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Requirements for EMS Personnel
Paramedic Requirements:
Cowlitz 2 Fire & Rescue's career and volunteer paramedics require 50 hours of
continuing medical education (CME) annually to maintain their paramedic
certifications. Those certificates are issued through the
WA State Department of Health.
Paramedics are required to complete a program in Washington State, or one that
meets the same standards.
Paramedic programs range from 9 months to 2 years of curriculum depending
upon the program attended. Programs in Washington State require that applicants
are emergency medical technicians (EMTs), for at least one year. A state issued
certificate is current for three years. During that three year period, the
paramedic must complete 50 hours of CME annually (150 hours total), perform
clinical skills to the satisfaction of the
Medical Program Director (MPD), and be affiliated with a pre-hospital agency
within the county he or she is certified. The paramedic must also be ACLS
certified (Advanced Cardiac Life Support - 16 hour class every four years), PALS
certified (Pediatric Advanced Life Support - 16 hour class every two years), PHTLS (Pre-Hospital Trauma Life Support - 16 hour class every two years), and
complete an MPD supervised surgical skills lab every other year.
Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) Requirements:
Cowlitz 2 Fire & Rescue employs 12 career EMTs and approximately 60 volunteer EMTs. The EMT curriculum
required by the WA State
Department of Health is approximately 130 hours long. This usually extends
over two college quarters. Anyone may join an EMT class and take the final test,
but to become certified and take the State test, the participant must be
affiliated with a pre-hospital agency as an employee or a volunteer.
State certifications are current for three years. An EMT is required to have 10
hours each year, or 30 hours each certification period of CME. Specific
requirements are CPR, patient assessment, pediatrics, communicable disease,
pharmacology, patient extrication and spinal immobilization. Individuals that
have the extra education required to be EMT-IV technicians are required to have
15 hours each year, or 45 hours every certification period, along with a
demonstration of intravenous proficiency skills for the
Medical Program Director (MPD).
First Responder Requirements:
Cowlitz 2 Fire & Rescue has 1 First Responders that is a volunteer. Career
personnel are required to be EMTs. First Responders have completed a 58 hour
curriculum and then must pass a State test to be certified. They also must
demonstrate proof that they are affiliated with a pre-hospital agency within the
State. Certifications are current for three years. First Responders must have 15
hours of CME each certification period. Those hours must include CPR, spinal
immobilization and extrication, patient assessment and pediatrics.
Ongoing Training and Evaluation Program (OTEP):
To assist the members of Cowlitz 2 to meet their CME requirements, we designate
specific times and arrange teaching for OTEP. Teachers have been certified by
the WA State Department of
Health through an evaluator course.
The OTEP schedule for the volunteers is every fourth Wednesday night of the month
from 7:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. and is put out three years in advance. This
training takes place at three different stations to accommodate the volunteers.
Career staff obtains training while they are on shift at different times
throughout the month.
C2FR began using King County's EMS Online Program
at the end of 2006 for OTEP. It has proven to be a very useful training tool to
allow members to be able to complete EMS training on their own schedule. With
online EMS training, each module is completed on the computer followed by a test
for verification of passing. After successful completion of each EMS training
module, a practical hands-on test is completed at a scheduled OTEP night or on a
shift. The online program maintains records of this training for ongoing access
and at recertification time. King County generates a year long schedule at the
beginning of each year which we follow.
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