Aims Community College’s Kristie Skala Named EMS Instructor of the Year

The award recognizes an EMS educator who demonstrates excellence in teaching, mentorship and inspiring learners in Northeast Colorado. Skala was honored during the NCRETAC Annual Awards ceremony held on February 17 at Thompson Valley EMS Headquarters in Loveland. 

Skala brings years of field and instructional experience to Aims. She began her higher education career through fitness and health courses before transitioning fully into EMS education. Skala has been involved in the growth of the Aims Paramedic program and has worked closely with regional partners to help expand training opportunities.

She is known for an active, scenario-driven approach that mirrors real-world emergency response. “My style of teaching is a little different,” Skala said. “We flip the classroom. We keep it active. Students are up, moving, building models, talking through decisions and learning how to study in ways that actually work for first responders.”

In Skala’s classroom, students don’t just study emergency medicine, they run calls. In one scenario, a patient collapses during a Zumba class, complete with personal belongings and medications to sort through. In another, a rural farmhouse scene forces students to assess not only a patient’s condition but their own safety before stepping further into the situation. Using simulation rooms, high-fidelity manikins and carefully staged environments, Skala recreates the unpredictable details first responders encounter every day. “It’s hard to imagine something from a textbook,” she said. “When you get to see it and feel it, it sticks.”

She believes that the success of EMS education at Aims is a team effort. “I really don’t feel like this is just me,” Skala said. “Our team is fantastic, from our adjunct instructors to our support services, everyone plays a role in student success.” Many of the faculty are current and former emergency responders. “They’re not here for the paycheck, they’re here to make sure we’re sending good people into the profession.”

NCRETAC serves as a regional partner in strengthening emergency medical and trauma care across Northeast Colorado, supporting collaboration among EMS agencies and healthcare partners and promoting training and preparedness throughout the region. Skala noted that regional cooperation plays a vital role in expanding access to emergency care, especially in rural communities, where staffing and training resources can be limited.

“I want to be able to pay it forward,” Skala said. “So many people invested their time and their experience training me, not only in classes, but out on the street when we’re actually running calls. If I can train students and help them take even one thing into the field that helps someone else, it magnifies the impact.”

Aims Community College offers a range of training designed to prepare students for careers that directly serve their communities. Through hands-on instruction, simulation-based learning and close ties with regional partners, Aims helps develop the next generation of EMTs and paramedics to meet workforce needs across Northern Colorado and beyond. In the Aims paramedic program, 96% of enrolled students complete the program and 100% are employed in the field within five years. 

For more information about Aims' emergency medicine programs, visit aims.co/paramedic.