Current through Register Vol. 57, No. 6, March
17, 2025
(a) An
EMT-Paramedic training program shall provide a coordinated course of study,
consisting of both didactic and clinical instruction, designed for the purpose
of preparing a person to sit for the NREMT-Paramedic Certification
Examination.
(b) The clinical
portion of an EMT-Paramedic training program shall be conducted by a mobile
intensive care hospital.
1. A mobile
intensive care hospital seeking to be approved as a clinical training site for
the purpose of offering the clinical portion of an EMT-Paramedic training
program shall first apply, in writing, to OEMS for approval. Applications shall
include clinical resources, training objectives, didactic training site
affiliations, the name of the medical director responsible for overseeing the
training and other such information as deemed necessary by the Department.
Approval of new clinical training sites shall be based on system needs as
determined by the Department.
2. No
mobile intensive care hospital shall offer, or claim to offer, the clinical
portion of an EMT-Paramedic training program until authorized by the Department
to do so.
i. Supervision in the clinical
setting shall be provided by the EMS Educator, field preceptors or hospital
personnel such as physicians, physician assistants, advanced practice nurses,
registered nurses and/or respiratory care practitioners, if supervisors have
been approved by the EMS Educator to function in such roles. Clinical
supervision must be provided by faculty and/or staff qualified through previous
academic preparation, training, and experience to teach and/or operate in the
clinical setting or settings. There shall be a 1:1 student/instructor ratio for
all clinical training.
ii. All
clinical training sites shall conduct their training in compliance with the
objectives set forth at
N.J.A.C.
8:41A-2.4 through 2.7. All clinical training
sites shall maintain accurate records of the students' progress, documenting
satisfactory completion of all completed clinical objectives. These documents
shall be made available to Department staff upon demand.
(c) Each clinical training site
shall employ an EMS Educator. The EMS Educator shall have graduated from an
accredited college with at least an Associate's degree, be an EMT-Paramedic or
registered nurse and have a minimum of three years experience in a mobile
intensive care program providing advanced life support cares. In lieu of a
college degree, a person may serve as an EMS Educator if he or she can
document, to the satisfaction of OEMS, that he or she has at least two years of
practical experience in the actual training of EMT-Paramedic students. The EMS
Educator's responsibilities shall include, but are not limited to:
1. Coordinating all activities associated
with the clinical portion of an EMT-Paramedic training program;
2. Ensuring that all persons providing
clinical instruction to students enrolled in the clinical portion of an
EMT-Paramedic training program are clinically competent to provide the
necessary training and have received formal orientation to the program
curriculum, with particular attention to clinical training;
3. Compiling all relevant student records
including, but not limited to:
i. A copy of
the student's EMT-Basic certification card;
ii. Copies of the student's CPR, ACLS and
either PALS or PEPP-Advanced certification cards;
iii. Documentation of successful completion
of the didactic portion of an EMT-Paramedic training program;
iv. A copy of the schedule for the didactic
portion of an EMT-Paramedic training program;
v. Original documentation of completion of
the stated objectives of the clinical portion of an EMT-Paramedic training
program;
vi. Copies of the
schedules for the clinical portions of an EMT-Paramedic training
program;
vii. Anecdotal records, as
needed;
viii. Copies of the
required evaluations; and
ix.
Copies of the endorsement to take the NREMT-Paramedic Certification
Examination, if appropriate;
4. Providing each student with at least four
periodic written or verbal evaluations;
i.
Student evaluations shall be conducted on a recurring basis and with sufficient
frequency to provide both the student and the program faculty with valid and
timely indicators of the student's progress towards, and the achievement of,
the competencies and objectives stated in the curriculum;
ii. Methods utilized to evaluate students
shall verify the achievement of the objectives stated in the curriculum.
