J.D. Graziano
I am honored to be writing on behalf of J.D. Graziano for
the Iowa EMS Association Educator of the Year Award. It is my
belief J.D. exudes the qualities of a great educator worthy of
this award through his classroom management, passion for
teaching, and positive impact on the Iowa EMS system.
Prior to joining the University of Iowa Hospitals and
Clinics’ EMS Learning Resources Center, J.D. served as a ski
patroller and paramedic in Tacoma, Washington and completed both
a Bachelors of Science and Masters of Science degree. When J.D.
relocated to Iowa, he worked for Iowa County EMS as a paramedic,
transporting sick and injured patients throughout Eastern Iowa.
To broaden his understanding of patient care, J.D. also worked
for Mercy Medical Center in the Cardiac Catheterization lab
where he helped provide definitive care to those suffering from
heart related conditions.
J.D. joined the EMSLRC as the clinical coordinator in 2017.
In this role, J.D. worked to transform the clinical
relationships with ride along agencies and clinical departments
to ensure students were receiving education that would benefit
them in the field; ensuring they were not just there to observe
but to learn. J.D. was vital in bringing in additional agencies
through a dedicated preceptor program. I am sure we can all
remember our ride-alongs from EMT and paramedic training, many
of which were driven by the preceptor’s attitude towards
students and teaching. J.D. worked to ensure the preceptors in
the clinical and field setting where those top performing
individuals who wanted to teach along with providing patient
care. Thus, ensuring students could build mentors in the field
and giving students a great experience driving them to want to
be preceptors in the future. J.D. has since been asked to speak
around the country and at the National EMS Educators conference
on the preceptor program he developed demonstrating J.D. is
leading the nation in this level of training.
J.D. also serves as the lead educator for the paramedic
training program sharing his passion for evidenced based
practice and dedication for patient care. J.D. has worked to
bring in subject matter experts to provide students lectures on
emergency medical dispatching, emergency management, and even
the opportunity for students to spend a day alongside University
of Iowa Carver College of Medicine faculty in the cadaver lab.
This leadership in the classroom has led the EMSLRC to have a
pass rate that continues to lead the State of Iowa including two
of the last 3 years having a 100% pass rate on the NREMT
Licensing Exam and 100% positive placement rate. Not only is
J.D. guiding these students towards their dream of becoming a
paramedic, but also working to provide them an opportunity to
serve the citizens of Iowa.
Whether in the classroom leading students to evidenced based
practice through lecture and cutting-edge simulation or
providing students role models and preceptors in the clinical
and field setting, J.D. is continuing to push EMS Education
towards best practice.
