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NREMT Launches New Certification Examinations for Paramedics and AEMTs

Written by AAA Staff on . Posted in Human Resources, Operations, Patient Care, Training.

From the National Registry of Emergency Medical Technicians

National Registry of Emergency Medical Technicians Launches New Certification Examinations for Paramedics and AEMTs

The examinations align the National Registry with other health-based professions while retaining the rigor needed for advanced-level Emergency Medical Services (EMS) clinicians.   

(Columbus, Ohio) – Today, the National Registry of Emergency Medical Technicians launched new certification examinations for Paramedics and Advanced Emergency Medical Technicians (AEMTs), integrating new advancements in clinical practice, science, research, and technologies. These updates ensure that Paramedics and AEMTs are knowledgeable and prepared to manage emergency medical events.

“As the national certifying organization for emergency medical clinicians, it’s imperative that our examinations stay current with changes to our profession and evaluate candidates based on the best research and science available,” said Bill Seifarth, Executive Director at the National Registry. “Whenever someone calls 911, no matter where they are in the country, they trust that whoever arrives with the ambulance has the knowledge and skills to care for them. At the National Registry, we’re responsible for validating that trust by keeping our examinations up to date and ensuring all clinicians are competent to successfully respond to an emergency.”

To ensure the National Registry’s certification examinations measure current practice, the most recent National EMS Practice Analysis and its subsequent Addendum were conducted to identify the knowledge, skills, abilities, and clinical judgment required for entry-level clinician competency. This information, coupled with the feedback from the EMS community and continuous collaboration with the National Registry’s accreditor, the National Commission for Certifying Agencies (NCCA), formed the foundation for these new examinations.

“The new Paramedic and AEMT certification examinations incorporate current EMS practices and use innovative item types that leverage interactive technology to evaluate candidates’ knowledge and clinical judgment in diverse ways beyond traditional multiple-choice or multiple-response formats,” explained Dr. Mihaiela Gugiu, Chief Assessment Officer at the National Registry. “These enhancements ensure a unified and thorough assessment process for all certification seekers.”

The new examinations allow candidates to take a single comprehensive examination on one date, reducing logistical challenges while preserving the examinations’ rigor, consistent with standards in other health-based professions.

Additional information about the examinations can be found online at https://nremt.org/Document/Get-Ready-For-The-New-Examinations or by listening to or watching the National Registry’s recently launched podcast, Registry Insider.

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HELPFUL LINKS

Online Press Release: nremt.org/News/National-Registry-of-Emergency-Medical-Technicians

New AEMT and Paramedic Certification Examination Information Page: nremt.org/Document/Get-Ready-For-The-New-Examinations

Registry Insider Vodcast (video); Episode 1 is all about the new examinations: nremt.org/Document/Registry-Insider

Registry Insider Podcast (audio); Episode 1 is all about the new examinations: registryinsider.buzzsprout.com

Happy Pride Month!

Written by Amanda Riordan on . Posted in Employee Wellness, Human Resources, News, Press, Uncategorized.

Happy Pride Month from the American Ambulance Association!

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OSHA Emergency Response Rule Comment Period Extended Again

Written by AAA Staff on . Posted in Employee Wellness, Human Resources, Regulatory.

From the OSHA Website on June 4, 2024

NEW Update: The deadline for comment submission has been extended a second time to July 22, 2024.

The Emergency Response proposed rule is here!

OSHA is happy to announce that the Emergency Response proposed rule has been published in the Federal Register and is now available for viewing.

OSHA welcomes and encourages the submission of public comments in response to this proposed rule. To allow additional time for those individuals interested in creating and submitting a comment, OSHA will be further extending the window for comment submission. The comment period now ends on July 22, 2024.

Comments can be submitted to the Emergency Response Docket at https://www.regulations.gov/docket/OSHA-2007-0073.

OSHA will also be hosting a public hearing, the date of which has yet to be determined. To ensure access to the hearing for all interested members of the public, remote access will be provided.

Additional information on OSHA’s rulemaking process and how stakeholders can participate is available at https://www.osha.gov/laws-regs/rulemakingprocess.

EMS.gov | On-Demand: EMS Harm Reduction and SUD Treatment

Written by AAA Staff on . Posted in Employee Wellness, Human Resources.

EMS News

Webinar Recap & Materials:
EMS Harm Reduction and SUD Treatment

Thank you to everyone who attended our recent EMS Focus Webinar on EMS Harm Reduction and SUD Treatment. If you were unable to join the live session or wish to revisit the discussions, we are pleased to announce that the webinar materials are now accessible online.

Now Available for Access:

  • Webinar Recording: Watch the session at your convenience to capture the full breadth of discussions.
  • Presentation Slides: Access the visual accompaniments to the webinar for a comprehensive understanding of the topics covered.
  • Transcript: Read the detailed transcript of the webinar for an in-depth review of the discussions
  • Q&A
Access Webinar Materials

About EMS Focus

EMS Focus provides a venue to discuss crucial initiatives, issues and challenges for EMS stakeholders and leaders nationwide. Be sure to visit ems.gov for information about upcoming webinars and to view past recordings.

