Who
Learns What?
by Jacky Vaniotis
Published in the Fall 2002 edition of the Maine EMS I/C News
If
you have ever wondered exactly what is required at each level of
EMS licensure education, you might find the following breakdown
useful. It comes from the Maine EMS Reciprocity Check Sheet, the
form that Maine EMS uses to determine whether or not licensed
people from another state will qualify to be granted a license at
the same level here. All levels except First Responder must have
the Maine EMS Spinal Assessment Program. Here is the breakdown:
First responder
40-hour
DOT course plus (5 hours)
AED
Full
vital signs (1 hour)
Bag
valve mask (0.5 hour)
Spinal
immobilization (2 hours)
Burn
management
Splinting
(1 hour)
Medical
terminology
Lifting
and moving with long board and stair chair
EMT-Basic
110-hour
1994 DOT course including ED or field internship of five patient
assessments
or
Pre-1994
DOT EMT course plus
Proof
of updating to 1994 standards and
Proof
of state or NREMT testing to the new standards
EMT-Intermediate
24
hours field internship
76
hours clinical rotations with time in the ED, critical care unit
(CCU, SCU, ICU, etc.), respiratory therapy, surgical units
and
either
1999
DOT EMT-I course including:
10
successful IV cannulations
5
successful endotracheal intubations (or Maine EMS manikin
training program)
or
State
approved EMT-I course including all of the following:
Roles
and responsibilities (2 hours)
EMS
systems (2 hours)
Medical-legal
considerations (2 hours)
Medical
terminology (1 hour)
EMS
communications (2 hours)
Infectious
diseases (3 hours)
Anatomy
and physiology (11 hours)
Pharmacology
(6-9 hours)
General
patient assessment and initial management (6 hours)
Airway
management and ventilation (10 hours)
Assessment
and management of shock (8 hours)
Cardiovascular
disorders, defibrillation, and AED review (20 hours)
Medical
emergencies (5-8 hours)
Review
and practice (6-9 hours)
Final
written and practical exams (3 hours)
State
or NREMT written and practical exams
EMT-Paramedic
1998
DOT EMT-P course of at least 1065 hours including:
515
didactic hours
5
live patient endotracheal intubations
110
patient contacts of actual patients
25
successful venous access, of which at least 15 must be IV
cannulation
300
hours clinical rotations including the following minimums:
OR/anesthesia
(16 hours)
ED
(16 hours)
ICU/CCU
(16 hours)
IV
team or equivalent (16 hours)
Pediatrics/neonate
(16 hours)
Psychiatric
(16 hours)
Labor/delivery
(16 hours)
Respiratory
therapy (16 hours)
Geriatrics
(16 hours)
Electives
(156 hours)
250
hours field internship
or
State
approved EMT-P course with all of above plus
Cricothyrotomy/cricothyrostomy
Chest
decompression
Administration
of narcotics