Continuing Education for EMS Personnel

Continuing Education for EMS Personnel Administrative Policy

1301

DEFINITION

Continuing education (CE) is defined by state regulations as: ". . . a course, activity, or experience designed to be educational in nature, with learning objectives and performance evaluations for the purpose of providing EMS personnel with reinforcement of basic EMS training as well as knowledge to enhance individual and system proficiency in the practice of prehospital emergency medical care."

PURPOSE

To delineate those continuing education (CE) credits deemed acceptable for renewal by the Riverside County EMS Agency.

Acceptable CE must be related to prehospital emergency medical activities and can include such didactic and non-traditional experiences as traditional (instructor-based) classroom activities, and the following non- instructor based activities:

a. At least 1/2 of the required CE hours must be received in an instructor-based format. This includes any additional CE requirements placed on an applicant due to an expired certificate or license. b. No more than twelve (12) hours of continuing education credit will be accepted within any 24-hour period. c. Individuals should reference the recertification / reauthorization / (State) re-licensure policies for more detailed information on the specific requirements for their practice level.

College level courses in the biological sciences (anatomy, pathophysiology, psychology, et al) completed with a grade of "C" or better will be accepted as follows, up to the maximum levels defined in item #4.

a. One academic semester unit will be equivalent to 15 CE hours. b. One academic quarter unit will be equivalent to 10 CE hours.

Continuing Education for EMS Personnel Riverside County EMS Agency will accept as valid only those CE classes/events sponsored by approved EMS CE providers, including those approved by other California EMS agencies or the State EMS Authority

a. The EMS Agency will not pre-authorize or authorize after-the-fact individual course outlines presented by EMS personnel for consideration as CE. Individuals desiring CE are expected to contact the course sponsor(s) with regards to that organization's status as an approved prehospital CE provider. b. The EMS Agency cannot give approval for courses sponsored by providers based outside of Riverside County. Individuals wishing to receive credit for such activities should contact the EMS agency of that jurisdiction for approval information or the State EMS Authority if the provider/location is out-of-state.

10. Partial credit for a course may be received at the discretion of the CE provider agency provided that:

a. The credit issued is not less than one CE credit (one hour) b. Credit is not issued in less than one-half (1⁄2) hour increments (e.g. - 1, 11⁄2, 2, 21⁄2 are acceptable partial credits), AND c. All evaluations have been completed and returned by the participant.

For those members of the Armed Forces of the United States returning from active duty deployment,

credit may be given for documented training they received while deployed on active duty provided it meets the requirements of CE as set forth in the California Code of Regulations, Title 22, Division 9, Chapter 11, and the training class is verified in writing by the individual's Commanding Officer.

CE credit for structured clinical or ride-out, structured teaching, precepting, and field care audits will be issued on a 1:1 (hours:credit) basis. a. Credit can only be issued by an approved CE provider.

i. Teaching credits may only be issued by the provider employing the individual ii. Credit may be received only once during a certification/licensure/ authorization cycle for instructing a particular class or topic. iii. Precepting credit may only be issued by the approved training program of the preceptor's student. iv. Structured clinical and ride-out credits can only be issued by the agency which provides and reviews the structure (outline) that the individual must complete as part of his clinical/ride-out time. (In most cases this will be a hospital.)

EMS personnel are responsible for maintaining CE certificates for a minimum

of four years after receipt and must make them available for review at the request of the Riverside County EMS Agency, the State EMS Authority, or other EMS certifying entity.

Standard courses which are nationally recognized (e.g. - CPR, ACLS, PHTLS, BBP) and offered by an approved CE provider may be repeated

once within the same license/certification/authorization period with CE credit being accepted for both programs up to the maximum levels defined in item #4 above. Repeat courses must be taken a minimum of 12 months apart to receive CE credit.

Activities/courses accepted from approved providers as valid CE must have been taken within

two years preceding the individual's certification/authorization/licensure expiration date or the submission date of a completed application, if expired.

CE credits will only be issued to a participant upon successful passing of a

written and/or skills competency based evaluation specific to the material covered by the course, class, or activity objectives.

Acceptable CE must be related to prehospital emergency medical activities and can include such didactic and non-traditional experiences as traditional (instructor-based) classroom activities, and the following non-instructor based activities:

• media-based education (take-home, on-line, correspondence, etc.), • precepting time, • structured clinical or ride-out time, • structured teaching time, • field care audits

Activities not acceptable as valid CE include:

• research activities • committee work • the writing of position papers, journal articles, or other published materials • any course that is not prehospital-based in its content (except those approved advanced topics) • any course not offered by an approved prehospital CE provider • workplace orientation programs that deal with the employer's policies and/or procedures • personal improvement courses (self-awareness, time mgmt, wt loss, yoga, etc.) • courses for the lay public (Lamaze, parenting, first aid, etc.)