Pennsylvania Code › Title 28 - HEALTH AND SAFETY › Part VII - Emergency Medical Services › Subpart A - EMS System › Chapter 1023 - PERSONNEL › Subchapter B - EMS PROVIDERS AND VEHICLE OPERATORS › Section 1023.32 - Credit for continuing education

Current through Register Vol. 54, No. 28, July 13, 2024
(a)
Credit.
An EMS provider and an EMSVO shall receive one credit
					 for each 60 minutes of instruction approved by the Department for continuing
					 education credit presented in a classroom setting by a continuing education
					 sponsor. Credit may not be received if attendance or other participation in the
					 course is not adequate to meet the educational objectives of the course as
					 determined by the course sponsor. Credit may not be received if the EMS
					 provider or EMSVO misses more than 15% of the time assigned for the course.
					 Credit may not be received for other than 30- or 60-minute units of
					 instruction. The course must be at least 30 minutes. An EMS provider and an
					 EMSVO will receive credit for a specific course only one time per registration
					 cycle, even if the EMS provider or EMSVO has repeated the course in a different
					 year of the same registration cycle. Continuing education credits may not be
					 carried over from one certification period to another. For completing a
					 continuing education course that is not presented in a classroom setting, or
					 that is not presented by a continuing education sponsor, the EMS provider or
					 EMSVO shall receive the number of credit hours assigned by the Department to
					 the course.
(b)
Course
					 completion.
An EMS provider or EMSVO may not receive credit for a
					 continuing education course not completed, as evidenced by satisfaction of the
					 check-in/check-out process for a course presented in a classroom setting by a
					 continuing education sponsor, which reflects that the EMS provider or EMSVO met
					 the continuing education attendance requirement for receiving credit, and the
					 continuing education sponsor's report to the Department verifying that the EMS
					 provider or EMSVO has completed the course. The course will not be considered
					 completed if the EMS provider or EMSVO does not satisfy other course completion
					 requirements imposed by this chapter and the continuing education
					 sponsor.
(c)
Continuing
					 education credit for instruction.
An EMS provider or EMSVO shall
					 receive credit for serving as an instructor in a continuing education course
					 offered by a continuing education sponsor, or in a course that satisfies
					 requirements for EMS provider or EMSVO certification conducted by an EMS
					 educational institute. An EMS provider or EMSVO shall receive credit for
					 teaching a continuing education course equal to the amount of credit for which
					 a continuing education course is approved by the Department, and shall receive
					 credit for teaching a course that satisfies requirements for EMS provider or
					 EMSVO certification equal to the number of hours served as an instructor in
					 that course. An EMS provider or EMSVO shall receive credit for teaching the
					 same course only once during a registration renewal cycle.
(d)
Continuing education credit
					 through endorsement.
An EMS provider or EMSVO who attends or teaches a
					 course offered by an organization with National or State accreditation to
					 provide education may apply to the Department to receive credit for the course.
					 The EMS provider or EMSVO shall have the burden of demonstrating to the
					 Department that the course meets standards substantially equivalent to the
					 standards imposed in this chapter.
(e)
Continuing education credit
					 assigned to courses not conducted by a continuing education sponsor.
If a course is offered by an organization with National or State accreditation
					 to provide education, which is not a continuing education sponsor, the
					 Department will assign credit to the course, including the possibility of no
					 credit or partial credit, based upon considerations of whether the course is
					 based entirely upon appropriate subject matter and whether the method of
					 presenting the course meets standards substantially equivalent to those
					 prescribed in this chapter.
(f)
Continuing education credit assigned to self-study courses.
Credit may be sought from the Department for a self-study continuing education
					 course. The EMS provider or EMSVO shall submit an application to the Department
					 to approve the self-study course for credit prior to beginning the course and
					 supply the Department with the materials the Department requests to conduct the
					 evaluation. The Department will assign credit to the course, including the
					 possibility of no credit or partial credit, based upon considerations of
					 whether the course addresses appropriate subject matter and whether the method
					 of completing the course meets standards substantially equivalent to those
					 prescribed in this chapter. The Department may require modifications to the
					 proposed self-study as a precondition to approving it for credit.
(g)
Continuing education credit
					 assigned to courses not presented in a classroom setting.
An EMS
					 provider or EMSVO shall be awarded credit for completing a course without the
					 EMS provider or EMSVO physically attending the course in a classroom setting,
					 provided the course has been approved by the Department for credit when
					 presented in that manner.
(h)
Department record of continuing education credits.
A record of
					 the continuing education credits received by EMS providers and EMSVOs shall be
					 maintained by the Department in a Statewide registry that may be accessed by an
					 EMS provider or EMSVO through a secure access process provided by the
					 Department.
(i)
Resolution
					 of discrepancies.
It is the responsibility of an EMS provider and an
					 EMSVO to review the record of continuing education credits in the Statewide
					 registry for that individual and to notify the appropriate regional EMS council
					 of any discrepancy. The Department will resolve all discrepancies between the
					 number of continuing education credits reported and the number of continuing
					 education credits an EMS provider or EMSVO alleges to have earned, which are
					 not resolved by the regional EMS council. An EMS provider and an EMSVO will not
					 receive credit for completing the same continuing education course more than
					 once during a registration renewal cycle.