Removing Barriers to EMS Training

Pre-hospital providers have an enormous impact on patient outcomes, so they deserve and need education that will address not just basic science, but a complete set of courses that will address the full scope of their practice.

Recently the National Registry of Emergency Medical Technicians (NREMT) announced that they were permanently waiving restrictions on distributive learning. The resolution applies to continuing education, recertification, state licensure, refresher and re-entry training. The removal of these limits became effective on September 30^th. Limiting access to distributive forms of continuing education creates barriers that may hinder re-certifications. The new ruling is good news for pre-hospital providers as it removes those barriers to asynchronous distributive learning and creates better access to education for the nation’s emergency medical service providers.

EMS Training – The Challenges

While all professional training can be challenging, EMS training has a unique set of challenges. Firstly, there is simply a huge amount of information. Providers need to be taught assessment and clinical skills, critical thinking skills as well as the state and federal requirements for their profession. In addition, upon completion of their educational program, they will be expected to demonstrate those skills in situations that are typically stressful, chaotic and sometimes dangerous. Another significant challenge is that the training period is typically fairly brief given the large amount of information that must be learned. In addition, as with many healthcare jobs, EMS instructors are in relatively short supply making in-person training even more of a challenge.

Flexible Solutions for EMS Training

While restrictions on how training is delivered have been removed, providers still need to be sure that they are getting training that will lead to competency while meeting Commission on Accreditation for Prehospital Continuing Education (CAPCE) requirements while also meeting the NREMT’s annual recertification requirements.

HealthStream’s EMS Program is a solution that offers flexible training solutions for EMS providers and is an affordable option that can help your organization attract and retain top talent. The program can be used to help fulfill your organization’s emergency training and re-certification requirements.  

The comprehensive EMS Program covers each of the five NREMT categories:

• Airway, Respiration and Ventilation
• Cardiology and Resuscitation
• Trauma
• Medical, Obstetrics and Gynecology
• EMS Operations

The program includes more than 70 hours of CAPCE-approved courses and includes an option for uploading your own courses so that you can address the unique needs of your community and department. Upon completion of the courses, students can complete an assessment to ensure that the material has been understood.

The courses within HealthStream’s EMS Program exceed the minimum number of hours required by the NREMT allowing organizations to use the program to fulfill all of their EMS continuing education needs and beyond.  

Removing Barriers to EMS Training

The NREMT has eliminated the distributive education limits on EMS training, but EMS leaders still need a solution that will work for EMS providers. HealthStream’s EMS Program offers providers access to CAPCE and NREMT courses on a platform that users will find engaging and easy to navigate. In addition, the virtual format is a cost-effective means of education.

Users will find the platform easy to access using the device of their choice at a time and place that is convenient for them – an important message for retention and recruiting purposes. Leaders can also use the platform to monitor individual and department progress on training and recertification goals – eliminating less-reliable paper-based methods for tracking.