§ 1025.1. Accreditation and operational requirements of EMS educational institutes.
(a) Eligible entity. An EMS educational institute shall be a secondary or postsecondary institution, hospital, regional EMS council, an educational institute in a branch of the armed forces or another entity which meets the criteria in this chapter.
(b) Educational programs.
(1) An EMS educational institute that is accredited by the Department to offer BLS educational courses (BLS educational institute) shall evidence the ability to conduct one or more of the following EMS provider educational courses:
(i) Emergency medical responder course.
(ii) Emergency medical technician course.
(iii) Advanced emergency medical technician course.
(2) An EMS educational institute that is accredited by the Department to offer ALS educational courses (ALS educational institute) shall evidence the ability to conduct one or more of the following EMS provider educational courses:
(i) A course listed under subsection (b)(1).
(ii) Paramedic course.
(3) An EMS educational institute shall register with the Department the location and staffing plan of a course it offers towards satisfying an EMS provider certification educational requirement at least 30 business days before the first class is held.
(c) Advisory committee.
(1) An EMS educational institute shall have an advisory committee that is comprised of representatives of the EMS communities that have an interest in the EMS provider educational courses the institute offers, and which also includes a representative of an appropriate regional EMS council and the institute’s medical director.
(2) The advisory committee shall meet at least annually and assist program personnel in formulating and periodically revising appropriate goals and objectives and in monitoring the EMS educational institute’s performance.
(d) Disclosure to students and prospective students. An EMS educational institute shall disclose the following to students and prospective students:
(1) The institute’s accreditation status.
(2) The Department is the accrediting body, the contact information for the Department and the regional EMS councils where its courses are offered, as provided to the institute by the Department and those regional EMS councils.
(3) The institute’s admissions, discipline, and discharge policies and practices.
(4) The functional job analysis of each EMS provider classification for which it is offering an EMS provider educational course.
(5) The requirements for completing each EMS provider educational course it offers, including, to the extent known, advance notice of the books and materials required for each course.
(6) The tuition fees and other costs involved in completing each EMS provider educational course.
(7) The policy and process for withdrawal from a course and the refund of tuition and other fees.
(8) Information as to how students may perform clinical work while enrolled in an EMS provider educational course.
(9) The percentage of students for the previous 3 years who enrolled in and completed each EMS provider educational course offered by the institute.
(10) The percentage of students for the previous 3 years, for each EMS provider educational course, who obtained EMS provider certification, and a percentage of the students who obtained certification after a first examination.
(11) The regulatory requirements for testing leading to EMS provider certification.
(12) The EMS educational institute’s policies for the prevention of sexual harassment.
(e) Medical director.
(1) An EMS educational institute shall have a medical director who is a physician. The medical director shall be experienced in emergency medical care and have demonstrated ability in education and administration.
(2) The responsibilities of the medical director include:
(i) Reviewing course content to ensure compliance with this chapter.
(ii) Reviewing and approving the EMS educational institute’s criteria for the recruitment, selection and orientation of educational institute faculty.
(iii) Providing technical advice and assistance to the EMS educational institute faculty and students.
(iv) Reviewing the quality and medical content of the education and compliance with protocols.
(v) Participating in the review of new technology for training and education.
(3) Additional responsibilities for a medical director of an ALS educational institute include:
(i) Approving the content of course written and practical skills examinations.
(ii) Identifying and approving facilities where students are to fulfill clinical and field internship requirements.
(iii) Identifying and approving individuals to serve as field and clinical preceptors to supervise and evaluate student performance when fulfilling clinical and field internship requirements.
(iv) Signing skill verification forms for students who demonstrate the knowledge and skills required for successful completion of the EMS provider educational course and entry level competency for the EMS provider for which the EMS provider educational course is offered.
(f) Administrative director.
(1) A BLS educational institute shall have an administrative director who has at least 2 years of experience in administration and 3 years of experience in prehospital care.
(2) An ALS educational institute shall have an administrative director who has at least 2 years of experience in administration and 3 years of experience in ALS prehospital care, and who has a bachelor’s degree from an accredited school of higher education and an EMS provider certification above the AEMT level.
(3) Responsibilities of the administrative director include ensuring:
(i) The adequacy of the system for processing student applications and the adequacy of the student selection process.
(ii) The adequacy of the process for the screening and selection of instructors for the EMS educational institute.
(iii) The EMS educational institute maintains an adequate inventory of necessary educational equipment and that the training equipment is properly prepared and maintained.
(iv) The adequate administration of the course and written and practical skills examinations involved in the course.
(v) There is an adequate system for the maintenance of student records and files.
(vi) There is an appropriate mechanism to resolve disputes between students and faculty.
(4) The administrative director shall serve as the contact person and liaison between the EMS educational institute and the Department and regional EMS councils. The administrative director may designate another person to perform those functions and monitor that person’s performance to ensure that the contact and liaison responsibilities are being satisfied.
(g) Course coordinator.
(1) The EMS educational institute shall designate a course coordinator for each EMS provider educational course conducted by the educational institute.
(2) A course coordinator shall satisfy the following requirements:
(i) Reading and language skills commensurate with the resource materials to be utilized in the course.
(ii) Knowledge of the Statewide EMS protocols and of the regional EMS protocols for each EMS region where the course is offered.
(iii) Three years of clinical experience providing prehospital care as an EMS provider at or above the EMT level.
(iv) Certification as an EMS instructor.
(3) The 3 years of clinical experience providing prehospital care of a course coordinator for an ALS educational course shall be as an EMS provider above the AEMT level.
