Except for one type of Emergency Medical Technician (EMT), EMT certification in Oregon is available for those with national level EMT certification. The EMT license for the said exceptional level can be obtained after clearing state level exams. Although license and certification have different meanings, denoting permits at the state and national level respectively, these terms are interchangeably used. EMTs look after patients / victims of trauma, accidents, illnesses, cardiac troubles, bleeding etc. before these can be safely admitted to a medical facility. Such responsibilities demand handling by trained professionals only, something ensured by the certification – licensure process.
EMT Certification in Oregon
A person is officially recognized as a national level EMT by the NREMT after the person passes an entry level EMT course of a certain level and within two years (usual duration) applies for and clears the NREMT exams for the same level. State level licenses are available to those with NREMT certification. Five such EMT levels are recognized by the NREMT and each certification is valid for two years at a time. The entry level course needs to be approved by the respective state and by the U.S. Department of Transportation EMT – Basic National Standard Curriculum.
Cognitive and psychomotor exams are the two components of the NREMT certification exams. Cognitive exam evaluates the theoretical credentials of the candidate regarding topics like oxygenation, EMS operations, trauma, cardiology, ventilation and the like while psychomotor exam checks if the candidate has the nerve to deal with patients suffering from trauma, bleeding, accidents, cardiac troubles etc. Depending on the level of EMT applied for, the cognitive exam consists between 70 and 150 questions to be answered on a computer in 1 hour 45 minutes to two and half hours.
Preparing for the NREMT Exams
Study material and practice tests are available at numerous websites. Brady Publishers provide two such online sources of top caliber. These are the EMT Practice Test and the EMT Achieve. The first is a part of an online guide and comes with relevant notes and online practice tests that are promptly assessed and scored. EMT Achieve provides noted studded with pictures, animations, videos, illustrations, and slides for a better grasp over the topics. Online practice tests are made complete by providing answers and proper explanations when these tests are assessed.
Becoming an EMT in Oregon
In Oregon, EMT licenses are awarded by the EMS and Trauma Systems, Oregon Health Authority that recognizes the following types of Emergency Medical Service (EMS) Providers: Emergency Medical Responders (EMR), EMT / EMT-Basic (EMT-B), EMT-Intermediate (EMT-I), and Paramedic. Here is a link to EMS Forms by the said licensure authority: http://public.health.oregon.gov/ProviderPartnerResources/EMSTraumaSystems/Pages/forms.aspx
Paramedics and EMT-B can avail the state license after obtaining NREMT certification for the corresponding level. EMT-I level licenses can be availed only after successful appearance at the Oregon state exams instead of NREMT certification exams. Passing an entry-level EMT course is the first step. After this, the candidate can appear for the NREMT or state exam, as the case may be and then apply for the EMT state license of the appropriate level.
