2025 Conference

A photograph of the Wyndham Grand Pittsburgh Downtown Hotel (Conference host hotel) from Fort Point State Park. Several other Pittsburgh buildings are visible behind and to the side of the hotel. Part of the park's grassy fields are visible in the foreground, and people are in the park for a festival. The NCEMSF Logo is in the top right corner of the image, and the bottom features the text

The National Collegiate EMS Foundation would like to invite you to our 32nd Annual Conference, to be held on February 21-23, 2025 at the Wyndham Grand Hotel in Pittsburgh PA. Join over 1,100 EMTs and Paramedics from more than 100 colleges and universities across the United States and Canada for three days of education, skills labs, and networking.

Health and Safety

NCEMSF is committed to the safety of its attendees, Conference presenters, and hotel staff. We encourage all participants to take appropriate precautions in order to keep themselves as well as others safe and healthy. If you are not felling well at the time of the Conference, please reconsider your attendance. Hand sanitizer will be available as well as face masks for those wishing to wear.

Registration

Conference registration is now open. You must be logged in to register.

Individuals wishing to register for the Conference should log in using their personal website account. If you don't have an account yet, create a new one. Please note that personal website accounts cannot be used to make token purchases.
To purchase tokens for a group, you must be logged into your school's Institutional Account. If you do not remember what the account is, please email webmaster@ncemsf.org.

Conference Schedule and Program

The 2025 NCEMSF Conference will run from Friday, February 21, 2025 through Sunday, February 23, 2025. The Conference will include:

Pre-Conference Workshops (Friday morning and/or afternoon)
Twelve Workshop Sessions (Friday 6pm through 9pm, all day Saturday, and Sunday morning through early Sunday afternoon)
Multiple Plenary Sessions
Academic Poster Session
Hands-On Skills Labs

To get the most out of the Conference experience, we recommend arriving in the morning or afternoon on Friday, and staying through early evening on Sunday.

The Conference program will be published closer to the Conference dates.

Workshop Sessions each have between four to nine (or more) different lecture options. Plenary sessions are a single session held in a large ballroom. Lightning talks will be offered at various times throughout the weekend, overlapping with scheduled workshop sessions.

NCEMSF EMS Skills Classic

The NCEMSF EMS Skills Classic is an annual event allowing Collegiate EMS providers to showcase their patient care, teamwork, and problem-solving abilities. Teams of up to twelve individuals from the same school complete in a variety of scenarios at either the ALS or BLS level. The Skills Classic requires an additional fee per team.

Registration and payment must be made online using a credit card only. Fees increase after February 7th, and on-site registration will only be available if space exists.

Activities

Pre-Conference Workshops

NCEMSF is pleased to continue the tradition of offering Pre-Conference Workshops to be held on Friday, February 21, 2025. Pre-Conference Workshops offer the opportunity to take an in-depth dive into a specific topic. Each Workshop lasts at least three hours, and seating is capped to ensure the optimal educational experience for all attendees. Additional Continuing Education credit is also available (issued as paper certificates on-site) for any courses. Additional details will be announced at a later date.

Alumni Mixer and Social

Each year, NCEMSF hosts an Alumni Mixer and Social, which takes place on the evening of Saturday, February 22, after the conclusion of the Awards Ceremony. Alumni Conference Attendees, along with Conference Presenters, are invited to attend this free event. Refreshments and light hors-d'oeuvres will be provided. Tickets to this event are distributed at Conference check-in to eligible attendees.

Other Conference Activities

NCEMSF Conferences are about more than just learning. They are also an opportunity for networking and socialization with other Collegiate EMS Providers and Leaders. Activities will include a Welcome Social on Friday evening, Group Introductions and Meet-and-Greet on Saturday morning event (which will also include recognition for squad anniversaries and CPR saves), and a Saturday evening social event. All of these activities are included in your Conference registration fee! Check back for more details as the Conference approaches.

There are also multiple opportunities to celebrate the achievements of your squad and its members. NCEMSF's Awards Program has recognition opportunities for individuals, groups, and activities. Striving for Excellence is a self-evaluative program designed to recognize groups that meet best practices in EMS administration and management. HEARTSafe Campus is a recognition program for groups and schools that have improved the safety of their campuses through CPR education and outreach. EMS Ready Campus is a self-evaluative program designed to promote integration between Collegiate EMS and Emergency Management. NCEMSF also issues recognition certificates for collegiate EMS providers who participated in CPR Saves. More details about each can be found by following the appropriate links. The deadline for receipt of all recognition program nominations and supporting materials will be February 7, 2025.

