. I am an A-EMT and have had my cert for many years but i have not been active in EMS for many years. Due to an illness i had to step away and fight for my health but i am healthy now. I very much want to come back to ems but not sure how i should go about starting back. I don't want to start my education over as i as I have kept up with all my CEU's. Where should I start?
Advice
- Thread starter DA Cook
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Each state varies on this. My own state basically allows you to keep your certification or license active as long as you do 2 basic things: keep up with your CEUs and pay your renewal fees. What the required CEUs are for each level will vary. For me, I still hold an active Paramedic License and am due to renew in another year. For me to begin working again in the field I would have to go through a local accreditation process before I'm cleared to work as a "regular" Paramedic. The accreditation process would basically involve filling out paperwork, affiliating with a local ALS entity, going through a local system orientation, and probably a "5 call" process with an FTO. Once I clear that, I will be deemed "blessed" by the local EMSA to go forth and be a Paramedic.
If you haven't kept up your license, even if you've kept up your CEUs, you may be required to go through a course all over again if a sufficiently long period of time has passed. A friend of mine was an EMT-II for years. She stopped working for a long time and she took too long to reactivate her certs after she had to let them lapse. For her, no amount of CEUs could "save" the certs. She was required to go back to school all over again.
If I let my license lapse less than 6 months, I must submit proof of 48 hours of CE, same as if I didn't lapse. If I let my license lapse more than 6 months but less than 1 year, I must submit proof of 60 hours of CE. If my license lapses 24 months or greater, I have to do 72 hours of CE (including certain specified courses), do a Live Scan and a bit more paperwork, submit a copy of my original course completion certificate (because they'll have purged my file), and retake (and pass) the current NREMT exam for Paramedics (written and practical).
There's a very good reason why I do not allow my license to lapse. I've been bit by the lapse exactly once due to a CE/$$$ issue and the resulting lapse was about 2 days and didn't affect my work schedule at all. I was lucky in that regard.
Best place to find out what the process you need to use is the EMS agency that certifies you in EMS. Since I'm in California, the State EMS Authority is where I go for licensing issues and my local EMS Agency office for local accreditation issues.
DrParasite
The fire extinguisher is not just for show
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Call your state office of EMS and ask them. They are a better authoritative source, better than anything you find on here.