks like, straight from the executive board.
Tuesday lectures on Zoom, Sunday skills sessions in person, and optional Wednesday office hours. Each block builds on the last — foundations to assessment to medical to trauma to operations, with three written exams and a psychomotor final spaced across the term.
Intro to EMS, well-being, lifting and moving, medical terminology, anatomy, pathophysiology, and the medical-legal frame.
Scene size-up, primary survey, vital signs, history-taking, communication and documentation.
Airway management, oxygen delivery, BVM and adjuncts, respiratory emergencies, CPAP and nebulizer use.
Diabetic emergencies and altered mental status, allergic reactions and anaphylaxis, infectious disease and sepsis.
Hematologic and renal emergencies, hemorrhage control, soft-tissue trauma, Stop The Bleed.
Cardiac emergencies, resuscitation, secondary assessment and reassessment, general pharmacology.
Poisoning and overdose (including IN Narcan), abdominal emergencies, behavioral and psychiatric calls, de-escalation.
Chest and abdominal trauma, musculoskeletal injuries, head and spine, splinting, c-spine immobilization, extrication.
Multisystem trauma, environmental emergencies, OB/GYN and delivery, pediatric and geriatric considerations.
Patients with special challenges, hazmat and MCIs, JUMP/START triage in a mass casualty drill.
Highway safety, vehicle operations, EMS response to terrorism, system-level decision-making.
Final written exam, skills exam, three nights of psychomotor testing. NREMT sign-up and licensing.
Taking your license out of Illinois. Your Illinois EMT-B license, issued by the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH), is only valid in Illinois. To work as an EMT somewhere else, such as your home state over the summer, you apply for that state's license through its EMS office, usually called reciprocity or licensure by endorsement. Your National Registry (NREMT) certification is what makes this straightforward: most states accept an active NREMT certification as the basis for their EMT license, though many add their own application, fee, background check, or protocols exam. Keep your NREMT certification current (it renews every two years) so the option stays open.
Bringing an out-of-state license into Illinois. If you're already an EMT from another state (for example, joining NEMO as a mentor), you need an Illinois license to work as an EMT here; an NREMT card on its own is not a license to practice in Illinois. Apply to IDPH with the EMS reciprocity application, emailed to dph.emtlic@illinois.gov with a copy of your current state license or NREMT card, your current CPR/BLS card, and a letter from your most recent EMS medical director. Submit it at least 60 days before your current license or NREMT certification expires. The current form lists $120 in fees for an EMT. If you hold an unencumbered NREMT certification, an Illinois EMS system can let you work under provisional status while your Illinois license is processed.
Questions about Illinois licensing go to IDPH's EMS licensing office at 217-785-2080. Rules and fees change, so check the IDPH EMS Licensing page before you apply.
Applications open in fall quarter. Capacity is 120 seats.
Questions about the course, the application, an upcoming class — anything. A member of the executive board will get back to you.
Thanks for reaching out. A NEMO exec board member will be in touch soon.
Mentors keep the class running smoothly and earn continuing education hours toward keeping their EMT license. We also staff events through the year, like Chicago races and Northwestern events, and teach classes at Evanston Township High School.
We'll reach out closer to the start of the course.
Get notified when applications open, CPR/BLS class registration goes live, and other NEMO news. No spam, just the essentials.
Check your inbox for a confirmation email — click the link to finish subscribing.