Recertification Question

[Jad]

Hi,

I currently have my NREMT national certification as well as an EMT license from the Illinois Department of Public Health.

My certification expires this March, but my IDPH license doesn't expire until 2018. Do I need to keep both active in order to work as an EMT? Or can I just wait until 2018 to renew my license?

I have not worked on an ambulance service yet, since I am still finishing my undergrad. I have been using my EMT license to do triage at a clinic for the past 2 years.

Any help would be appreciated. Thanks!

 

[planetmike]

Renew the NREMT if you can. Do you really want to take the entire course again in a few years if you move to another state, or get a job in state that requires the NREMT? Hopefully you already have the required CE hours completed, so it's not a big deal. And it's not much money, like what $10 or $20? Go ahead and renew it.

 

[Jad]

Does doing triage at a free clinic sound like something that would fulfill the CE requirement?

 

[nater]

I highly doubt it. CE is doing something educational that reinforces the material in the curriculum for your license level. Usually this is in-person training by your employer, conference classes, required classes like ACLS and PALS or even reviewing videos or magazine articles.

 

[Jad]

I forgot to mention that I'm a basic rather than a paramedic. Does this change anything? What's my best course of action assuming my work at the clinic isn't usable?

 

[nater]

There are plenty of places online that offer articles and quizzes for CE credits. You will need to ensure your State will accept them before paying for any courses. NREMT used to only allow a certain percentage of your hours to be completed online, I only maintain a State license, so I do not know if this has changed.