General EMT-Basic Program Requirements
Title 22
EMT Program Directors
EMT Clinical Coordinators
Principal Instructors
Instructional/Teaching Assistants
General EMT-Basic Program Information and State Law
Current and potential students should be aware that all Emergency Medical Technology programs in the United States are strictly governed and controlled by numerous laws and statutes, including Federal laws, State laws and County regulations. Throughout the United States all EMT programs must follow a required and mandated curriculum, which specifically outlines what must be covered in the course. In the year of 2008, all EMT programs are making the transition from the former Department of Transportation 1994 curriculum to the new National EMS Scope of Practice Model.
In California, all EMT-Basic programs must follow the Healthcode Regulations and Laws known as Title 22. Under Title 22 each EMT-Basic program must be accredited by the County in which it operates, and it is reviewed every 4 years by the appropriate County as meeting all requirements set forth by Title 22, sections 100066 and 100069. Title 22, section 100070, clearly outlines that each accredited program must have a designated "Program Director," and a designated "Clinical Coordinator." These positions may be filled by the same individual. Title 22 accurately describes the minimum requirements to be qualified to hold each position. The EMT Program Director and the Clinical Coordinator (working in cooperative effort if they are two individuals) are responsible for maintaining the integrity of the program, assuring its compliance with all Federal and State laws and mandated curriculum, which includes, but is not limited to, creating all assessments, all assignments, all activities, approving all instructors and assistants while assuring that they comply with the approved accredited curriculum, coordinating all clinical schedules, communicating with the local EMS County Authority, attending all required updates and yearly advisory committees, and maintaining accurate records of all students in each course offered and providing this information to the accrediting agency upon request and at the end of each course.
In addition, most community colleges, including Orange Coast College in accordance with the State Chancellor's office of Community Colleges, have additional requirements in compliance with Title 5 Educational Code, and faculty contracts, that outline the minimum qualifications for all full-time and part-time faculty members, and the further requirements in campus-wide activities of all full-time tenured (professors) faculty to attend area and division meetings, campus-wide committee involvement, office hours, and attendance at graduation ceremonies, as well as professional development. Presently, part-time faculty members are not required to have office hours, but must be reasonably available to meet with their students outside of classroom hours as needed to assist student success.
The EMT Program Director is additionally responsible for the award of a course completion certificate to all students who pass the course in compliance with all Title 22 laws and approved accreditation curriculum. Further, the EMT Program Director is the individual who is utimately responsible for declaring that each student has successfully passed the mandated National Registry Skill Stations (if they are conducted in the accredited program, as they are at Orange Coast College) and meets the minimum skills necessary as defined by the National Registry of Emergency Medical Technicians, under penalty of perjury and fraud.
Each principal instructor in any accredited EMT-Basic program must follow the curriculum, including the assignments, assessments and other applicable requirements in accordance with the approved and accredited curriculum, which must be in compliance with Title 22, section 100070. Each instructor has the freedom to use whatever techniques they feel are best appropriate to their class to facilitate learning of the course objectives. No instructor is required to use a specific PowerPoint (r) slideshow, video, lesson plan, or other instructional aid (unless specifically dictated by the program's contract with its clinical partners to comply with Title 22 laws as they relate to hospital care, and guidelines required by each hospital under the accreditation by the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Hospitals and the Administrative Branch of Social Security Benefits/Department of Health and Human Services). Each instructor is permitted and encouraged to apply their professional and educational judgment and experience in such having the freedom to create an atmosphere conducive to learning that specifically addresses the required subject matter and curriculum as outlined by the program accreditation and in accordance with Title 22. However, each instructor is required to properly use only the approved assessments and assignments as designed by the Program Director and Clinical Coordinator in accordance with the outlines of the accreditation and Title 22.
Principal instructors may choose to use additional didactic and kinesthetic learning to reinforce the required course content. However, this does present an obstacle to many programs, as Title 22, section 100067, mandates that there are no more than 10 students to each principle instructor and assistant whenever a skill will be performed or practiced by the students. Programs rely on both paid instructors/assistants and approved volunteer assistants to meet this required ratio. Funding and availability of appropriate teaching personnel may make additional "lab" activities difficult to achieve.
Please contact the Program Director or Clinical Coordinator at your program or the County's EMS Authority if you have questions or desire further clarification. A copy of Title 22 is maintained in the office of the EMT Program Director/Clinical Coordinator at Orange Coast College. Orange Coast College is accredited by the Orange County Emergency Medical Services Authority until 2010, when it will be reviewed again in compliance with Title 22 laws.
Below is a current copy as of March 2008 of Title 22 as it relates to EMT-Basic (EMT-1) in the State of California. Please be aware that each County may further limit program accreditation guidelines, and the scope of practice of an EMT-Basic within its County. Title 22 offers the reader a general guideline regarding the EMT-Basic's Scope of Practice, the certification requirements, and recertification requirements in addition to what Title 22 requires of an accredited EMT-Basic program.
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