National Registry of Emergency Medical Technicians

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The National Registry of Emergency Medical Technicians (NREMT) is a US based, non-profit certification organization for pre-hospital emergency medical providers that exists to ensure that all EMS clinicians have the knowledge and skills required for competent practice. [1]

Contents

History

The NREMT was established in 1970 in response to a recommendation from President Lyndon Johnson's Committee on Highway Traffic Safety that recommended that a national certifying agency for Emergency Medical Technicians be created in order to establish and standardize training requirements. [2]

National Standard Curriculum as defined by the Department of Transportation - National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA)

Standards

Most states use or require NREMT testing for some level of state certification. [2] [3] [4] NREMT recognizes four levels of EMS: EMR, EMT, Advanced EMT, and Paramedic (some states may have additional certifications). [3] NREMT certification at an EMT Intermediate level may or may not be sufficient for some state EMT-I requirements. [5] While NREMT certification may be mandatory for new state certification, it is not necessarily required for renewals. [5] These procedures and requirements vary from state to state. In 1986, military emergency rooms were required to certify all medical technicians through NREMT. [6]

Levels of certification

EMS-ID

The NREMT launched the EMS-ID system on January 23, 2020, modeled after the National Provider Identifier (NPI). The idea was that one identifier could be issued to a verified individual upon creation of an NREMT account, which could then reference all certifications for that person. The number would remain constant, even if the individual changed their name, national certification level, etc. [8] Similar to the NPI number issued by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), the number is a 12-position, intelligence-free numeric identifier (12-digit number). The EMS-ID is not intended to replace the individual registry number. [9]

Controversy

In 2010, accusations ultimately determined to be false were made against NREMT claiming failure to prevent cheating during some of their certification exams (administered by Pearson VUE). The Washington, D.C. Fire Department [10] was investigated for cheating on the NREMT certification exam; [11] however, an extensive investigation [12] by the NREMT and Pearson VUE, with assistance from the DC Fire and EMS department [13] as well as the DC police, revealed no evidence of cheating at Pearson VUE's LaPlata, MD testing center. Per the report, “… that all scores reported on DCFEMS members were valid.” [12]

The NREMT works with the EMS community to implement the National EMS System including the EMS Agenda for the Future, [14] EMS Education Agenda: A Systems Approach, [15] and National Scope of Practice Model. [16]

See also

Related Research Articles

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Emergency medical services (EMS), also known as ambulance services or paramedic services, are emergency services that provide urgent pre-hospital treatment and stabilisation for serious illness and injuries and transport to definitive care. They may also be known as a first aid squad, FAST squad, emergency squad, ambulance squad, ambulance corps, life squad or by other initialisms such as EMAS or EMARS.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Emergency medical technician</span> Health care provider of emergency medical services

An emergency medical technician is a medical professional that provides emergency medical services. EMTs are most commonly found serving on ambulances and in fire departments in the US and Canada, as full-time and some part-time departments require their firefighters to be EMT certified.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paramedic</span> Healthcare professional who works in emergency medical situations

A paramedic is a healthcare professional trained in the medical model, whose main role has historically been to respond to emergency calls for medical help outside of a hospital. Paramedics work as part of the emergency medical services (EMS), most often in ambulances. They also have roles in emergency medicine, primary care, transfer medicine and remote/offshore medicine. The scope of practice of a paramedic varies between countries, but generally includes autonomous decision making around the emergency care of patients.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Certified first responder</span> Person who provides pre-hospital care for medical emergencies

A certified first responder is a person who has completed a course and received certification in providing pre-hospital care for medical emergencies. Certified individuals should have received much more instruction than someone who is trained in basic first aid and cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) but they are not necessarily a substitute for more advanced emergency medical care rendered by emergency medical technicians and paramedics. First responders typically provide advanced first aid level care, CPR, and automated external defibrillator (AED) usage. The term "certified first responder" is not to be confused with "first responder", which is a generic term referring to the first medically trained responder to arrive on scene and medically trained telecommunication operators who provide pre-arrival medical instructions as trained Emergency Medical Dispatchers (EMD). Many police officers and firefighters are required to receive training as certified first responders. Advanced medical care is typically provided by EMS, although some police officers and firefighters also train to become emergency medical technicians or paramedics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Medic</span> Person involved in medicine

