Canadian reciprocity for American paramedics?

Gonna do the same thing.

Medic Tim said:
I am a Canadian who was trained in the USA. I did my EMT-B and EMT-I in Maine through a Tech school. I was able to challenge the New Brunswick PCP exam. I had to prove that my course met the NOCP as NB follows the NOCP (paramedic.ca) After working for a few years as an EMT-I in Maine and a PCP in NB I went back to school part time and got an Associate’s degree in EMS and NREMT-P. New Brunswick will allow NREMT-P's to wright the Advanced Care Paramedic Exam. I am currently an ACP in NB and NS.
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I am a PCP out of fredricton and am looking to head over to Maine to take the AAS and emt p, I plan on working in N.S so this is an encouraging story to hear. NS didnt give you to much grief? I have looked ove the competencies, and see no issue. Any advice would be great.... SOOOO much cheaper to take it in old M.E
 
no issues at all. NS actually has a special Intermediate Paramedic license for US trained medics that is good for a year so they can work while prepping for the ACP exam.
 
Those ICPs are a rare bread. when i was down there I think there were only 50 or so remaining. I didnt know they still liecenced threm. thanks for info, tell me how it goes.
 
Cross boarder EMS

Gonna throw my 2.5 cents in; someone had asked how long the training was in Canada. I went to school in Newfoundland, it was 9 months full-time including clinicals and ambulance time.
That included great deal of theory, a&p, patho, trauma, pharma, medical, 4 and 12 lead EKGs(only requiring interpreting lead 2), IVs, 8 symptom relief drugs, plus NRP, ITLS, plus many more.
This PCP (Primary Care Paramedic) course is CMA recognized as are most in Canada. There is no national registry like in US, there is a final written and practical that is similar in nature.
Hope this helps
 
There is expected to be a national exam in 2012. I'm not sure if it is going to be PCP, ACP or both. As to NS US EMT-P can apply for ACP. However if your schooling is accepted(and not all are) you would be initally registered as an ICP. This is only temporary. If you do not write or fail the ACP exam you will then be registered as a PCP. The ICP reg is for one year max.
See http://www.gov.ns.ca/health/ehs/paramedics/policies.asp for details.
 
Thanks for info, I cant see why N.S would refusing a Nationally accredited school if they accept any at all. Appreciate the information.
 
Outbac1 said:
There is expected to be a national exam in 2012. I'm not sure if it is going to be PCP, ACP or both. As to NS US EMT-P can apply for ACP. However if your schooling is accepted(and not all are) you would be initally registered as an ICP. This is only temporary. If you do not write or fail the ACP exam you will then be registered as a PCP. The ICP reg is for one year max.
See http://www.gov.ns.ca/health/ehs/paramedics/policies.asp for details.
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Initially the exam will be ACP only with the first trial exam in 2012. The PCP exam will follow later. All Provinces are currently on board with having the National Exam, when finished and accepted, replace the current Provincial exams.
 
stackyb said:
yea, im wondering if there is a test. Because the training he has is extensive, and hes already done 43 credit hours, I wouldnt see him not knowing how to pass that test.
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On this, your BF would really, really benefit from college courses and a paramedic school, if possible. EMT-B is already low on the totem, but the Army rams their Basics through in less than eight weeks, and there's really no retention or continuing education worth mentioning.
 
we talking bout practice said:
Thanks for info, I cant see why N.S would refusing a Nationally accredited school if they accept any at all. Appreciate the information.
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I believe the requirement is to be able to write the NREMT-P. Not all US schools prepare their medics for this.

Having not written it I cannot comment on its difficulty or worth.
 
WolfmanHarris said:
Initially the exam will be ACP only with the first trial exam in 2012. The PCP exam will follow later. All Provinces are currently on board with having the National Exam, when finished and accepted, replace the current Provincial exams.
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I asked my service's training officer about that and he said it will never happen. Then reason is that there would have to be total agreement between the 10 provinces and 1 territory that regulate EMS. He said that will never happen.
 
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fortsmithman said:
I asked my service's training officer about that and he said it will never happen. Then reason is that there would have to be total agreement between the 10 provinces and 1 territory that regulate EMS. He said that will never happen.
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As per the PAC Committee overseeing the development, the Provinces have all already agreed in principle.

I'm on the OPA Board and our President is the Chair for PAC. I'll see what's out there in writing that I can link on here.
 