While at the Conference, take some time to experience Pittsburgh! More information on local activities will be posted at a later date.

Submit Presentations and Academic Posters

Workshop Session Presentations

Presenter submissions are now available.

A free NCEMSF website account is required to access the portal. Presenters who have submitted abstracts in the past should use their existing NCEMSF account; contact our IT team if you need assistance locating your username or resetting your password.

Presenters will receive further details on logistics and timing of their lectures in February.

Vomacka Student Speaker Competition

Current students are also welcome to enter the Vomacka Student Speaker Competition. This symposium is a chance for student lecturers to showcase their presentation skills and earn bragging rights for their collegiate EMS organization. The competition is judged on a speaker's ability to deliver a relevant high-quality seminar to their peers. Points are awarded based on strength of the submitted abstract, quality of the delivered presentation, and audiovisual materials. More information and submission directions are on our Vomacka page.

Academic Poster Session

NCEMSF is pleased to partner with the Journal of Collegiate EMS on our annual Academic Poster Session, featuring original research and case studies in program development/evaluation. Poster authors need not be present at the Conference to be selected, but those who are will have the chance to show their poster in person.

Posters should be submitted through the online abstract system. Please be sure to select Poster Session on the Submission Type to ensure the correct fields are displayed. Poster templates are available for download:

All poster submissions are due by Friday, December 27, 2024. JCEMS will contact those who submitted with additional information.

Conference Finance

The NCEMSF Conference remains one of the most affordable EMS conferences in the United States. The registration prices for 2024 are as follows:

Early Registration: $100 members/$115 non-members and tokens
Regular Registration: $120 members/$135 non-members and tokens
Late Registration: $150

For more information, please see our Fees and Policies page.

Conference registrations can be paid individually or as a group, and NCEMSF accepts credit card/purchasing card payment via PayPal, as well as checks (personal or institutional) and institutional purchase orders. You can find financial documents commonly needed by schools when paying via Purchase Order at our Tax Forms Page. Group payment options are described in more detail on our Fees and Policies page.

For groups who have never attended an NCEMSF Conference, groups that were regular attendees in the past but have not attended in the last several years, or groups experiencing financial hardship, NCEMSF offers a Conference Scholarship Program/New Group Initiative. The deadline for this program is January 3, 2025. Applicants will be notified by NCEMSF of the decision on their application.

Conference Logistics

Hotel

The 2025 Conference will be held at the Wyndham Grand Pittsburgh Downtown, 600 Commonwealth St, Pittsburgh, PA 15222. Located across the street from Point State Park, it is ideally situated near tourist attractions, restaurants, and shopping opportunities.

The special NCEMSF Conference rate is $165/night plus taxes and fees. You can reserve a room on the NCEMSF Conference Reservation Portal. Note that the hotel's website includes the option to request rooms before/after the Conference, but the event itself is only Friday through Sunday. If the Wyndham does not have availability within our block, please email us at confinfo@ncemsf.org so we can assist you in finding another area hotel willing to offer a discount below market hotel rates. When contacting us, please include the number of rooms needed and the dates you intend to stay.

NCEMSF's discounted rates at our original and overflow facilities are only available through Thursday, January 16th, so be sure to book now if you have not already!

NCEMSF strongly recommends booking at one of the Conference hotels to get the most from the Conference experience. If you encounter any issues with your booking process, please contact confinfo@ncemsf.org prior to booking anywhere else.

Note that hotels may set maximum occupancies per room, and that couches and roll-away beds may not be offered due to availability and/or fire code issues.

Ground Transportation

Public Transit

The Port Authority of Allegheny County offers an express bus (28X Airport Flyer) from the airport that drops off near the Gateway station, just two blocks from the hotel. The fare is $2.75 each way.

Taxis and Rideshares

Various private airport shuttle services and shared-ride vans are also available, as are taxis, as described on the airport website.

Parking

For those driving to the Conference, the Riverfront Center Garage (625 Stanwix) is near the hotel and offers the ability to reserve and pre-pay for space with in-and-out privileges. Rates vary by dates/times selected. On-site payment is also available without in-and-out privileges. The maximum height is 6'3". The hotel garage is valet-only ($43 per night for regular vehicles with additional fees for oversized vehicles) without in-and-out privileges. Space for valet parking is limited and is on a first-come, first-served basis.

Questions

Email confinfo@ncemsf.org and a member of our staff will get back with you promptly. You can also check out our Conference Frequently Asked Questions page.