A medic is a medical practitioner or student such as a medical doctor or an emergency medical responder such as a paramedic.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Star of Life</span> Emergency medical service symbol

The Star of Life is a symbol used to identify emergency medical services. It features a blue six-pointed star, outlined by a white border. The middle contains a Rod of Asclepius – an ancient symbol of medicine. The Star of Life can be found on ambulances, medical personnel uniforms, and other objects associated with emergency medicine or first aid. Elevators marked with the symbol indicate the lift is large enough to hold a stretcher. Medical bracelets sometimes use the symbol to indicate one has a medical condition that emergency services should be aware of.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paramedics in the United States</span> Overview of paramedics in the United States of America

In the United States, the paramedic is an allied health professional whose primary focus is to provide advanced emergency medical care for patients who access Emergency Medical Services (EMS). This individual possesses the complex knowledge and skills necessary to provide patient care and transportation. Paramedics function as part of a comprehensive EMS response under physician medical direction. Paramedics often serve in a prehospital role, responding to Public safety answering point (9-1-1) calls in an ambulance. The paramedic serves as the initial entry point into the health care system. A standard requirement for state licensure involves successful completion of a nationally accredited Paramedic program at the certificate or associate degree level.

Advanced Emergency Medical Technician - Critical Care (AEMT-CC) is a former Emergency Medical Services (EMS) certification that was unique to New York. The curriculum for AEMT-CC's in New York was similar to that of the national standard EMT-I/99 but with a broader scope of practice. EMT-CCs are fully classified as Advanced Life Support (ALS) providers within New York and are trained in advanced airway management, including intubation, IV fluid administration, cardiac monitoring, cardiac pacing, and both synchronized and unsynchronized cardioversion, and medication usage/administration in adult and pediatric patients.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Certified flight paramedic</span>

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Louisville Metro EMS</span> Life support provider based in Kentucky

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Emergency medical services in the United States</span>

In the United States, emergency medical services (EMS) provide out-of-hospital acute medical care and/or transport to definitive care for those in need. They are regulated at the most basic level by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, which sets the minimum standards that all states' EMS providers must meet, and regulated more strictly by individual state governments, which often require higher standards from the services they oversee.

In the United States, paramedicine is the physician-directed practice of medicine, often viewed as the intersection of health care, public health, and public safety. While discussed for many years, the concept of paramedicine was first formally described in the EMS Agenda for the Future. Paramedicine represents an expansion of the traditional notion of emergency medical services as simply an emergency response system. Paramedicine is the totality of the roles and responsibilities of individuals trained and credentialed as EMS practitioners. These practitioners have been referred to as various levels of emergency medical technician (EMTs). In the US, paramedics represent the highest practitioner level in this domain. Additional practitioner levels in this domain within the US include emergency medical responders (EMRs), emergency medical technicians (EMTs) and advanced emergency medical technicians (AEMTs).

An advanced emergency medical technician (AEMT) is a provider of emergency medical services in the United States. A transition to this level of training from the emergency medical technician-intermediate, which have somewhat less training, began in 2013 and has been implemented by most states. AEMTs are not intended to deliver definitive medical care in most cases, but rather to augment prehospital critical care and provide rapid on-scene treatment. AEMTs are usually employed in ambulance services, working in conjunction with EMTs and paramedics; however they are also commonly found in fire departments and law enforcement agencies as non-transporting first responders. Ambulances operating at the AEMT level of care are commonplace in rural areas, and occasionally found in larger cities as part of a tiered-response system, but are overall much less common than EMT- and paramedic-level ambulances. The AEMT provides a low-cost, high-benefit option to provide advanced-level care when the paramedic level of care is not feasible. The AEMT is authorized to provide limited advanced life support, which is beyond the scope of an EMT.

Emergency Medical Technician is the entry level of Emergency Medical Technician in the United States.

