As someone who spent 7 years being a pcp and is now going through to be acp, I have seen both sides of the fence. Yes a pcp who can do a basic assessment is a great asset to have on a call, but while we can all tear tape for an IV, a pcp is beneficial in prepping all the stuff that is going to make the acp look good. Remember an acp is only as good as their pcp partner. When I was a pcp working with an acp, I was the one getting drugs ready, making sure the monitor was printing when needed, delegating to the fire guys what help was needed and how, prepping the iv. If I wanted to I could make sure that life was really crap for the acp. Learning these skills in college is not a waste of a semester, as a new acp when I graduate then I'm probably going to be working with one of these new grads, if they have a basic idea of how to help me then I'm all over that.
As for where you work and how many pt's you see then I think that seeing a wider variety of pt's and knowing how to treat the ctas 3-5 is also beneficial, these people called us because they were concerned for their health and well being. EMS is not all about dealing with the ctas1-2 pt