ATTENTION EMS PERSONNEL EXPIRING IN 2008

The National Registry of Emergency Medical Technicians (NREMT) will only accept ORIGINAL State of New Hampshire Certificate of Completion as documentation and proof that you have completed your refresher requirements in accordance with New Hampshire Laws & Administrative Rules.

For First Responders, the Certificate of Completion is issued by the State of New Hampshire, Department of Safety, Division of Fire Standards and Training & Emergency Medical Services, Bureau of EMS upon successful completion of the NH First Responder practical exam.

For EMT-Basics and EMT-Intermediates, the Certificate of Completion is issued by the State of New Hampshire, Department of Safety, Division of Fire Standards and Training & Emergency Medical Services, Bureau of EMS upon successful completion of the NH EMT-Basic practical exam.*

For EMT-Paramedics, the Certificate of Completion is issued by the State of New Hampshire, Department of Safety, Division of Fire Standards and Training & Emergency Medical Services, Bureau of EMS upon successful completion of a state approved EMT-Paramedic refresher.* / **

IMPORTANT: If you have previously taken a refresher program and have a Certificate of Completion issued prior to October 1, 2007 you will need an updated version to submit with re-registration paperwork this coming year. Please contact an Education Specialist at the Bureau of EMS to have your certificate replaced. There are new features to the certificate and submission of an older certificate will result in your re-registration materials being returned by the NREMT.

*For those personnel using the NREMT Exam-in-Lieu to meet their refresher requirements, please see the document: Information Regarding NREMT Exam-In- Lieu.

** Any EMT-Paramedic using the NREMT recertification by continuing education process must contact the Bureau of EMS to obtain a certificate of completion.

NIMS Training Compliance Update

NIMS training compliance is an ongoing process for both the State as a whole and local jurisdictions and agencies. While many localities are in full compliance, there are still many who are not. Achieving compliance for your jurisdiction and/or agency is fairly simple:

ALL responders must complete these courses:

• IS-700 Introduction to NIMS
• IS-100 Introduction to ICS (or the equivalent)
• IS-200 Basic ICS (or the equivalent)
• IS-800 Introduction to the National Response Plan
• This training should be completed by September 2007.

FAQ's:

I’ve already taken the Fire Academy’s 16 hour ICS course. Do I need to take 100 and 200 as well?

No.The ICS training requirement can be met by having completed the NFA’s 16-hour ICS program that has been offered by the NH Fire Academy for quite some time. It is not necessary to take IS-100 and/or IS-200 if you have already taken the NFA ICS course.

How can I get the courses that I need?

All of the listed courses can be taken online or in a classroom. The classroom method is recommended and can be scheduled by contacting your Field Captain or the NH Fire Academy. The Field Captain for the Northern Region is Harry McGovern at 419-9444 and the Field Captain for the Southern Region is Meredith Lund at 419-9500.

What if I have more questions?

If you have any questions regarding NIMS compliance, please contact Captain Bob Pragoff at the NH Fire Academy at 271-2661 X106 or rpragoff@safety.state.nh.us

Information Regarding NREMT Exam-in-Lieu

New Hampshire recognizes registration through the National Registry of Emergency Medical Technicians (NREMT) as proof of cognitive, entry level, competency. Licensure eligibility in NH is based on proof of current NREMT registration / certification. In 2007 the NREMT Board of Directors approved the use of their Computer Based Test (CBT) in lieu of the traditional refresher process. NH EMS Coordinating Board reviewed this policy and voted to accept the exam-in-lieu of the required refresher course only. See below for guidance on how to complete this process in NH.

EMT-Basic

• Register to take the CBT Exam (www.nremt.org).
• Complete the EMT-Basic CBT Exam at the site you choose.
• Upon successful completion of the CBT exam you will receive notification and re-registration documents from the NREMT.**
• Complete the required NREMT documentation
• Present the documentation and proof of 48 hours of continuing education to the geographically appropriate Education Specialist (Berlin, Epping, Wilton) who will verify your continuing education (within 10 business days of receipt).
• Register and take the NH State EMT-Basic practical exam.
• Upon successful completion of the practical exam you will receive a “Certificate of Completion.”
• Submit the NREMT paperwork and the original State ”Certificate of Completion” to the NREMT.

EMT-Intermediate

• Register to take the CBT Exam (www.nremt.org).
• Complete the EMT-Intermediate (1985) CBT Exam at the site you choose.
• Upon successful completion of the CBT exam you will receive notification and re-registration documents from the NREMT.**
• Complete the required NREMT documentation
• Present the documentation and proof of 48 hours of continuing education (36 BLS, 12 ALS) to the geographically appropriate Education Specialist (Berlin, Epping, Wilton) who will verify your continuing education (within 10 business days of receipt).
• Register and take the NH State EMT-Basic practical exam.
• Upon successful completion of the practical exam you will receive a “Certificate of Completion.”
• Submit the NREMT paperwork and the original State ”Certificate of Completion” to the NREMT.

EMT-Paramedic

• Register to take the CBT Exam (www.nremt.org).
• Complete the EMT-Paramedic CBT Exam at the site you choose.
• Upon successful completion of the CBT exam you will receive notification and re-registration documents from the NREMT.**
• Complete the required NREMT documentation
• Present the documentation and proof of 24 hours of continuing education to the geographically appropriate Education Specialist (Berlin, Epping, Wilton) who will verify your continuing education (within 10 business days of receipt).
• Upon verification of continuing education you will receive a “Certificate of Completion.”
• Submit the NREMT paperwork and the original State ”Certificate of Completion” to the NREMT.

** Failure of the Exam will require the candidate to complete the refresher process by traditional methods.**

NH Paramedic Refresher Process – Clarification

Recently it has come to our attention that there may be some confusion about the difference between continuing education and modular refresher programs for Paramedics.

New Hampshire Administrative Rule Saf-C 5913.04, which went into effect in 2002, states that paramedics are required to complete a State authorized refresher training program that meets or exceeds US DOT curriculum (2001). The Administrative Rule does not recognize the National Registry of Emergency Medical Technicians (NREMT) refresher by continuing education process.

It is understood that there are some paramedics who have chosen to use this process for refreshing in the past. Any Paramedic in NH who has a NREMT expiration date of 3/31/2008 and is in the process of re-registering via the National Registry policy of continuing education, is able to continue on your course. However, you will need to contact the Bureau of EMS, Education Coordinator Eric Perry at (603) 271-2661 for further guidance.

Effective April 1, 2008 refreshing via the NREMT continuing education process will not be allowed. Many instructors choose to teach their refresher in a modular fashion, this practice is authorized by the Bureau of EMS. An example of this would be an agency that holds monthly training that cover a part of the EMT-P RTP objectives each time. Over several months all of the objectives of the curriculum are met. When a paramedic completes all of the objectives and time requirements of the RTP curriculum, they have completed the refresher training program and the State has been notified (standard I/C process) a Certificate of Completion will be issued by the Bureau. An instructor can request authorization of this type of schedule in the same manner he/she would for a traditional refresher. Paramedics also have the option to take a more traditional scheduled refresher where 48 hours of classroom time is completed in a more condensed time frame rather than spread out of many months. Instructors have the flexibility to design their programs however they desire so long that they meet all the objectives and time requirements, and have their program authorized by the State of New Hampshire, Bureau of EMS.

In addition to the refresher methods above, NH recently approved the NREMT Exam-in-Lieu process with some NH specific additions. That process was released on September 5, 2007 and is available on the Bureau of EMS website. Regardless of the methodology in which paramedics choose to take their refresher, they still have the additional requirement of 24 hours of continuing education in accordance with NREMT policy.