Sign up to receive the latest news from the Office of EMS, including webinars, newsletters and industry updates.

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1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE
Washington, DC 20590
nhtsa.ems@dot.gov
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OSHA Proposed Rule Impact Survey

Written by Samantha Hilker on . Posted in Human Resources, News, Operations.

Attention EMS Leaders!

We are reaching out to gather your insights on the potential financial impact of the recent OSHA Proposed Rule concerning health and safety requirements in the EMS sector. Your feedback is invaluable and will play a crucial role in shaping our understanding and response to these proposed changes.

We have prepared a short survey to capture your perspectives and estimate the potential implications on your operations. The survey can be accessed here, and we would appreciate all responses be submitted by May 15, 2024.

Please note that the public comment period for these changes closes on June 21, 2024. We aim to include the data collected from this survey in the AAA’s public comment letter to ensure that our industry’s voice is heard.

Thank you for taking the time to contribute to this important initiative. Your participation is essential in helping us navigate these potential regulatory changes effectively.

Take the Survey

SURVEY | 2024 Ambulance Industry Employee Turnover Study

Written by Scott Moore on . Posted in Publications, Recruitment & Retention.

The American Ambulance Association is partnering with Newton 360, an ambulance industry partner and Human Resource support firm, to conduct our sixth annual industry turnover study. Our intent is to comprehensively collect and analyze ambulance industry employee turnover data so as to produce a report that provides useful and actionable data. We are inviting EMS organizations to participate in the study. The study will be conducted and managed by Dennis Doverspike, PhD, and Rosanna Miguel, PhD, who are associated with the Center for Applied Talent Analytics at John Carroll University. Each individual or organizational response will be strictly confidential.

The purpose of the study is to better quantify and understand the reasons for turnover at nearly every organizational level within the EMS Industry. Thank you very much for your time and support.
Take Survey Now

Laying the Groundwork for Reducing Employee Turnover

Why participate in the survey?

  1. Educate elected officials, municipalities, and healthcare clients. The insight gained from this survey can help influence the actions, practices, or decisions of officials regarding regulatory and funding policies at the federal, regional, or local level. Specifically, this important data can help validate the critical staffing challenges faced by the EMS industry.
  2. This study is critical to gaining insight into combating staff shortages. The AAA / Newton 360 2024 Ambulance Industry Employee Turnover Study aims to yield the information that organizations need to identify and benchmark their turnover challenges. Over the years this survey has been conducted, it has generated the largest response to a turnover survey ever published for the private EMS industry.
  3. Participating organizations will have full access to the final report at no charge. The comprehensive results of the study will be shared exclusively with each participating organization. Shorter write-ups and summaries of the results may be shared at conferences or published in relevant periodicals or journals.

Before You Start

It is recommended you gather information about your employees and about turnover before completing the questionnaire.

In this survey, we will be asking about headcount (filled and open positions), number of employees leaving the organization, and reasons for employees leaving. We will be asking these questions for each of the following job categories: supervisor, dispatch, EMT, part-time EMT, paramedic, and part-time paramedic. Headcount refers to the number of filled and open positions for each job category at the end of 2023. Filled positions refer to the number of employees in each job category that were on payroll at the end of 2023. For each job category, the number of filled positions should be added to the number of open positions at the end of 2023 to determine the total headcount.

The survey will open on March 18, 2024, and close at end of day, April 12, 2024. The survey can be accessed by following the link below. Word has an issue with some hyperlinks; this hyperlink is safe. If the hyperlink does not work when clicked, please copy the hyperlink ( https://johncarroll.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_0qZ3r9Mqgp5GwZM ) and past it into your browser.

Take Survey Now

Thank you,

Scott Moore, Esq.
Newton 360
Workforce Dynamics, Inc.

JEMS | Adapting to Survive EMS Workplace Shortages, Part I

Written by AAA Staff on . Posted in Human Resources.

From the Journal of Emergency Medical Services on February 1, 2024

Why are females and individuals who identify as Black, indigenous and/or People of Color underrepresented in EMS?

EMS providers and leaders across all levels of care reported staffing to be one of the top challenges facing the industry. A recent study reported over 86% of providers experienced recruitment and retention challenges in the past three years.1

Fitch (2023) reported that many EMS providers have lowered educational requirements, lowered the minimum age, and eliminated certification before hiring (i.e., paid time for training) to overcome workforce shortages. Despite these efforts, maintaining an adequate workforce in EMS organizations and agencies across the country is a growing concern.

Providers continue to evaluate and adjust recruitment strategies to maintain their critical role in the public health and safety system in the United States; however, little is known about the efforts to recruit from underrepresented populations.

Continue reading

Enhancing EMS Safety: Outcomes of the Lights and Siren Collaborative

Written by AAA Staff on . Posted in Employee Wellness, Operations, Patient Care, Quality.

