7 thoughts on “Ep 12 Finally”

1. Thanks for the tip about auscultating for fractures. Fascinating stuff! I’m a newly licensed EMT B waiting to hear back on my first round of job apps, and in the meantime, searching out everything I can learn about EMS and healthcare, trying to keep my skills sharp. This podcast has been really helpful with that, and I appreciate the work that went into it. I’m really looking forward to the paramedic school podcast, too, since medic school is in my not-so-distant future as well. Keep up the good work!

2. Concerning y’all’s certification questions, lots of Texas EMT’s (all levels) are not Nationally Registered because when you are certified, to keep your certification, you attend a specific number of continuing education hours and submit them. So, if you tested in Texas before the change to NREMT, and you stayed on top of your CE, you could still be TX certified but not Nationally Registered. Not quite sure how they are going to get everyone NREMT except maybe through attrition.

   Thanks also for the news that I won’t need to wait by the mailbox for my patch! YAY! Question though. Are you “officially” certified 24 hours after you pass the test? You can jump right on a truck and wear the blue patch?

3. I would say no but it depends on your area. Forever ago, in Arkansas before the NatReg exam was the certifying exam, after you passed your practicals and passed your written exam, you were given a piece of paper that would work as an ad hoc certification, you could work on the paper. Now, when you take the NatReg, the results are sent to the state who issue you your card. You are not certified until the state says that you are licensed to work and you are supposed to carry that card with you when you are working. Passing the test alone does not mean that you are certified/licensed.

   I think that that is a common misconception. Just because a state use the NatReg exam does not mean that it is a NatReg state. A NatReg stte is one that only requires you to have certification through the National Registry. Most states use the NatReg exam but issues there own card to grant certification/licensure.

4. Thanks for the info, Ordo! I knew that in the “old days”, we had to wait for the packet from NREMT. With the changes in technology, I wasn’t clear.

5. Yes, a LOT of things have changed over the past 20 years. Back then, you had to wait 2-4 weeks (translated to 6-8 weeks) for the envelope to arrive just to know if you passed or not. Like Kelly said, you prayed for the big envelope and dreaded looking at all the normal envelopes. When I go my paramedic, when you passed, NatReg would send you your results along with you card, certificate, and patch and send the information to the state who would cut your card. You then had to wait for your card from the state so you could actually work as a medic. Sometimes, if you lived close enough, you might could talk them into letting you pick up your card at the health department. But, it was always a big relief when you saw that big envelope. It affirmed that you passed and let you know that your state card was on the way. The wait from state was never as bad as the initial wait for the Registry.

6. Actually, that is not true. There are no states that require only NR without issuing a card themselves. A NR state requires you to have NR BEFORE they will issue a card. NR only certifies that you know the material. You still must be licensed/certified by your state in order to practice.

7. Nomenclature changes over time it would appear. A NatReg state was a reference to one that would not require a state cert. This was back in the time that they were not as widely used as they are now. We were always informed that we were not a NatReg state, that a state card was required to work. Back then, you were registered the the NREMT; they were not a certifying agency.

   In theory though, you could forgo the state card. NatReg tests you knowledge, that state basically takes your money.

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