WolfmanHarris said:
As per the PAC Committee overseeing the development, the Provinces have all already agreed in principle.

I'm on the OPA Board and our President is the Chair for PAC. I'll see what's out there in writing that I can link on here.
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I think one national exam for EMR PCP ACP and CCP would be a good idea. Unfortunately what one government might view as a good thing may not be viewed as that by another government after a provincial territorial election. Changes in government and policy are a fact of life. The winner in the election if there is a change of government may just to spite the other may cancel everything the previous government as done. One good thing would be to establish a Canadian College of Paramedics to be responsible for testing and licensing EMS across the country.
 
fortsmithman said:
I think one national exam for EMR PCP ACP and CCP would be a good idea. Unfortunately what one government might view as a good thing may not be viewed as that by another government after a provincial territorial election. Changes in government and policy are a fact of life. The winner in the election if there is a change of government may just to spite the other may cancel everything the previous government as done. One good thing would be to establish a Canadian College of Paramedics to be responsible for testing and licensing EMS across the country.
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any updates on this topic? Any closer to a "national" exam?
 
I filled out a survey about this a few months ago. They are going to come out with the ACP exam first I hear, sometime this year.
 
Paramedic Reciprocity US to BC

Just wondering if someone can advise me on where to begin. I am an American NREMT-P / FP-C / EMT-P-CC and I wish to obtain certification to work in BC. Any assistance would be greatly appreciated. Cheers!
 
http://www.health.gov.bc.ca/ema/forms/public-forms.html

If you go to the bottom, all the forms you need are there. BC and several provinces use the NOCP guidelines found here www.paramedic.ca . I am not exactly sure how hard it is to directly license in BC. I am an NREMT-P and licensed in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick. NS has a special License for American trained medics so they can get work and prepare for the Advanced Care Paramedic (ACP) exam. If you are licensed in one province you are able to transfer it to another. There may be a test on the differences but it isn't bad from what I have heard. I went the NS route as there was no aditional cost, It transfers to all provinces, and if you are an NR medic you qualify.
 
Medic Tim said:
I am a Canadian who was trained in the USA. I did my EMT-B and EMT-I in Maine through a Tech school. I was able to challenge the New Brunswick PCP exam. I had to prove that my course met the NOCP as NB follows the NOCP (paramedic.ca) After working for a few years as an EMT-I in Maine and a PCP in NB I went back to school part time and got an Associate’s degree in EMS and NREMT-P. New Brunswick will allow NREMT-P's to wright the Advanced Care Paramedic Exam. I am currently an ACP in NB and NS.
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I’m a Canadian currently taking the paramedic program in the states and I’m looking to come back to Canada after a few years in the states. What exactly is the process that I have to go through and who do I contact for that to work in Ontario? Can I just challenge the exam or is it more than just writing a test?
 
Dwilding said:
I’m a Canadian currently taking the paramedic program in the states and I’m looking to come back to Canada after a few years in the states. What exactly is the process that I have to go through and who do I contact for that to work in Ontario? Can I just challenge the exam or is it more than just writing a test?
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Things have changed a bit. It is extremely difficult to get licensed in Ontario from outside Canada. I’ve actually get to meet someone who has successfully done it in the last 6-10 years.
Each province has a process for this. It’s a matter of contacting the province you want to license in and get their requirements and standards. You usually have to prove that you meet all of the Canadian standards through an audit process. This can be expansive and time consuming. .... but doable for the right people.
Once you go through all that you will be eligible to set for the provincial exam. Once licensed you will be able to transfer your license to any other province without needing to retest*.... there will be a test ... usually open book.... on certain laws and regulations specific to that province. You may also have restrictions on your license that can be lifted with additional training.
 
Ontario already is the most competitive market for PCPs (Primary Care Paramedics).

My brother lives in Southern Ontario and recently went to a hiring process with well over 50 people fighting over each available job (there were 3 available).

Schools there pump out far more medics than there are jobs and this will make re-entering the workforce even more difficult.

The Maritimes ares always a good place to live and make a living. Saskatchewan was the easiest place I have found to get work, though I think Manitoba would be similar.

As for licensing Ontario has its own weird rules for licensure, but the easiest thing to do is find whichever Provincial College/Association will licence you, and then apply for labour mobility between provinces. It is not nearly as complicated as it sounds.
 
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