(Photo iStockPhoto)
NREMT Sets Deadline
for Paramedic Education Programs
Will certify only graduates of accredited programs after 2012
Mannie Garza, Editor, EMS Insider
January 2008 EMS Insider Vol. 35 No. 1
2008 Jan 1
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 Accreditation 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).
Programs seeking accreditation go through a rigorous process that
involves a stringent self-evaluation based on CoAEMSP standards
and guidelines and a two-day site visit by two reviewers (usually
a paramedic educator and a physician) who conduct numerous interviews
and verify every aspect of the application and self-evaluation.
In October, Kuykendall reported to the National Association of
State EMS Officials that the CoAEMSP board was proposing changing
its regulations to allow two paramedic educators to conduct site
visits, due to a shortage of physician reviewers. But the NASEMSO
medical directors council objected strenuously to the idea, and
members at the meeting committed to finding more physicians to act
as CoAEMSP reviewers.
“We are always looking for more site reviewers,” Hatch
said.
Accreditation is not inexpensive. According to Hatch, it costs
most programs $3,000–$5,000 including fees and reviewer travel
expenses for initial accreditation. CoAEMSP also requires accredited
programs to resubmit a self-study and undergo another site visit
every five years to remain accredited.
“Colleges, universities and hospitals are used to such accreditation
processes,” Hatch said. But some ambulance services and fire
departments that have their own paramedic training programs may
find the process and cost a bit daunting.
“We think there will be some initial concerns voiced by educational
programs,” Brown said. “But accreditation is also designed
to protect the student because every student wants a credible education.
“We haven’t found any other allied health profession
that allows registration without graduation from an accredited program,”
he noted.
For more info, visit www.nremt.org
or www.coaemsp.org
.
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