January 17, 2024 – Irving, TX We didn’t need emergency warning devices to get where we were going – a motor vehicle crash without serious injuries. We tried to change lanes and were hit from behind, sideswiped, and pushed across the road. We expected people to yield to us, but the bright flashing lights and sirens contributed to distracting the driver of the car as he was trying to get around us. I still to this day believe we wouldn’t have gotten crashed if we were driving without the use of the emergency warning devices.

The reality is when lights and sirens are on, the risk of crash increases by over 50%.  Weekly, we hear  reports of ambulance crashes that impact providers, patients, and the public.

The National EMS Quality Alliance has released Improving Safety in EMS: Reducing the Use of Lights and Siren, a change package with the results, lessons learned, and change strategies developed during the 15-month long Lights and Siren Collaborative.  It will assist EMS organization in making incremental improvements to use of lights and siren on a local and systematic basis. “The best practices that have emerged from this project will allow every agency, regardless of service model or size, to more safely and effectively respond to 9-1-1 calls.” says Michael Redlener, the President of the NEMSQA Board of Directors.

“By utilizing less lights and sirens during EMS response and transport, our efforts have shown measurable increases in safety. The EMS community and the general public will surely benefit from the now-proven tactics provided by this partnership,” added Mike Taigman, Improvement Guide with FirstWatch and faculty leading the collaborative.

More about the Collaborative and participating agencies can be found in the change package and on the NEMSQA website.

About the National EMS Quality Alliance

The National EMS Quality Alliance (NEMSQA) is the nation’s leader in the development and endorsement of evidence-based quality measures for EMS.  Formed in 2019, NEMSQA is an independent non-profit organization comprised of stakeholders from national EMS organizations, federal agencies, EMS system leaders and providers, EMS quality improvement and data experts as well as those who support prehospital care with the goal to improve EMS systems of care, patient outcomes, provider safety and well-being on a national level.

 

NEMSQA
Sheree Murphy
smurphy@nemsqa.org
315-396-4725

CISA | Preventing Workplace Violence Infographic

Written by AAA Staff on . Posted in Human Resources.

Preventing Workplace Violence: Security Awareness Considerations Infographic

Publish Date
RELATED TOPICS:
PHYSICAL SECURITY, INSIDER THREAT MITIGATION, NON-CONFRONTATIONAL TECHNIQUES

The Preventing Workplace Violence: Security Awareness Considerations Infographic is a new CISA product designed for critical infrastructure leaders, human resources personnel, managers, and workers of any level. The infographic provides actionable recommendations and resources intended to prevent and mitigate workplace violence by cultivating a culture of awareness and support in the workplace.

For questions regarding this infographic, please email central@cisa.gov.

Resource Materials

Preventing Workplace Violence: Security Awareness Considerations Infographic(PDF, 1.09 MB )

Tags

Audience
Federal Government, Industry, Small and Medium Businesses, State, Local, Tribal, and Territorial Government, Executives
Topics
Physical Security, Insider Threat Mitigation, Non-Confrontational Techniques

Gluesenkamp Perez and Finstad Introduce EMS Workforce Shortage Bill

Written by Tristan North on . Posted in Government Affairs, Legislative, News, Recruitment & Retention, Workforce Shortage.

Yesterday, November 15, Congresswoman Marie Gluesenkamp Perez (D-WA) and Congressman Brad Finstad (R-MN) introduced the Preserve Access to Rapid Ambulance Emergency Medical Treatment (PARA-EMT) Act (H.R. 6433). H.R. 6433 is the first broad, stand-alone piece of legislation specifically designed to focus solely on helping address the EMS workforce shortage.

“We greatly appreciate the leadership of Congresswoman Gluesenkamp Perez and Congressman Finstad on introducing this momentous legislation to assist with the hiring and retention of paramedics and EMTs,” stated AAA President Randy Strozyk. “We look forward to working with them on passage of the bill.”

H.R. 6433 would establish a pilot grant program under the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response (ASPR) at the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) for the recruitment and training of paramedics and EMTs. The grant program would be authorized from 2024 through 2028 with $50 million a year in funding.

The legislation would also provide states with funding to help facilitate and expedite the transition of medics coming out of military service with the requirements of becoming a civilian paramedic or EMT. The program would be authorized from 2024 through 2028 with $20 million a year in grant funding for states.

Lastly, H.R. 6433 would direct the Secretary of Labor to conduct a study on the EMS workforce shortage and issue a report to Congress. The report would include an analysis on potentially adding paramedics and EMTs to the list of health care occupations which benefit from an easier hiring process of professionals outside the U.S.

The American Ambulance Association, National Rural Health Association and Washington Ambulance Association have endorsed H.R. 6433. In the coming days, the AAA will be launching a Call to Action to encourage and assist our members in contacting their U.S. Representatives in support of cosponsoring H.R. 6433.

Thank you to all of the AAA members and volunteer leaders who worked tirelessly to push for the introduction of this important EMS legislation!

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