In the United States, the licensing of prehospital emergency medical providers and oversight of emergency medical services are governed at the state level. Each state is free to add or subtract levels as each state sees fit. Therefore, due to differing needs and system development paths, the levels, education requirements, and scope of practice of prehospital providers varies from state to state. Even though primary management and regulation of prehospital providers is at the state level, the federal government does have a model scope of practice including minimum skills for EMRs, EMTs, Advanced EMTs and Paramedics set through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Emergency medical responder</span> Person who provides out-of-hospital care in medical emergencies

Emergency Medical Responders (EMRs) are people who are specially trained to provide out-of-hospital care in medical emergencies, typically before the arrival of an ambulance. Specifically used, an emergency medical responder is an EMS certification level used to describe a level of EMS provider below that of an emergency medical technician and paramedic. However, the EMR is not intended to replace the roles of such providers and their wide range of specialties.

Emergency medical services in Sri Lanka is being established using a public/private system aimed at the provision of emergency ambulance service, including emergency care and transportation to hospitals. The Pre-Hospital Care Committee is part of the Trauma Secretariat of the Sri Lanka Ministry of Healthcare and Nutrition and was established following the 2004 tsunami. The goal of the Pre-Hospital Care Sub-Committee is “During this generation and continuing for future generations, everyone in Sri Lanka will have access to trained pre-hospital medical personnel, ambulances are available to transport the sick and injured safely to hospitals, complications from harmful or inadequate pre-hospital care is eliminated so physician and nursing personnel at hospitals are delivered patients they are able to professionally treat and rehabilitate back to society as contributing citizens.” Pre-Hospital care is an essential, core component of trauma system.

Intermediate Life Support (ILS) is a level of training undertaken in order to provide emergency medical care outside medical facilities. ILS is classed as mid-level emergency medical care provided by trained first responders who receive more training than basic life support providers, but less than advanced life support providers. Intermediate Life Support is also known as Limited Advanced Life Support (LALS), Immediate Life Support, or Intermediate Advanced Life Support (IALS).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Recognition of EMS Personnel Licensure Interstate CompAct</span> United States interstate compact

The Recognition of EMS Personnel Licensure Interstate CompAct, also known as REPLICA, is an interstate compact that extends a "privilege to practice" in the United States from a 'home state' to 'remote states' for qualified Emergency Medical Services personnel. For a state to participate in the compact, a state must pass the model legislation into law. On October 11, 2017, when Georgia signed the REPLICA legislation into law, the EMS Compact was formalized and the Interstate Commission for EMS Personnel Practice was established.

References

  1. "About The National Registry | National Registry of Emergency Medical Technicians". nremt.org. Retrieved 2024-08-07.
  2. 1 2 "NREMT History". Archived from the original on 2016-02-15. Retrieved 2016-02-07.
  3. 1 2 "Emergency Medical Technician from US Bureau of Labor Statistics". Archived from the original on 2012-02-04. Retrieved 2008-01-06.
  4. "Emergency Medical Technicians" from University of Missouri, St. Louis
  5. 1 2 Colorado EMT requirement overview
  6. "National Registry of EMT Certification of Air Force Emergency Room Technicians" from the Defense Technical Information Center [ dead link ]
  7. Ventura, Christian (20 January 2021). The Emergency Medical Responder: Training and Succeeding as an EMT/EMR. Springer International Publishing. ISBN   978-3-030-64395-9.
  8. "National EMS ID". National Registry of EMTs. Archived from the original on 2023-01-06. Retrieved 2020-09-27.
  9. "EMS ID - Q&A with Donnie Woodyard" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 2023-01-06. Retrieved 2020-09-27.
  10. "District of Columbia Fire Department - "The Real Deal"". DCFD.com. Retrieved 2010-12-01.
  11. "City Investigates Alleged Cheating on EMT Test". washingtonpost.com. 2009-04-24. Retrieved 2010-12-01.
  12. 1 2 "Investigative Outcome of a Reported Compromise on the National EMS Certification Examination - News - at". Jems.com. April 2010. Retrieved 2010-12-01.
  13. "FEMS". Fems.dc.gov. Archived from the original on 2010-11-17. Retrieved 2010-12-01.
  14. "EMS Agenda for the Future Implementation Guide". Nhtsa.gov. Retrieved 2010-12-01.
  15. "EMS Education Agenda for the Future: A Systems Approach". Nhtsa.gov. Retrieved 2010-12-01.
  16. Nasemsd.org