(4) A course coordinator is responsible for the management and supervision of each EMS provider educational course offered by the educational institute for which that individual serves as a course coordinator.
(5) Specific duties of a course coordinator shall be assigned by the EMS educational institute.
(6) One person may serve both as the administrative director and a course coordinator.
(h) Instructors.
(1) An EMS educational institute shall ensure the availability of qualified and responsible instructors for each EMS provider educational course.
(2) The EMS educational institute shall make available faculty development for EMS instructors in the concepts of utilizing a variety of instructional strategies, adapting to students with diverse backgrounds and different learning styles and be responsible for ensuring that its instructors are competent in providing education employing those instructional strategies.
(3) An instructor shall be 18 years of age or older and possess a high school diploma or GED equivalent.
(4) At least 75% of the instruction provided in EMS provider educational courses shall be provided by instructors who are either of the following:
(i) EMS instructors certified by the Department who have at least 3 years of experience as an EMS provider at or above the level they are teaching and at least 2 years of experience in teaching an EMS provider educational course at or above the level they are teaching.
(ii) Determined by the course coordinator and the medical director of the EMS educational institute to meet or exceed these standards.
(5) The EMS educational institute’s medical director, in consultation with appropriate course coordinators, is responsible for verifying the special expertise of an instructor who does not satisfy the requirements in paragraph (4) and for specifying the portions of the curriculum that are appropriate for the instructor to teach.
(6) Instructors are responsible for presenting course materials in accordance with the curriculum established or approved for the course by the Department for the EMS provider level of the course and the Statewide EMS protocols applicable to that EMS provider level.
(i) Clinical preceptors.
(1) An EMS educational institute shall ensure the availability of clinical preceptors for each EMS provider educational course.
(2) A clinical preceptor is responsible for the supervision and evaluation of students while fulfilling clinical requirements for an EMS provider educational course.
(j) Field preceptors.
(1) An EMS educational institute shall ensure the availability of qualified field preceptors for each student enrolled in an EMS provider educational course at or above the AEMT level.
(2) An EMS educational institute shall ensure the availability of a qualified field preceptor for each student enrolled in an EMS provider educational course below the AEMT level for which it provides a field internship.
(3) An EMS educational institute shall use as a field preceptor for an EMS provider educational course an EMS provider who is certified and practicing at or above the level of the EMS provider certification for which the course is being taught.
(4) A field preceptor is responsible for the supervision and evaluation of students while fulfilling a field internship for an EMS provider educational course. A field preceptor shall directly supervise a student’s performance of any EMS skill for which the student does not have an EMS provider certification under which the student is authorized to perform the skill.
(k) Facilities and equipment. An EMS educational institute shall:
(1) Maintain educational facilities necessary for the provision of EMS provider educational courses, including satisfying applicable State and Federal standards to address the needs of persons with disabilities. The facilities shall include classrooms and space for equipment storage and be of sufficient size and quality to conduct didactic and practical skill performance sessions.
(2) Provide, properly prepare and maintain the essential equipment, including simulators and task trainers, and the supplies to administer the course.
(l) Operating procedures. An EMS educational institute shall:
(1) Adopt and implement a nondiscrimination policy with respect to student selection and faculty recruitment.
(2) Maintain a file on each enrolled student which includes class performance, practical and written examination results, and reports made concerning the progress of the student during the EMS provider educational course.
(3) Provide a mechanism by which students may grieve decisions made by the institute regarding dismissal from an EMS provider educational course or other disciplinary action.
(4) Provide students with preparation for testing leading to EMS provider certification.
(5) Have a policy regarding the transfer of a student into or out of an EMS provider educational course from one EMS educational institute to another.
(6) Have a continuing quality improvement process in place for students, instructors and clinical evaluation.
(7) Require each student applicant to complete an application for enrollment provided by the Department.
(8) Require each student to complete and submit the form or complete the electronic process, as prescribed by the Department, under § 1023.21(b) (relating to general rights and responsibilities) for reporting criminal convictions, discipline and exclusion from a State or Federal health care program. The EMS educational institute shall inform each student of the duty to update the report if there is a change in this information before the Department acts upon the student’s application for EMS provider certification.
(9) Forward a copy of the form completed under paragraph (8) to the regional EMS council having responsibility in the EMS region where the EMS educational institute operates, no later than 14 days after the first class session.
(10) Prepare a course completion form, including an updated form under § 1023.21(b), for each student who successfully completes the EMS provider educational course and, no later than 14 days after the educational course has concluded, forward that form to the regional EMS council having responsibility in the EMS region where the EMS educational institute operates.
(11) Participate in EMS educational institute system evaluation activities as requested by the Department.
(m) Providing access to facility and records. An EMS educational institute and an applicant for EMS educational institute accreditation shall promptly make available to the Department or a regional EMS council, upon request, its educational facility for inspection and provide them with complete and accurate records relating to the institute’s compliance with the requirements in this subchapter.
(n) Transitional requirements. This section applies to an EMS educational institute that is accredited on April 10, 2014, beginning with its initial application for reaccreditation as an EMS educational institute on or after April 10, 2014, and to its operations as an EMS educational institute beginning with its accreditation under that application.
Cross References This section cited in 28 Pa. Code § 1023.51 (relating to certified EMS instructors); 28 Pa. Code § 1025.2 (relating to accreditation process); and 28 Pa. Code § 1031.12 (relating to discipline of EMS educational institutes).
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