Certification
of EMS personnel (First Responders, EMTs, Intermediates, and Paramedics) does two
essential things. First, it protects the
patient by establishing and requiring minimum standards of care. Second, it protects professional EMS personnel
when providing emergency medical care within the scope of their practice and when under
the supervision of a physician certified as Medical Program Director (MPD) or MPD Delegate
from liability.
The MPD
oversees the certification and recertification process by approving the initial and
ongoing training as well as the maintenance of skills.
The MPD and his/her Delegates also provide “medical control”
through protocols and on-call or “on-line” assistance.
The
Licensing and Certification Section of the Office of Emergency Medical and Trauma
Prevention functions as the entity that establishes and maintains the integrity of the
system. We are expected to ensure the
citizens of Washington have the most reliable and trustworthy emergency care. In order to do this, each EMS provider must not
only meet the minimum training requirements, they must also answer a series of
confidential, personal information, background questions.
RCW 18.130 - Uniform
Disciplinary Act (UDA) requires we obtain this information. These answers are necessary to help us ensure
public safety and provide consistency with other health care professions.
The
information that follows will provide you with guidelines to certify as an emergency
medical care provider, and to maintain skills and continuing education so you may
recertify.
Files contained on this site require you to obtain the Free
Adobe Acrobat Reader to open and view the
document. Documents posted in .pdf version on the Department of
Health Web site will be made available in an alternative format on
request to users who are unable to download or view .pdf files on the
Web. To request an alternative format, contact the Subsite
Developer.
Links to external resources are provided as a public service and do
not imply endorsement by the Washington State Department of Health.
NOTE: These links
contain forms, which may be completed using Acrobat Reader. These forms will not
E-MAIL without blanking the information. In addition, they CANNOT be SAVED once you
type information on them. You may complete and print them, or you may print a blank
document to complete by hand. You must then obtain signatures before you send
them in for approval.
EMS Certification Online Getting Started Instructions
(Renewal and
Personal Status Change Only)
