Certification Levels

[fly5650]

Originally Posted by Rafaxel

In MA, we have EMT-B and EMT-P, and i heard in RI they have EMT-C, so i guess each state is very diferent.

In RI there is EMT-B, EMT-I, EMT-C, and EMT-P. The C is "Cardiac" they have many of the same skills as medics, fewer drugs, I do not believe they can do vents, and the schooling is far far less time. It is strange, i think they should offer a bridge program to cardiacs for their medic and then eliminate the classification.

[VentMedic]

Two years later and EMS still has over 50 different certs recognized in the 50 different states.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emergen...evels_by_State

[croaker260]

Vent...

2012 man, 2012.

[VentMedic]

Originally Posted by croaker260

Vent...

2012 man, 2012.

That may clean up some of the Medic Mills but it won't have a huge impact on the many different levels for certification recognized by the individual states. There are also a few states that do not use the NR and the accreditation changes will have minimal if any effect on their Paramedics.

It is absolutely ridiculous that this profession did not require schools to be accredited by CAAHEP/CoAEMSP long before 2012 regardless of the NR. What other health care profession would allow students graduating from a school that wasn't accredited by some agency with knowledge of their profession take their credentialing exam for Paramedic regardless if it is NR or a State exam.

Except for accrediting the schools, it may do little to anything else for this profession. California already requires all of their Paramedic schools to be accredited and look at the mess that state is in with its EMS oversight.

[dr-exmedic]

Originally Posted by VentMedic

Except for accrediting the schools, it may do little to anything else for this profession. California already requires all of their Paramedic schools to be accredited and look at the mess that state is in with its EMS oversight.

Does CoAEMSP handle accreditations there, or is it someone else? Because CA doesn't use standard Reigstry B/I/P levels, and the "standards" document on the CAAHEP website specifically refers to B/I/P levels.

[VentMedic]

Originally Posted by dr-exmedic

Does CoAEMSP handle accreditations there, or is it someone else? Because CA doesn't use standard Reigstry B/I/P levels, and the "standards" document on the CAAHEP website specifically refers to B/I/P levels.

That is because those are the levels of exams offered by the NR. California does recognize the EMT-B and Paramedic by the NR exams. I don't believe there are that many EMT-IIs in the state as very few counties recognize or utilize them.

As evidenced by the many different levels represented by each of the 50 states, not all levels use the NR. The 2012 accreditation changes will be for the Paramedic level.

CoAEMSP does not necessarily care what the NR does. It accredits the school. The NR is attempting to get candidates that are graduating from an accredited school. Over half of Florida's Paramedic schools are accredited by CoAEMSP while the other half are medic mills with only approval from the state of Florida to teach the course. Florida also does not use the NR for its Paramedic test but does for its EMT-B test. We do not have an I level. At this time, what the NR demands for the Paramedic test will have little effect on Florida.

http://www.coaemsp.org/aboutaccreditation.htm

Californa
EMT-1 or Basic
http://www.emsa.ca.gov/personnel/EMT_FAQ.asp

Paramedic
http://www.emsa.ca.gov/paramedic/faq.asp

http://www.emsa.ca.gov/laws/files/ch4_emtp%20.doc

Article 3. Program Requirements for Paramedic Training Programs

100148. Approved Training Programs.
(a) The purpose of a paramedic training program shall be to prepare individuals to render prehospital advanced life support within an organized EMS system.
(b) By January 1, 2004, all paramedic training programs approved by a paramedic training program approving authority prior to January 1, 2000 shall be accredited and maintain current accreditation by the Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs (CAAHEP), upon the recommendation of the Committee on Accreditation of Educational Programs for the Emergency Medical Services Professions (CoAEMSP), in order to continue to operate as an approved paramedic training program.

[dr-exmedic]

Originally Posted by VentMedic

California does recognize the EMT-B and Paramedic by the NR exams.

OK, that's the detail I was missing. I realize that CoAEMSP accredits the school, but documents on their website refer to NR levels and it makes it sound as if they only accredit programs based on said levels, but CA recognizing B and P would make that point moot. MD and DO programs are accredited by two totally separate bodies who have very specific criteria and I wasn't sure if CoAEMSP had a mechanism for recognizing non-NR objectives (and still can't prove that they do or don't); you can accredit a school all you want but if you don't accredit it to NR standards, students still can't take the NR exam.

Of course you can accredit the schools all you want; what happens after that is a different story. If accreditation were anything other than "a good start," you wouldn't know any doctors you wouldn't take your family to....

[VentMedic]

The NR is only a testing agency or vendor. States have the option to use it or not. Due to the cost for a state to maintain its own exam, many states do prefer to use the NR at least for EMT-B and Paramedic.

The NR does not have "standards" for the material covered. They just want the candidates for their exam to be graduates of an adequate school. Many states have gotten lax in their oversight of these programs and have allowed ambulance companies and FDs to "grow their own" in either their own medic mill or a contracted one for the purpose of producing warm bodies to fill positions.

Here's a couple more articles.
Accreditation: Not a four letter word.
http://www.coaemsp.org/documents/AccredOverview.pdf

NASEMSD overview for accreditation and education
http://www.nasemsd.org/EMSEducationI...s200903232.pdf

http://www.jems.com/news_and_article..._Programs.html

The National Registry of EMTs board of directors voted Nov. 13 to require paramedic candidates who apply for NREMT certification after Dec. 31, 2012, to be graduates of a nationally accredited paramedic training program.

“Why require this?” NREMT Executive Director Bill Brown said. “We’ve done a study and measured the outcomes of graduates from accredited and non-accredited programs and found those from an accredited program are more likely to pass the registry, so there is consensus and science behind this requirement.”

Consensus comes in the form of two of the five components of the National EMS Education Agenda for the Future. The fourth component is National EMS Program Accreditation, and the fifth component is National EMS Certification (of EMS personnel).

Although the education agenda doesn’t specify which entities should undertake the final two components, the NREMT has positioned itself to be the national certification agency, and at this point, only one national body—the Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs—accredits paramedic education programs. CAAHEP accomplishes this with the help of its subsidiary the Committee on Accredi*tation of Educational Programs for the EMS Professions.

According to CoAEMSP Executive Director George Hatch, EdD, LP, EMT-P, CAAHEP has accredited some 250 paramedic training programs at the recommendation of CoAEMSP. “No one knows just how many paramedic education programs there are, but we expect to accredit another 250 in the next five years,” he said.

A dozen national organizations support CoAEMSP, including most national EMS organizations and a number of physician groups, each of which has at least one seat on the CoAEMSP board (which is chaired by Colorado EMS Director Randy Kuykendall).