The National Registry of Emergency Medical Technicians is a
US certification agency covering prehospital medical providers.
History
The NREMT was established in 1970 in response to a recommendation from President
Lyndon Johnson
Lyndon Baines Johnson (; August 27, 1908January 22, 1973), often referred to by his initials LBJ, was an American politician who served as the 36th president of the United States from 1963 to 1969. He had previously served as the 37th vice ...
's Committee on Highway Traffic Safety that a national certifying agency for
Emergency Medical Technician
An emergency medical technician (EMT), also known as an ambulance technician, is a health professional that provides emergency medical services. EMTs are most commonly found working in ambulances. In English-speaking countries, paramedics are ...
s be created in order to establish and standardize training requirements.
National Standard Curriculum as defined by the
Department of Transportation -
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA ) is an agency of the U.S. federal government, part of the Department of Transportation. It describes its mission as "Save lives, prevent injuries, reduce vehicle-related crashes" rela ...
(NHTSA)
Standards
Most states use or require NREMT testing for some level of state certification.
["Emergency Medical Technicians" from University of Missouri, St. Louis]
/ref> NREMT recognizes four levels of EMS: EMR, EMT, Advanced EMT, and Paramedic
A paramedic is a registered healthcare professional who works autonomously across a range of health and care settings and may specialise in clinical practice, as well as in education, leadership, and research.
Not all ambulance personnel are p ...
(some states may have additional certifications).[ NREMT certification at an ]EMT Intermediate
Advanced emergency medical technicians (AEMT) are providers of prehospital emergency medical services in the United States. A transition to this level of training from the ''emergency medical technician-intermediate'' (''EMT-I''), which have somewh ...
level may or may not be sufficient for some state EMT-I requirements.[Colorado EMT requirement overview]
/ref> While NREMT certification may be mandatory for new state certification, it is not necessarily required for renewals.[ These procedures and requirements vary from state to state. In 1986, military emergency rooms were required to certify all medical technicians through NREMT.]["National Registry of EMT Certification of Air Force Emergency Room Technicians" from the Defense Technical Information Center]
/ref>
Levels of Certification
* Nationally Registered Emergency Medical Responder (NREMR): This is the entry level into emergency medical services
Emergency medical services (EMS), also known as ambulance services or paramedic services, are emergency services that provide urgent pre-hospital treatment and stabilisation for serious illness and injuries and transport to definitive care. ...
(EMS). They are trained in CPR
Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) is an emergency procedure consisting of chest compressions often combined with artificial ventilation in an effort to manually preserve intact brain function until further measures are taken to restore sponta ...
, advanced first aid
First aid is the first and immediate assistance given to any person with either a minor or serious illness or injury, with care provided to preserve life, prevent the condition from worsening, or to promote recovery. It includes initial in ...
, automated external defibrillator
An automated external defibrillator (AED) is a portable electronic device that automatically diagnoses the life-threatening cardiac arrhythmias of ventricular fibrillation (VF) and pulseless ventricular tachycardia, and is able to treat them thro ...
usage, and patient assessment. Most police and fire services require their employees to be emergency medical responders at a minimum. This course is usually 40–60 hours in length.
* Nationally Registered Emergency Medical Technician
An emergency medical technician (EMT), also known as an ambulance technician, is a health professional that provides emergency medical services. EMTs are most commonly found working in ambulances. In English-speaking countries, paramedics are ...
(NREMT): This level of certification provides basic life support
Basic life support (BLS) is a level of medical care which is used for patients with life-threatening illnesses or injuries until they can be given full medical care by advanced life support providers (paramedics, nurses, physicians). It can be pr ...
.
* Nationally Registered Advanced Emergency Medical Technician
Advanced emergency medical technicians (AEMT) are providers of prehospital emergency medical services in the United States. A transition to this level of training from the ''emergency medical technician-intermediate'' (''EMT-I''), which have somewh ...
