Current through Register Vol. 6, March 22, 2024
(1) All public
safety officers must be certified by POST and meet the applicable appointment,
employment, education, and certification standards as prescribed by the Montana
Code Annotated.
(2) In addition to
standards set forth in the Montana Code Annotated, including but not limited to
44-4-404, MCA, all public safety officers must:
(a) be a citizen of the United States or may
be a registered alien if unsworn;
(b) be at least 18 years of age;
(c) be fingerprinted and a search made of the
local, state, and national fingerprint files to disclose any criminal
record;
(d) not have been convicted
of a crime for which they could have been imprisoned in a federal or state
penitentiary or a crime involving unlawful sexual conduct;
(e) be of good moral character as determined
by a thorough background check;
(f)
be a high school graduate or have been issued an equivalency certificate by the
Superintendent of Public Instruction, or by an appropriate issuing agency of
another state or of the federal government;
(g) successfully complete an oral interview
conducted by the appointing authority or its designated
representative;
(h) be in good
standing with POST and any other licensing or certification boards or
committees equivalent to POST in any other state such that no license or
certification similar to a POST certification has been revoked or is currently
suspended in any other state;
(i)
possess a valid driver's license if driving a vehicle will be part of the
officer's duties;
(j) abide by the
code of ethics contained in ARM 23.13.803; and
(k) complete, within every two calendar
years, 20 hours of documented agency in-service, roll call, field training, or
POST-approved continuing education training credits, which include but are not
limited to a professional ethics curriculum covering the following topics and
any additional topics required by the council:
(i) a review of the code of ethics ARM
23.13.803 and Grounds for Denial, Sanction, Suspension, and Revocation ARM
23.13.702;
(ii) review of the
current POST integrity report;
(iii) discussion involving core values of
each appointing authority which may include integrity, honesty, empathy,
sympathy, bravery, justice, hard work, kindness, compassion, and critical
thinking skills;
(iv) review of
agency policy and procedure regarding ethical and moral codes of conduct;
(v) discussion of the similarities
and differences between agency and POST consequences for actions that violate
policy or rule.
(3) Every public safety communications
officer, as a part of the training required in (2)(k), must complete, every two
calendar years, a telephone cardiopulmonary resuscitation (TCPR) course. The
required TCPR training shall follow evidence-based, nationally recognized
guidelines for high-quality TCPR that incorporate recognition protocols for
out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) and continuous education. The training
must cover a minimum of the following topics:
(a) anatomy and physiology of the circulatory
and cardiovascular systems;
(b)
relationship between circulatory, respiratory, and nervous systems;
(c) signs and symptoms of acute coronary
syndrome (ACS);
(d) signs of life
recognition;
(e) early recognition
of the need for CPR;
(f) agonal
respirations;
(g) hypoxic seizures
and sudden cardiac arrest;
(h)
pathophysiology of sudden cardiac death/cardiac arrest;
(i) the role of TCPR in cardiac arrest
survival;
(j) the importance of
minimizing disruptions when TCPR is in progress;
(k) physiology behind the performance of the
instructions;
(l) automated
external defibrillators and the role they play in resuscitation;
(m) explanation, with practical training
exercises, for different TCPR instructions, including: adult, child, infant,
neonate, pregnant patients, obese patients, and stoma patients;
(n) critical incident stress management;
and
(o) unusual circumstances
posing challenges to the delivery of TCPR instructions, such as: patients with
do-not-resuscitate orders or physician orders for life-sustaining treatment,
patients on ventilators, post-operation patients, patients obviously dead on
arrival, electrocution, drowning, strangulation, two-rescuers ventilations, and
cardiac arrest from trauma.
(4) The POST Council is not responsible for
maintaining records of continuing education hours acquired to satisfy the
requirements of (2)(j) and (2)(k). The appointing authority must maintain
records of the administration of the oath and the continuing education hours
acquired to satisfy (2)(j) and (2)(k). Agency records maintained under this
rule are subject to audit by the executive director during normal business
hours upon reasonable notice to the agency.
AUTH: 2-15-2029, MCA; IMP: 2-15-2029, 44-4-403,
MCA