An EMT is an Emergency Medical Technician. Their job is to provide a range of prehospital care to patients who are sick or who have been hurt. The amount of care you can provide will depend on your EMT level and your location as well as training you have received. A Paramedic is able to provide the most extensive pre-hospital care and procedures to patients. Because you are performing extensive life saving techniques, you will need to keep your skills up to date. There are times when you will need some additional practice and to learn new techniques. The EMT refresher courses will help you require this and at certain times the course is required.
EMT Refresher Course Overview
As an EMT, you will need to take a refresher course at times. The course is intended to help you practice and maintain the knowledge you need for all procedures you can carry out in the field (including those that you use less frequently). It course will also help you to learn about any changes in procedures as well as rules and regulations for emergency medical technicians. The course is good practice to keep your skills in the state they need to be in order for you to provide the best possible care to patients.
As the name implies, this course just refreshes your knowledge of duties you carry out as an EMT and of materials you learned while you were in an EMT and Paramedic training course. The course is not as intense as the program you intended to become an EMT or Paramedic. It will last for far less hours and will not cover materials nearly as extensively.
Refresher Course Requirements
The National Registry of Emergency Medical Technicians requires individuals to take refresher training regularly in order to maintain their certification. In fact, NREMT certified technicians must take a refresher course every two years. If you have been re-certified recently, you are sometimes allowed to go up to 3 years from your initial licensing before you need to take your first refresher course. The refresher courses are part of the required continuing education hours for EMTs. Visit the website of your certifying body, to help you find approved refresher training programs.
There are some states that will allow you to take the EMT competency exam rather than take a refresher course. You must check with your state because these rules can vary greatly from one to another. There may still be times when you are required to take the course rather than just sitting for the exam even if your state allows you to challenge the exam without sitting through the course.
Continuing Education Courses
These refresher courses can vary in length but they usually need to cover at least 24 hours of education. Most courses follow the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s format. This format covers six main topics areas. Those areas should include:
- Preparation of care for children
- Airway Management
- Trauma care and procedures
- Treatment of OB patients, newborns, infants and children
- Conducting patient assessments
- Medical and Behavioral topics
24 hours courses usually have 14 hours of specific training in the above core areas. Then students can finish 10 hours of more self paced and individualized learning. These hours may be in the form of seminars, DVDs and online learning. Topics will further educate the person on the current stills they need in the EMT field
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