(NRAEMT)
* Nationally Registered Paramedic
A paramedic is a registered healthcare professional who works autonomously across a range of health and care settings and may specialise in clinical practice, as well as in education, leadership, and research.
Not all ambulance personnel are p ...
(NRP)
EMS-ID
The NREMT launched the EMS-ID system on January 23, 2020, modeled after the National Provider Identifier
A National Provider Identifier (NPI) is a unique 10-digit identification number issued to health care providers in the United States by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). The NPI has replaced the Unique Physician Identification ...
(NPI). The idea was that one identifier could be issued to a verified individual upon creation of an NREMT account, which could then reference all certifications for that person. The number would remain constant, even if the individual changed their name, national certification level, etc. Similar to the NPI number issued by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), is a federal agency within the United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) that administers the Medicare program and works in partnership with state governments to administer M ...
(CMS), the number is a 12-position, intelligence-free numeric identifier (12-digit number). The EMS-ID is not intended to replace the individual registry number.
Controversy
The NREMT was criticized in 2010 for failing to prevent cheating during some exams. The Washington, D.C. Fire Department was investigated for cheating on the NREMT certification exam; however, an extensive investigation by the NREMT, Pearson VUE
Pearson plc is a British multinational publishing and education company headquartered in London, England.
It was founded as a construction business in the 1840s but switched to publishing in the 1920s. Spender, J. A., ''Weetman Pearson: Fi ...
(the test administrator), with assistance from the DC Fire and EMS department and the DC police, revealed no evidence of cheating at Pearson VUE's LaPlata, MD testing center.
The NREMT works with the EMS community to implement the National EMS System including the EMS Agenda for the Future, EMS Education Agenda: A Systems Approach, and National Scope of Practice Model.Nasemsd.org
/ref>
See also
* National Association of Emergency Medical Technicians
The National Association of Emergency Medical Technicians is an American professional association representing Emergency medical technicians and paramedics
A paramedic is a registered healthcare professional who works autonomously across a r ...
(NAEMT)
* Medic
A medic is a person involved in medicine such as a medical doctor, medical student, paramedic or an emergency medical responder.
Among physicians in the UK, the term "medic" indicates someone who has followed a "medical" career path in postgradu ...
* Combat medic
A combat medic, or healthcare specialist, is responsible for providing emergency medical treatment at a point of wounding in a combat or training environment, as well as primary care and health protection and evacuation from a point of injury ...
* Star of Life
The Star of Life is a symbol used to identify emergency medical services. It features a blue six-pointed star outlined by a white border. The middle contains a Rod of Asclepius – an ancient symbol of medicine. The Star of Life can be found on a ...
* Ambulance
An ambulance is a medically equipped vehicle which transports patients to treatment facilities, such as hospitals. Typically, out-of-hospital medical care is provided to the patient during the transport.
Ambulances are used to respond to medi ...
* Emergency medical services
Emergency medical services (EMS), also known as ambulance services or paramedic services, are emergency services that provide urgent pre-hospital treatment and stabilisation for serious illness and injuries and transport to definitive care. ...
* Emergency medical services in the United States
In the United States, emergency medical services (EMS) provide out-of-hospital acute medical care and/or transport to definitive care for those in need. They are regulated at the most basic level by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administra ...
* Emergency medical technician
An emergency medical technician (EMT), also known as an ambulance technician, is a health professional that provides emergency medical services. EMTs are most commonly found working in ambulances. In English-speaking countries, paramedics are ...
* National Registry Emergency Medical Technician
* Emergency medical technician – intermediate
Advanced emergency medical technicians (AEMT) are providers of prehospital emergency medical services in the United States. A transition to this level of training from the ''emergency medical technician-intermediate'' (''EMT-I''), which have somewh ...
* EMT-Paramedic
References
External links
*
Emergency Medical Service (EMS) Providers
{{Authority control
Allied health professions-related professional associations
Emergency medical services in the United States
Healthcare accreditation organizations in the United States
Medical and health organizations based in Ohio