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We recently wrote about a multi-state coalition that was formed to eliminate the Advanced Emergency Medical Technician licensure from their protocols. Well, they’re at it again. A New England coalition is pushing for a new mandate that would require all persons interested in getting their Paramedic certification, to have at least 18 months experience as an EMT before they could apply for Paramedic School. In the mandate, which Call the Cops was able to get their hands on, requires all future medic students to have 18 months experience, with over 150 medical calls.
Zero to Hero
“Any person who wishes to apply to a Paramedic School must first have 18 months experience as an Emergency Medical Technician. This person must have at least 150 responses, to which they must have been the lead technician on at least 75.” It would also require EMTs to have ICS 100, 200, 700, and 800 prior to their acceptance into the program
Chairman of the coalition, Massachusetts Paramedic and OEMS representative Benjamin Rodriguez stated today that there has been too many people who go from “Zero to Hero”, which causes an issue when it comes to patient care. “These Para-Gods go from flipping burgers, to making decisions in the back of the ambulance within just 18 months. This could lead to a very horrible scenario in the back of the ambulance, where a paramedic has not even hammered down their BLS skills, and are now already Medics,” stated a very concerned Rodriguez. “What we are ending up with are a bunch of Paramedics that are just being manufactured at these colleges and have no real life experiences in the ambulance to back up what they’re learning.”
New Hampshire Department of Emergency Medical Services Director Charlie Conway stated that there is currently one college in the state that offers this type of program, where students are required to have documentation of 100 field calls, 25 of which you must have been the lead technician. You are also required to have a letter of recommendation from an EMS Supervisor at your current department.
Comment from colleges who offer the “Zero to Hero” program were unavailable for comment. Stay tuned for further updates.