Evaluation methods, including direct assessment of student competencies in
patient care environments, shall be appropriate in design to assure valid
assessment of competency. Evaluation methods must be consistent with the
competencies and objectives being tested;
5. Ensuring that students have access to
patients who present common problems encountered in the delivery of advanced
emergency care in adequate numbers and in distribution by age and
sex;
6. Ensuring that students are
assigned to clinical settings where experiences are educationally efficient and
effective in achieving the program's objectives;
7. Developing a final evaluation examination
covering all the objectives of the clinical training. Each student shall take
and pass that examination prior to receiving endorsement to take the
NREMT-Paramedic Certification Examination; and
8. Ensuring that all students perform and
demonstrate competency in all required skills prior to endorsing the student to
sit for the NREMT-Paramedic Certification Examination.
(d) The clinical portion of an EMT-Paramedic
training program shall consist of a minimum of 700 hours of training. The
training objectives for each area of the didactic portion of an EMT-Paramedic
training program must have been presented before clinical training for the
respective area may begin.
1. Hours of
clinical training in the following areas are mandated by the program curriculum
and the Department:
i. Emergency Department:
100 hours;
ii. Intensive/Coronary
Care Units: 40 hours;
iii.
Operating/Recovery Room: 24 hours;
iv. IV Therapy Team, if available: 16
hours;
v. Pediatric Unit: 40
hours;
vi. Labor/Delivery/Newborn
Nursery: 24 hours;
vii. Psychiatric
Unit or Crisis Center: Eight hours;
viii. Cardiology Laboratory: Eight hours;
and
ix. Morgue: Eight hours;
(1) The morgue experience may be obtained by
the student attending actual autopsies, viewing videotaped autopsies approved
by the Department or by attending a course approved by the
Department.
2. Clinical training shall also be required
in the following areas:
i. Laboratory: Eight
hours; and
ii. Respiratory Therapy:
24 hours.
3. A minimum
of 400 hours of field experience shall be documented after completion of the
didactic portion of an EMT-Paramedic training program.
4. Minimum hour requirements for optional
clinical areas may be determined by the EMS Educator.
(e) The student shall provide the EMS
Educator with the appropriate completed clinical sign off sheets documenting
successful completion of all clinical training objectives.
(f) If a student fails to meet any of the
minimum numbers for the performance of the required skills listed in this
chapter, the EMS Educator may, in accordance with
N.J.A.C.
8:41A-1.4, make application to OEMS for a
waiver of that requirement.
(g) All
training requirements for the clinical portion of an EMT-Paramedic training
program shall be completed within 18 months of the completion of the didactic
portion of an EMT-Paramedic training program. A student may be eligible for a
six-month extension to complete the clinical training requirements.
1. Any such request shall be made to the
Department and shall:
i. Be made in writing
by the EMS Educator responsible for the student and delivered no later than 30
calendar days before the expiration of the clinical portion of an EMT-Paramedic
training program;
ii. Include the
student's name, didactic training site, didactic completion date, and the name
of the mobile intensive care hospital providing clinical sponsorship;
iii. Include an explanation of the need for
the extension; and
iv. Contain an
endorsement of the request by the EMS Educator and a statement reaffirming
clinical sponsorship.
2.
The Department shall advise students of the outcome of their request, through
their EMS Educator, within 30 calendar days of receipt of the
request.
3. Only one such extension
shall be granted.
4. Students who
receive an extension shall sit for the first NREMT-Paramedic Certification
Examination offered after the extension expires.
(h) Any student failing to complete the
clinical portion of an EMT-Paramedic training program within the time span
identified in (g) above shall be required to complete a didactic course of
study equivalent to the refresher curriculum, the balance of the clinical time
required and any additional time the EMS Educator or OEMS deems reasonably
necessary to demonstrate competence in the required training objectives. In no
instance shall the total training period exceed 36 months from the beginning of
the didactic portion of an EMT-Paramedic training program.
(i) Students shall not transfer clinical
sponsorship during the course of training unless the change is first endorsed
by both the original and the intended sponsors. Consistent with
N.J.A.C.
8:41A-1.4, a student may request a waiver
from this requirement.
